In 2020, Divya Lohakare Holey and her husband Akshay Holey bought 100 saffron bulbs from Kashmir and began experimenting with indoor cultivation in an 80-square-foot room in Dhule. They installed an air conditioner, made a humidifier and tried to recreate the conditions needed to grow the expensive spice. The experiment worked, and the couple spent the following years developing a method to cultivate saffron using aeroponics.Today, the couple runs Shaya Enterprises, a Nagpur-based saffron business that sells its produce and trains people interested in setting up indoor cultivation units. According to Startup Pedia, the venture produced 4.73 kg of saffron and recorded revenue of Rs 30 lakh in FY25. As per a 2025 TOI report, the couple’s annual revenue was around Rs 40-50 lakh, including earnings from their wider cultivation and training activities.
How the couple decided to grow saffron
Image courtesy: Instagram/@shaya_enterprises
Divya and Akshay began exploring the idea of starting a business in 2018. Divya was working in a government bank, while Akshay had a wholesale garment business and had also set up restaurants in Nagpur and Dhule. They wanted to build an enterprise around a product that could be grown at home, had a steady market, was non-perishable and could generate good returns.“We wanted to integrate agriculture with technology and produce a non-perishable product with a good market demand. These factors could ensure good returns and the least likelihood of unsold inventory,” Divya said in a conversation with 30Stades.After researching different crops, they settled on saffron. The couple spent around one-and-a-half years studying its cultivation and travelled to Kashmir several times to learn traditional farming methods from local growers. According to 30Stades, they spent a total of three-and-a-half months in Kashmir between 2019 and early 2020.Divya also told Startup Pedia that her brother Pranay Lohakare, who lives in Canada, had introduced her to the idea of growing produce at home. She said the culture of backyard cultivation there inspired them to explore indoor saffron farming.“My brother Pranay Lohakare lives in Canada and told us that a lot of people back there grow vegetables in their backyards. That culture is very prominent there. Lots of people rely on their homegrown produce. Our inspiration to grow saffron at our home came from there. We realized aeroponic cultivation is the way,” she told Startup Pedia.
Their first experiment with 100 saffron bulbs
Image courtesy: Instagram/@divya_lohakare
In 2020, while Divya was posted in Dhule, the couple bought 100 saffron bulbs from Kashmir and converted an 80-square-foot room at home into a growing space. They installed an air conditioner and made a humidifier to regulate the environment.The first experiment produced flowers from most of the bulbs. Divya told Startup Pedia that more than 80 out of 100 bulbs flowered. The results encouraged the couple to continue working on the method.Their system uses aeroponics, a cultivation technique in which plant roots remain suspended in air and receive nutrients through a fine mist. Temperature, humidity and lighting are controlled inside the room to create suitable conditions for the saffron plants.The couple spent the next few years improving the setup and finding suitable equipment. According to Divya, procuring machinery was one of their biggest challenges because the equipment they needed was not readily available in the market.The couple invested close to Rs 15 lakh from 2018 onwards in research, equipment, saffron bulbs and other expenses. According to Startup Pedia, around Rs 10 lakh went towards buying 300 kg of bulbs and procuring machinery, while the remaining Rs 5 lakh was spent on research and related work.
From an 80-square-foot room to a 400-square-foot unit in Nagpur
After moving to Nagpur, the couple continued developing their indoor farm. According to 30Stades, they initially set up an 80-square-foot unit on their terrace in 2023 and planted 250 kg of saffron bulbs. The room, equipment and planting material together required an investment of Rs 8 lakh.The first harvest from this Nagpur setup yielded around 1,600 grams of saffron. They sold it at Rs 630 per gram and generated approximately Rs 10 lakh in revenue. The couple launched Shaya Enterprises in 2023 and began selling saffron under the brand. Their production unit later expanded to 400 square feet.Explaining why they chose the crop, Akshay told TOI: “We decided to cultivate saffron as it’s expensive, its demand is high while production in the country remains low.”The growing cycle begins around August, when the bulbs are placed in trays inside the controlled unit. With suitable lighting, humidity and temperature, they develop buds and flowers over the following months. The flowers are harvested around the first week of November.After harvesting, the bulbs are transferred to soil trays so they can multiply and produce daughter bulbs for the next cycle. Divya explained the process and said, “One seed or bulb yields four to five daughter seeds, which are ready for plantation by July.”
Their venture reported Rs 30 lakh revenue in FY25
The couple’s production increased as they expanded their growing setup. According to Startup Pedia, their company recorded Rs 10 lakh in revenue in FY24. In FY25, production rose to 4.73 kg and the business reported revenue of Rs 30 lakh.The brand sells one gram of saffron for Rs 630 and half a gram for Rs 350. Its products are available through Instagram, WhatsApp, Amazon and its own website. The company also has FSSAI certification and gets its saffron checked at the India International Saffron Trading Centre in Kashmir.
They train other growers and buy back saffron
The couple’s work has also developed into a training business for people interested in indoor saffron cultivation. According to 30Stades, they offer three training packages priced between Rs 7,000 and Rs 15,000, depending on the services selected. They conduct two to four batches each month, with around five participants in each batch. It estimated that training brings in Rs 12-13 lakh annually.In February 2025, TOI reported that the couple had trained 150 people, of whom 29 had established their own saffron units. Akshay told TOI that they also buy back saffron from some of these growers for packaging and marketing. Their combined production, including output from partner units, had reached 45 kg in the previous year, he said.Akshay also said that they had invested Rs 55 lakh over five years and earned Rs 1.3 crore during that period. He estimated their profit margin at around 80%, attributing it to solar power, the absence of fertiliser and hired labour costs, and the couple handling the work themselves.Divya and Akshay are now exploring other forms of indoor cultivation. According to Startup Pedia, they have started working on microgreens, are developing do-it-yourself kits for people who want to grow them at home and are preparing to launch a microgreens powder brand.
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