This holiday season, we are celebrating the vibrant creativity of the Desi diaspora in our region. 

Our curated gift guide spotlights entrepreneurs who seamlessly blend their heritage with contemporary design, ethical sourcing, and innovative concepts. From ethically sourced spices, fusion fashion, skincare, kitchen and pantry staples to home decor, this guide covers it all.

We’ve included price ranges when applicable to make it easier for you and prioritized businesses that are based in New Jersey and the surrounding areas. Finding the perfect gift can be hard, but we hope this guide gives you some inspiration and is a reminder to support small businesses and makers beyond the holiday season. 

So, grab a warm drink and plan to spend some time exploring the brands we’ve highlighted below. Happy shopping!

Sections Include:
Pantry + Kitchen
For Coffee & Tea Lovers
Clothing & Jewelry
Beauty & Skincare
Home & Decor
For Fellow Bookworms

Pantry + Kitchen

Diaspora Co.
Price: $11+
Diaspora Co. is one powerhouse brand rebuilding the spice trade to center farmers and create equity in the spice supply chain. They carry whole spices, spice blends, and fun mixes such as their Hot Cocoa sweetened with jaggery, their take on Pumpkin Spice, or their Taco and Biryani masalas. Each spice you order will come with a map and information on exactly where your spices are coming from, with dates on when they are harvested so freshness is guaranteed.

Brooklyn Delhi
Price: $12+
Bold flavors are captured in simmer sauces and chutneys at Brooklyn Delhi but the stars in their product line are their achaar. Their roasted garlic achaar is a personal favorite — so good when added to breakfast sandwiches, in grilled cheese,  or simply eaten on buttered naan. 

Elements
Price: $7+
Elements specializes in chocolate bars crafted with high-quality cocoa beans, raw honey instead of sugar, and herbs and spices like ashwagandha. They have an impressive lineup of flavors and really focus on crafting chocolate bars that are healthy while still feeling like an indulgent treat.

Pure Indian Foods
Price: $12+
Based in New Jersey, Pure Indian Foods is a small family business continuing an over-100-year legacy that started in India. Aside from high quality ghee, they sell spice blends, herbal jams, seeds, and mango puree.

Our Place
Price: Varies (The Standard Always Pan is on sale for $99)
Co-founded by Pakistani entrepreneur Shiza Shahid, Our Place is one of the internet’s beloved cookware brands. They impress with thoughtfully crafted tools for your kitchen, from stackable dishes and bowls, to colorful appliances, and their famous do-it-all Always Pan that can perform 10 different functions to keep your kitchen less cluttered.

Loka
Price: $150 (Chai Maker Holiday Bundle)
If you’ve ever been a victim of chai boiling over on the stove, then Loka’s Chai Maker will be your friend. It’s essentially a chai fountain that keeps it constantly churning, guaranteeing no boiling over. It also features a built-in strainer so you can enjoy your chai straight out of the pot.

Nivaala Recipe Keeper
Price: $38+
A beautiful gift idea to keep track of and record your family’s recipes. Nivaala offers worldwide shipping and the recipe keeper is something that can be passed down through generations.

Heartland Masala
Price: $37.50
A cookbook that is part essay collection, part South Asian culinary history, “Heartland Masala” contains 99 recipes that document the culinary journey of an Indian mother-and-son cooking duo in America.

For Coffee & Tea Lovers

Happy Cat Coffee
Price: $10+
A Desi-owned coffee roastery operating out of Pennsylvania, Happy Cat Coffee offers high quality, fresh roasted coffee varieties, tea, and care packages that make excellent gifts.

Transcendence Coffee
Price: $19+
Started by two friends in college, Transcendence Coffee has changed up the flavored syrup industry, with options like Indian Gulab Jamun, Persian Pistachio, and Maple Black Sesame, honoring the founders’ Indian and Algerian roots. Syrups can be used in drinks or add an extra layer of flavor to baked goods.

Brook37
Price: $16+
Each Brook37 tea is meticulously selected from the finest tea gardens in the world and is luxuriously packed in tea tins that you want to display on your counter. Try their award-winning oolong Moonlight Stroll, or a bestseller, Majestic Muscateel that captures the aroma of the Himalayas.

AyurSome Wellness
Price: $13+
With a focus on Ayurvedic Principles, AyurSome Wellness creates tea, spice, and biscuits centered around wellness principles. Check out their Date-a-Millet tea biscuits that are sweetened with dates and lemon.

Clothing & Jewelry

Labyrinthave
Price: $30+
Based in New York City, Labyrinthave aims to empower the Desi community through art and storytelling. The founder creates fusion apparel that combines her Bangladeshi and American heritages.

No Borders
Price: Varies, most apparel is on the higher end
No Borders carries it all, slow fashion, crafts, and art from creators across the world. They originally started as a vintage shop in Mumbai before expanding to pop-ups in New York and London. Their products and mission are rooted in connecting communities through creativity.

Mitan Ghosh Designs
Price: $165+
To gift someone a truly one-of-a-kind luxury Benarasi saree, look no further than Mitan Ghosh; she is an independent designer who has even dressed Bollywood stars. Her pieces are meticulously crafted while supporting traditional weaves that are keeping the art of Benarasi silk sarees alive.

holiCHIC
Price: $35+
holiCHIC is Indian and Western fusion fashion based in New York City. They are known for trendy designs that encourage Desis to be proud of their roots and express them through fashion. They carry styles for men and women and even have a yoga apparel line.

Society of Cloth
Price: Varies, ranging from $20-$100+
Operating out of a store in New York City, Society of Cloth honors the artisan, especially emerging designers from South Asia. They prioritize working with designers that are rooted in ethics and cultural meaning. They carry clothing, accessories, and home decor.

BySimran
Price: $30+
An internet favorite, especially their jhumkas, BySimran is based in New York City and creates minimal jewelry that wants brown girls to feel empowered by their ornaments. Pieces are designed to be easily paired with everyday clothing or check out their bridal collection for fancier options.

Inaury
Price: $20+
Another jewelry brand from New York City, Inaury focuses on conscious sourcing by working with artisan partners when producing their jewelry. They’re a great brand to explore if you are looking for statement jewelry.

Beauty & Skincare

Almora Botanica
Price: $31+
A luxury, clean skincare brand rooted in Ayurvedic principles and scientific innovation. Almora’s founder, Ravi Prasad, uses the term “Researched Ayurveda,” to describe his philosophy for validating the ancient knowledge of Ayurveda through advanced scientific research when formulating his products.

NISVA
Price: $26+ (whole skincare routine is $136)
NISVA’s product line is formulated to specifically address skin concerns common for South Asians, such as hyperpigmentation, dryness, and sensitivity. Products are science-backed and pack botanical power into a minimal three-step skincare routine that includes a cleanser, serum, and moisturizer.

Feather & Bone
Price: $4.50+
100% waterless skincare that is safe for the whole family, including babies. Each product is made with three ingredients or less and is free from harsh chemicals and preservatives. Try their best-selling Face Gems, an everyday face cleanser featuring Indian sandalwood.

Mitti Parfum
Price: $45 for the Discovery Set, $135 for full-size scents
Hand-poured in Delaware, Mitti Parfum preserves South Asian storytelling through scent. Each scent is crafted in small batches and includes ethically-sourced ingredients that aim to evoke feelings of home, family, and tradition, creating a sensory journal that speaks to the soul of the diaspora.

Home & Decor

Tinted Heritage
Price: $14+
Seamlessly blending South Asian aesthetics with modern design trends, Tinted Heritage pieces are crafted in a New Jersey studio. Offerings include personalized, laser-engraved items like marble and wood serving boards, coasters, and ornaments, featuring designs inspired by elements like Warli art, lotus flowers, and Bagru prints—making them ideal for housewarming gifts, festive celebrations like Diwali, and adding a meaningful, artistic touch of cultural pride to any modern home.

Dignify
Price: Varies
Dignify is a socially conscious home textiles brand dedicated to providing stunning, ethically sourced blankets, specializing in the Kantha stitch from Bangladesh. They partner with organizations in Dhaka, Bangladesh that provide meaningful work for women who have escaped exploitation and poverty, allowing them financial stability. Each blanket is unique and machine washable. They also have an extensive holiday-themed collection to decorate your home for Christmas.

Saffron Marigold
Price: Varies
Saffron Marigold offerings include bedding, curtains, and table linens and are characterized by their rich, saturated colors and intricate patterns inspired by world cultures, Indian gardens, and royal architecture. Their cotton quilts are among their best-selling products and are often-reversible so you get two looks in one. 

Banyan & Birch
Price: $24+
A home furnishings brand that combines South Asian heritage with modern design. They specialize in unique prints for pillows, table runners, napkins, and kitchen towels.

Pyarful
Price: $5.50+
Pyarful is a blend of “pyar,” meaning love in Hindi/Urdu, and “full,” to curate products that are a blend of cultures. It is a whimsical stationery, gift, and home goods brand that joyfully celebrates South Asian identity. It began as a greeting card business for South-Asian themed occasions but has expanded to include mugs, tea towels, coasters, and notebooks. Each product features the founder’s hand-drawn illustrations and makes perfect gifts for anyone who wants to connect with their heritage or appreciate the unique, playful charm of Desi life.

Chanda Candle Co.
Price: 12+
Inspired by travels to and from Pakistan, Chanda Candle Co. creates nostalgic scents inspired by South Asia. Their candles are made with soy wax and are free of dyes. Lassi, Barish (Rain), and Chai Ka Waqat (Chai Time) are a small sampling of the scents they carry.

For Fellow Bookworms

There are tons of great authors right here in New Jersey that we’ve highlighted on Central Desi in the past.

• A Pre-Med(itated) Murder by Neena Sundar

• The Way You Make Me Feel: Love in Black and Brown by Nina Sharma

• Anagram Destiny by Grishma Shah

• 5 books to read about NJ’s Desi Community

• Authors from Desi Day at Princeton Public Library: Ambreen Butt-Hussain, Gita Varadarajan, Nisha Sharma, Pallavi Sharma Dixit, and Allie Nava.

• Event Recap: What Desi authors want you to know (Featuring Pooja Makhijani, Namrata Patel, Priyanka Taslim and F.S. Yousaf).

Also, next time you’re in New York City, check out Queens Book Bazaar, a pop-up shop that offers books by South Asian and BIPOC authors. They are working towards a physical store in the near future, but you can support them through their Bookshop. (This link also includes curated lists of South Asian reads).

Ifrah Akhtar is the associate editor of Central Desi.

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