Walk down the average American grocery store aisle and you’ll likely spot rows of sriracha, gochujang, and tahini, all once considered niche, now pantry staples. Yet, when it comes to South Asian flavors, products are still too often confined to the “ethnic foods” section, squeezed between a dusty box of matzoh and a random jar of curry sauce.

But that’s beginning to change.

Unlike a turmeric collagen bar hawked by wellness influencers, this new wave of South Asian-founded brands is led by immigrants themselves, and their origin stories are integral to their founding.