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The Economic Times
The Economic Times
Trending Desk

Gen Z friends turned their shared pickle obsession on TikTok into a food startup now valued at Rs 81 crore

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What started with two friends casually sharing pickle videos on TikTok has grown into a food business valued at $8.5 million, or approximately Rs 81.4 crore. University of Southern California graduates Leah Marcus and Yasaman Bakhtiar turned their shared interest into a business idea in 2023, eventually leaving their jobs that summer to build a food brand together.

Marcus and Bakhtiar, who graduated from USC in 2022, began exchanging pickle-related videos on TikTok in 2023 as the food trend attracted growing attention online. The idea gradually moved beyond social media, prompting the pair to explore whether their shared interest could become a business.

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