The founder of Zest Creative Co. and Zest Lights explains why treating illumination as an afterthought is costing businesses more than they realise.
Staff Writer | Commercial Design & Entrepreneurship | Mumbai
There is a quiet inefficiency running through India’s commercial interior design industry. It does not show up in balance sheets. It rarely surfaces in client briefs. But any designer or architect who has managed a project from concept to handover has encountered it: the lighting decision that gets deferred, and deferred again, until there is almost no room left to make it well.
Maulik Shah has built two businesses on the back of that single, persistent observation.
Shah is the Founder and Principal Designer of Zest Creative Co., a Mumbai-based commercial interior design firm established in 2021, and the force behind Zest Lights, a curated lighting solutions venture he operates alongside Co-Founder Bhavik Shah and Architect Darshan Gala. Together, the two ventures are designed to address both sides of the same problem: how a commercial space is conceived, and how it is lit.
The Business Logic
Zest Creative Co. operates as a full-service, turnkey commercial design firm, specialising in studios, restaurants, and office spaces. The firm manages the entire project lifecycle — from initial concept and spatial planning through to execution and delivery — and works to a brief that prioritises atmosphere and functional performance in equal measure.
The portfolio reflects a pragmatic range of commercial sectors: restaurant brands including Kokino, NOMI, 2Rue, and Tic Tac Toe; retail and studio clients such as T Series, Lyke, Byou, Atrangz, and Vimal; and wellness brands like Neha Nutrifit and MAD. It is a client list that suggests both commercial credibility and a firm comfortable operating across different environments and expectations.
Zest Lights was established as the natural complement. Unlike lighting retailers, which typically lead with product catalogues, Zest Lights follows a consultative model. The team begins by understanding spatial layout, design intent, and functional requirements — and only then recommends a solution, drawn from a deliberately manufacturer-independent range that includes panel lights, downlights, track systems, profile lighting, tunable fixtures, and custom decorative products.
Why Independence Matters
The decision to remain unaffiliated with any single lighting manufacturer is not incidental. It is core to the proposition. When a supplier is tied to a specific brand, the recommendation is shaped by inventory — not by what the project actually needs.
“Lighting is never one-size-fits-all. Every space requires a different balance of ambient, task, and accent lighting.”
Shah’s consultative independence allows Zest Lights to build specifications that reflect the design intent of each project — not the margins available on a preferred product line. For design-led clients, that distinction matters.
The Commercial Argument
Shah is careful to frame the case for thoughtful lighting in business terms, not aesthetic ones. In hospitality, lighting influences customer dwell time and the perception of value — two variables with a direct impact on revenue. In retail, it shapes how products are presented and perceived. In offices, it affects the working environment in ways that translate into productivity and staff retention.
These outcomes are not speculative. They are documented consistently in hospitality and retail design research. The question Shah is asking — and answering, through Zest Lights — is whether the Indian commercial market is ready to treat lighting design with the same seriousness it already brings to furniture and finishes.
“When lighting is done correctly, people may not consciously notice it. But they definitely feel the difference.”
Looking Ahead
Shah describes his long-term ambition as building a design-and-lighting ecosystem: a platform for architects, developers, and businesses to access integrated design and lighting expertise at the stage of a project where it can deliver the most value — the beginning.
It is a measured aspiration, and in the context of a commercial real estate market that continues to grow, and a client base that is gradually becoming more experience-conscious, a credible one. The question is whether the market catches up to Shah’s instinct quickly enough, or whether — as so often in design — it takes a generation of well-lit spaces to make the case for him.
