If you are a professional in an emerging industry, like gaming, data science, cloud computing, digital marketing etc., that has promising career opportunities, this is your chance to be featured in #CareerKiPaathshaala. Fill up this form today!
Meet Radhika Mohan who proves that age is no barrier when it comes to entrepreneurship. Her Mrs. Chutney brand is helping customers relish their childhood food memories.
It is never too late to become an entrepreneur, and age is just a number. Radhika Mohan, is a living exemplar of the above statement. In her 50s, she started her own homemade food venture, Mrs. Chutney, in 2020.
Now, before you think that this is another typical story of a woman who loves cooking and is now running her own bakery, you’re wrong.
Radhika loves cooking, and she is amazing at it; that is a fact. However, what she sells is different from others. She sells masala powders, pickles, thokkus, vadams, appalams, and sundiges, all made from her own kitchen. They are staple products used in South Indian cooking.
In an era where selling fully cooked meals is the rage, Radhika took a different approach. After learning about her one of a kind business, I interviewed her, asking her about the objectives and motivation for starting Mrs. Chutney. Here is what she had to say about her unique business:
I have been working as a teacher for nearly 30 years. I have noticed both children and adults eat instant food or unhealthy food due to a lack of time. They often lack of awareness of the questionable ingredients in the masalas and pickles they are consuming. Their health has often been compromised. It would upset me to watch my young students and colleagues suffer.
So, during the pandemic, I watched a lot of people trying to cook from scratch online, and it gave me the idea to start Mrs. Chutney. Though, I had been contemplating it for years, I finally decided that 2020 would be the year that I would do it. Rather, I had to do it.
Though people are making an effort to eat healthy; using products that contain harmful ingredients, which have been stored for months together, is not advisable. I have told many people this in my personal life as well. Many of the recipients of my advice had no idea that the branded malasa, pickles, and instant appalams that they were eating had harsh side effects on their health.
Hence, I decided to start this venture. I want everyone to eat healthy and ensure that they have no health problems. That’s why I use natural ingredients without preservatives or harmful chemicals in anything that I make.
Chutney is a popular condiment in the south. We eat it with idli, dosa and pongal. It is an integral part of our diet. As I grew up in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, I noticed how everyone enjoyed eating it. I personally like eating and making all kinds of chutney, so I became a little self–indulgent and chose the name. I am also married, so it was a no–brainer!
During these trying times, everyone cannot afford to get fully cooked meals delivered to their homes three times a day. People have also become very particular about what they eat, and some have no choice but to cook themselves. I wanted to help them out. I realized that the best way to help people eat healthy was to provide them food that did not contain any toxic elements.
I wanted to assure people that the masalas and pickles that I am using in my cooking to feed my family, is what I am sending to my customers’ home. The company’s tag line is, ‘From a Mother’s kitchen to Yours’. It directly goes from my clean, sanitized kitchen to yours. So what I am feeding my family, is what I am giving you.
I have followed the recipes that my mother and grandmother have been using, so I am aware of the requirements of both— what a mother wants for their child in terms of health and what the child needs in terms of taste as well.
As everyone uses masala powders for adding flavour to their food, I chose this product. But food without thokku and pickle cannot appeal to your food palate, let alone a child’s; it was a must-have.
And then, we all want a little snack, so the appalams, sondiges and vadams have been included in the list. Children can eat these as a substitute for potato chips! That’s why I chose them.
Yes, of course! I knew that setting up my own business would be a tedious and elongated affair, but with the help of my family, I managed to do so. I had some idea about what I had to do, but it was challenging nonetheless.
In the beginning, I didn’t have the faintest idea as to how to go about many things. It was difficult for me to find a shipping company that would deliver the food safely within a week. I was hunting for a good accountant who will guide me with regard to GST and related information. And there was marketing and branding, Mrs. Chutney, it was such an exigent task.
I had no idea about all of this, but I began reading up all the necessary information and educating myself, with the aim to improve my business acumen. Plus, my husband and kids are of great help. I can proudly say that I am on the road to being a businesswoman.
I would like to conclude my saying that, though your products may appeal to a niche market, you have already found a unique selling prospect. Challenges are always meant to make you grow and mould yourself at any age.
I am still a full-time teacher, and I am running my own business, and it is hard to find the right balance or get rest. But, if you find the right support staff and team, (for me, luckily, it happens to be my family) any woman can succeed.
Don’t be disheartened if things don’t work out initially. In the long run, you will know that you have at least tried. Many women are too afraid to take the first big step. So was I. However, my motivation was so strong that I finally decided to take the big leap of faith and today, my business is slowly picking up.
If you want to order from Mrs. Chutney, please visit their official Instagram page and check out their menu!
Contact On WhatsApp: 9008314216 for more information
Image Source: by shylenderahoode via Getty Images and Canva Pro.
An aspiring woman who is much more than her body type, selfies, shoes, looks and intellect read more...
Women's Web is an open platform that publishes a diversity of views, individual posts do not necessarily represent the platform's views and opinions at all times.
Stay updated with our Weekly Newsletter or Daily Summary - or both!
People have relationships without marriages. People cheat. People break up all the time. Just because two people followed some rituals does not make them more adept at tolerating each other for life.
Why is that our society defines a woman’s success by her marital status? Is it an achievement to get married or remain married? Is it anybody’s business? Are people’s lives so hollow that they need someone’s broken marriage to feel good about themselves?
A couple of months ago, I came across an article titled, “Shweta Tiwari married for the third time.” When I read through it, the article went on to clarify that the picture making news was one her one of her shows, in which she is all set to marry her co-star. She is not getting married in real life.
Fair enough. But why did the publication use such a clickbait title that was so misleading? I guess the thought of a woman marrying thrice made an exciting news for them and their potential readers who might click through.
Did the creators of Masaba Masaba just wake up one morning, go to the sets and decide to create something absolutely random without putting any thought into it?
Anyone who knows about Neena Gupta’s backstory would say that she is a boss lady, a badass woman, and the very definition of a feminist. I would agree with them all.
However, after all these decades of her working in the Indian film industry, is her boldness and bravery the only things worth appreciating?
The second season of Masaba Masaba (2020-2022) made me feel as if both Neena Gupta and her daughter Masaba have gotten typecast when it comes to the roles they play on screen. What’s more is that the directors who cast them have stopped putting in any effort to challenge the actors, or to make them deliver their dialogues differently.