22-04-2025
What a home cook-turned-food entrepreneur can teach business hopefuls
Seema Pawar's cooking gene came from her mother, who was, in Seema's words, a wizard in a range of delights. Pawar, too, is a natural at making various kinds of dishes; it is her idea of fulfillment and fun. So, when she quit her job after the COVID lockdown to care for her family, it was only a matter of time before Pawar craved to turn fulfillment into a profitable business. Owning a business is a dream that many home cooks hold– but Pawar was determined to see it through.
Today, her nascent business, Vihan Foods, not only has a loyal customer base, including wholesale shops and pharmacies, but also earns her a neat profit of a few thousand rupees every month. The first stumbling block for a home entrepreneur is, usually, funding. Pawar got hers from her husband.
'In most cases, Rs 10,000-Rs 15,000 are enough to get started,' she says. Documentation and licensing – a common bugbear for people without a business background — was a smooth process. 'While I was working, I had undertaken short-term courses and became an Agmark-approved chemist to make spices,' she says.
Pawar was clear that her business's USP would be 'no maida and no preservatives'. She identified vendors for raw materials and packaging. Her products, 14 types of ready-to-cook curries, such as Paneer Butter Masala, Paneer Tikka Masala, Chicken Gravy Mix and Fish Curry Mix, and 10 types of cookies, from millet cookies and multi-grain cookies to dry fruit cookies, gulkand cookies and sugar-free cookies, have adhered to her original philosophy. 'A lot of people will agree that making the food is the easy part. Selling it and developing the market is the real challenge,' says Pawar.
In the infancy of her venture, she had wondered if she was cut out for the business. Once trials were over and neighbours and family had given feedback that perfected her offerings, Pawar had gone online to spread information about her ware. Facebook got her the first customers. For two years, she also dedicated herself to selling through exhibitions.
'Last year, I decided that the time had come to sell to shops. I started with the shops in Kothrud, where I live. I would visit 10-15 shops every day and, when shop owners did not take orders, I started to feel doubt creeping in. The next day, however, I stepped out again to find buyers,' she said unflinchingly. With demand for her products now on the rise, Pawar has employed six women who she calls to help out when she gets orders in large quantities. She works out of her home but, in a few months, she will move into a bigger space. 'I am glad I did not let nervousness slow me down when it was tough to market my products,' she says.
