The new wave of ‘vocal for local’ proved to be a boost for Indian entrepreneurs. It has promoted local businesses during COVID-19 and given customers the ability and motivation to shop locally with ease. This rebranded version of ‘Made In India’ has our support, and every month, TC46 will spotlight small businesses and ventures you can champion and back easily through online and offline purchases.
Artists, entrepreneurs, visionaries and experts, Indian women are shattering glass ceilings and breaking out of boxes. Success, tied with skills and hard work, is what makes those featured in our list today an inspiration for many. And the journey, for these women of incredible talent, are stories that must be told.
This week, here are some brands we’re cheering on; check them out!
Maa Ke Haath Ki Mithai By Meethii Yaadein
Sangeeta Chadha began her journey of Meethii Yaadein at the age of 56. It was in April 2019 that she launched her brand. She studied at the Mother’s International School and was a Gold Medalist with History Honours. Blown by many lows of self-esteem, she rose to achieve more in life and started Meethii Yaadein. She loves to paint and is a self-taught artist. One can see the talent in the handwritten notes that she sends to clients with her goodies. She also tries to spend a considerable amount of time in meditation and for her, even cooking is done with chants so that healing energies flow.
The journey towards entrepreneurship started with the brewing thought that she wasn’t allowed to make her own financial decisions, a plight of many Indian women, along with a feeling of purposelessness in life. She questioned herself about what she has done and achieved. This was compounded by the fact that a lot of women in her society in Gurgaon were selling homemade things through skills they had either acquired or cultivated. And she thought of selling ginger lemonade, a drink that is loved by all of her family and friends. She mentioned this idea in passing to her daughter who pushed Sangeeta to take a step forward. She began brewing and selling lemonade without the packaging at first. The first batch was sold in the society complex in bottles she had at home, and she hadn’t even named her brand.
Today, the brand sells delicious and nutritious treats with less sugar, sugar alternatives (jaggery), and reduced ghee. She aims to stand for healthy food and believe her chants while cooking adds positive vibes too. From ginger lemonade sweetened with jaggery to badaam sharbat, besan barfi (her mom’s recipes), masala gur, panjiri, ground laddoos, and shardaii, Sangeeta was now making them all. She reflects back when winter was approaching and she was concerned about what she would sell besides her Summer sharbets. Her daughter got pregnant and asked Sangeeta to make protein bliss balls and granola bars since she wanted sweet treats but sugar-free options. The panjiri and ground laddoos are great for the modern lifestyle and retain the essence of their existence, which is to really add to strength. So these are roasted/cooked in ghee and have no grains and no sugar (but gur).
Good food has no age barriers. The brand has clients as young as 6-months old toddlers munching on bliss balls and having sips of jaggery ginger lemonade and the shardaii. The patrons also boast of fitness enthusiasts, pregnant and new moms, middle-aged women looking to amp up their nutrition, and folks who love traditional sweets.
The products are prepared fresh every day. Currently, she delivers in Delhi NCR but plans to expand pan India. The only thing holding her back is the pandemic and she is looking forward to reaching many more homes over time. The products are sold at an average price of Rs 500 and you can check them out on Instagram.
Curated Creative Crafts By The Hobbyt
Pragnya Prachure, an alternative and arts-based Therapist, is the founder of The Hobbyt. She has a strong passion for arts and crafts and all things DIY. With hobbies like crochet, pyrography and working with resin, she established her venture of customised crafts. These skills were initially used to make gifts for friends and family, but soon she began receiving customised orders that were keeping her pretty busy. Thus, The Hobbyt was born. As the name suggests it started off as a hobby, but soon her products took flight. They also have a quirkiness and wonder to them like Tolkien’s Hobbits.
The brand makes crochet toys, botanical jewellery using real flowers and leaves and pyrography boxes, amongst other things. They cater to a crowd that loves nature, enjoys imperfections, and also those looking for fun and unique gifts. Their crochet toys made for children seem to be rather popular with adults as well. Prices range from Rs 200 to Rs 2000 and can be ordered through their Facebook and Instagram pages.
Organic Groceries By Earthon
Sujata Gaonkar, a yoga teacher, naturopath and a self-confessed environmentalist, founded Earthon Products with a passion for helping small farmers and celebrating the wonderful local produce of our country. This rapidly growing organic grocery brand was founded in 2011 by Sujata along with Manoj Karthikeyan and Amit Gaonkar, with an idea to bring about a change in the perception about organic food and help small farmers get their fair prices. Welfare for small farmers and their families by making a suitable market place available for their amazing produce has been Earthon’s fundamental goal.
What started as a humble micro-enterprise with their homes as a base and family members as their crew, has now blossomed into a full-fledged professional team in Mumbai with major distributors in North and South India sectors. The operations have expanded to overseas markets such as Australia and the US too. Their major consumers are families with young children and everyone who is health and environment-conscious and is trying to bring about a healthy change in their life.
Earthon’s products include aromatic spices, cereals, pulses, flours, herbs, healthy seed mixes, sweeteners like multi-floral wild honey, mineral-rich jaggery, herbal and Ayurvedic tea blends. They also proudly boast of their in-house products like artisan spice blends and one of its kind brown semolina.
Their product price ranges from Rs 50 to Rs 650 and they are available in all major cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Ahmedabad through Bigbasket, Amazon, Spencers and on their own e-commerce site. They recently launched an app on android and iOS devices making the shopping experience much easier for the customers.
Want us to be VocalForLocal for your brand or know someone whose work you’d like to cheer on? Drop us an email to be featured on The Channel 46 at contact@anvilmedia.in.
