Hydearabad: Aditi always harboured entrepreneurial dreams, but wasn’t sure of her line of business. “The desire to venture out on my own had its initiation quite early,” says Aditi. Passionate about food, her eureka moment came while browsing at the supermarket and discovering that her favourite sauces were full of preservatives and priced high. That’s how her idea for Posh Nosh was born – a range of gourmet sauces, and a healthy, vegetarian option for what was available in stores.
Hailing from the illustrious Mammen family whose ventures include MRF Tyres and Funskool, Aditi studied HR at the University of Birmingham and returned to be a part of the family business. Grand daughter of Padmashri KM Mammen Mappillai, going entrepreneurial was in her blood. “My role models lived with me. I lost my father at five and I was astounded that he built Funskool in a short span. Today, the brand has a national presence and is doing extremely well.
I grew up listening to my grandfather say ‘MRF is a company of ordinary people accomplishing extraordinary things’. I knew that I wanted to prove myself, but wasn’t sure of my core focus.” Back from the UK, she worked in Funskool’s marketing division for over two years. This is where she learnt how to streamline distribution, sales and realised that her true passion was food.
She launched Posh Nosh, a line of gourmet sauces that are different from standard offerings by other companies. “I focused on getting the product right and when it came to distribution I went crazy,” she says. “It’s when reality hit me. A lot of background work went into the supply chain of our products. My husband, Chirag Gupta, helped me get started and my brother and mother also pitched in to support me.”
Her venture is a few months old and is widely distributed through retail stores which she visits regularly. When customers pick up her products, “I literally ambush them, to know their preferences and give them a fantastic product,” she says. The present line of offerings include roasted garlic cloves in oil, chocolate fudge sauce, sticky caramel sauce and creamy mayo spread with a sweet chilli flavour. Aditi is working on the R&D to increase her product range and expand distribution. “My dream is to have a national presence,” says the spunky young businesswoman who says that her biggest challenge is being taken seriously as most people think she is straight out of college.
