As an MBA scholar at Harvard Industry Faculty, Ahana Gautam’s mornings began with two cups of espresso and two croissants. She fearful about why she wasn’t shedding pounds in spite of figuring out on the fitness center when a pal identified that she was once having bread and butter for breakfast day by day. This opened her eyes to the significance of a excellent nutrition and the want to have wholesome meals, particularly snacks.
Ahana, raised by way of a unmarried mom in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, steadily loved ghevar (a Rajasthani disc-shaped candy produced from ghee, flour, and sugar syrup) and bhujia (deep-fried besan sticks) as her regimen night time snacks after college. As she began studying concerning the significance of a nutritious diet, she turned into conscious about the bad meals she have been eating since youth.
In the meantime, Ahana’s niece in India was once identified with Sort 1 diabetes at 15 months, and Ahana’s sister-in-law struggled to search out nutritious snacks for the kid as she started attending playschool.
In March 2019, Ahana began her personal snacks emblem known as ‘Open Secret’ to supply more fit choices. The logo gives over 30 snack types produced from elements like dry end result and millet. She asserts that their merchandise include no delicate flour, trans fat, palm oil, or synthetic preservatives.
The logo is on target to reach a gross income of Rs 100 crore this 12 months.
How a mom’s unwavering improve sowed the seed of entrepreneurship
Ahana’s first function when she was once in class was once to get into IIT Bombay, following within the footsteps of her brother. Her mom was once a professor at a school and all the time instructed Ahana and her brother that schooling ranges the taking part in box. This was once etched in younger Ahana’s thoughts as she labored laborious to get into the celebrated establishment — in a state with one of the vital lowest feminine literacy charges.
“I may see obviously how alternatives weren’t the similar for each genders. My feminine classmates weren’t given the similar schooling as their brothers. In truth, many households have been ok with a mediocre schooling for his or her daughters. However my mother didn’t pay heed to what everybody mentioned. She spent all her time running, as a unmarried mother or father, to offer either one of us with a excellent schooling,” Ahana tells The Higher India.
When she won admission to IIT-Bombay, some “well-wishers” wondered her mom about why she was once sending her daughter to Mumbai, taking into consideration her dream (of getting a kid finding out at IIT) was once already completed. In reaction, her mom merely mentioned, “Let her do no matter she needs. Each my youngsters are equivalent.”
It was once at IIT that the entrepreneurial worm took beginning within the chemical engineer. Moreover, being a part of the entrepreneurship mobile and the theatre crew in school modified her outlook in opposition to existence. “I knew sooner or later I sought after to create a emblem from scratch. Storytelling, to me, is strong, and I sought after to percentage my tale via a emblem. I determined it must be within the shopper items business, even supposing I hadn’t discovered the specifics,” she provides.
Even whilst finding out at IIT, Ahana’s consuming behavior remained deficient as she resorted to junk. She would fall ill steadily, be it in school or school, with out realising that one of the vital causes was once the meals she ate up. It might be 4 years later at Harvard when she would come to the realisation.
‘Why does India lack wholesome packaged meals?’
Earlier than heading to Harvard Industry Faculty. Ahana labored within the product provide department at Procter & Gamble (P&G) for 4 years. She went to Complete Meals Marketplace to buy wholesome snacks. This American grocery store chain, as in step with its website online, supplies meals with out hydrogenated fat and synthetic colors, flavours, and preservatives. She considers her first talk over with to the grocery store as her ‘Aha’ second.
“I used to be blown away by way of the choices in entrance of me. I questioned why we didn’t have get admission to to such wholesome choices in India,” she stocks.
As Ahana started working and choosing more fit meals, she spotted an development in her well being. Reflecting on her youth sicknesses and weight problems, she realised that if such merchandise have been out there in India, it could had been more practical for moms like hers to offer more fit snacks to their youngsters.
On the identical time, her sister-in-law in India was once going through the similar conundrum as her mom as soon as did — the way to pack nutritious meals for her daughter (who has Sort 1 diabetes) going to university. Two generations of moms have been going through the similar drawback, and now Ahana knew what her industry can be.
“India is an innovation hub, and but, there was once no person fixing the issue of constructing more fit biscuits, cookies and chips. Mothers nonetheless needed to give their youngsters maida biscuits and deep-fried snacks. My sister-in-law had the similar choices from the similar manufacturers as my mom did, nearly 30 years in the past!” she provides.
To supply stepped forward merchandise to households and dealing execs, she got here again to Mumbai in 2018. She started engaging in surveys to grasp other people’s meals personal tastes and what elements would cause them to agree with a brand new emblem.
“Everybody mentioned that they sought after to devour wholesome, however no person sought after to compromise on style,” says the now Mumbai resident.
Having labored at Procter & Gamble (P&G) and Common Generators, Ahana won wisdom throughout more than a few facets of the patron items business, spanning provide chain, finance, advertising and marketing, and production. In 2019, she left Common Generators and based Open Secret.
Her mom, the second one director, equipped the corporate with a paid-up capital of Rs 2 lakh. Following the corporate registration, Ahana devoted the following 9 months to crafting the best ‘unjunked’ snack.
Upon securing funding, her preliminary precedence was once discovering an acceptable production facility. “I used to be certain I sought after the shopfloor to be run by way of females. After I checked out production gadgets in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra, there was once a large drawback — there have been no bogs for ladies as there have been best males in a lot of these amenities,” she stocks. After many visits, she determined to arrange her personal manufacturing unit in Bhandup, Mumbai, which might be operated by way of an all-women group.
The following and largest problem was once, cracking the very best recipe and putting in place an meeting line for it.
To take on the primary problem, Ahana revisited her previous stories at different corporations. Right through her time launching new merchandise for a prior emblem, she widely visited shoppers in metro towns, gaining precious insights into their snacking personal tastes. Drawing in this wisdom, she performed center of attention teams to spot buyer favourites in snacks, cookies, biscuits, and extra.
“In the focal point teams, we requested other people what they favored and disliked within the snacks they have been consuming. The uniform reaction from everybody — be it running execs, scholars or mothers — was once the maida. I then requested them what they discovered wholesome, to which maximum mentioned dry end result,” she provides.
In keeping with this comments and with the assistance of an in-house R&D group, Ahana labored on formulating the very best ‘unjunked’ cookie. “We unjunked the everyday cookie by way of changing maida with 40 to 50 % dry end result and millet the usage of much less sugar. Maximum of our merchandise have simply 1 to two grams of sugar,” she says.
She additional concerned a bunch of 100 moms, dubbed by way of Ahana as the corporate’s ‘Leader Innovation Officials’. Ahana despatched them more than a few flavours and samples, the usage of their comments to strengthen the goods. “They helped us crack the precise product,” says Ahana.
She asserts that they’ve taken measures to ensure the snacks stay delectable even after substituting sure elements with their nutritious opposite numbers. This guarantees that buyers now not best benefit from the style but additionally reap well being advantages from their intake. Therefore, 9 months and 1,000 cookies later, Ahana was once in a position with the primary product — the nutty cookie, which to this point is their bestseller.
The following problem was once studying the way to manufacture the product. “It’s a one-of-a-kind product and not using a benchmark. I had to make use of my engineering talents to arrange the precise meeting line. We additionally needed to paintings on extending the shelf existence with out including preservatives,” she says, including that she makes use of aluminium within the packaging to increase the shelf lifetime of her merchandise.
Ahana after all introduced ‘Open Secret’ in January 2020 via on-line and offline channels.
So, how does a brand new emblem attract shoppers and convince them to buy? Ahana carried out her MBA wisdom, utilising the idea that of purchaser advertising and marketing to advertise Open Secret. She and her group visited retail outlets, offering loose samples in their merchandise. In step with the CEO, everybody who attempted the product ended up making a purchase order.
“We made Open Secret visual on the level of acquire in supermarkets and retail outlets. We did many loose trials of the product, as as soon as they are attempting, they are going to purchase. We additionally incentivised shoppers the usage of reductions,” says Ahana.
She mentions that additionally they hired blind tasting to evaluate their merchandise with shoppers. In step with Ahana, their Distinctive Promoting Proposition (USP) lies in the truth that their product replicates the style of junk meals, satisfying other people’s cravings healthily.
As they slowly began construction their presence, they confronted their first roadblock two months later as COVID-19 hit India. Now not one to bow down right through a disaster, Ahana labored on changing it into a possibility. They interested by on-line channels and have been ready to function right through the lockdown as they fell beneath the crucial classes listing.
“We hustled via COVID-19. As soon as, the cooling refrigeration gadget on the manufacturing unit stopped running right through the lockdown. We couldn’t get any technician however wanted a fridge to retailer our sweets and merchandise. I introduced my fridge from house and that’s how we avoided a big disaster,” laughs Ahana.
To make themselves visual on-line, they used banners and reductions, and positioned their merchandise throughout on-line channels.
The founder states that they grew multi-fold amid the pandemic and offered over 10 lakh cookies. Since then, there was no having a look again. Open Secret sells over 30 merchandise, together with cookies, biscuits, chips, dry end result, snacks, sweets, brownies, cereals and extra.
They’re provide throughout on-line channels together with Amazon, Flipkart, their very own website online, and fast trade chains like Zepto, Blinkit, Large Basket and extra. In addition they promote via supermarkets offline. Via their platform, additionally they spouse with and promote merchandise from over 100 wholesome manufacturers.
Ahana states that they’re going to succeed in product sales of Rs 100 crore this 12 months and needs to transform a Rs 10,000 crore corporate within the coming years.
‘An ode to my mom’
Open Secret’s USP, but even so its snacks, is its females, says Ahana.
Their factories are run by way of 200 females and over 50 % of its workers are females. Why? Ahana believes that girls leaders like her, who’re privileged, will have to supply alternatives to girls. In any case, it was once because of her mom’s trust that this lady from Bharatpur went to IIT, and Harvard, and introduced her personal emblem.
“Other folks nonetheless deal with a unmarried lady with a large number of judgement. After I returned to India, everybody assumed that it was once both as a result of visa problems or marriage. Why can’t a unmarried lady practice her passions? Why is getting married the one solution to calm down?” asks Ahana.
She provides that a very powerful factor for ladies is to have a excellent schooling and be financially unbiased. “You’ll be unstoppable,” she says, including, “I used to be fortunate as a result of my mom gave me that chance, however now not everybody will get it. Ladies leaders have the accountability to offer jobs to different females. Let’s create an equivalent international for younger women.”
Open Secret, in truth, is Ahana’s love letter to her unmarried mom, who confirmed her daughter that not anything is unattainable. “It’s an ‘open secret’ that we’re who we’re as a result of our moms,” says the proud daughter dedicating her emblem to all moms.
Whilst Ahana’s mom noticed her daughter open her wings and fly, she gave up the ghost right through the second one wave of COVID-19 in 2021. Ahana needed to make a difficult selection day after today as she had an investor assembly to wait.
“I may both pause and grieve, or pitch to the investor for our Sequence A spherical, and I selected the latter, as I needed to construct this emblem and stay my mom’s legacy alive.”
Edited by way of Pranita Bhat