From Laddu to Legacy: How Usha Shrotiya’s kitchen innovation sparked a startup
From Laddu to Legacy: How Usha Shrotiya’s kitchen innovation sparked a startup
When Yash Parashar landed in Australia after a long flight, a notification from his mother, Usha Shrotiya, brought tears to his eyes. The notification contained a photo of dry fruit bars she had meticulously crafted, inspired by Yash’s playful remark that he couldn’t take her traditional laddoos to work due to their fragility.
“I would rely on cereal bars for my hunger pangs. Mummy would insist that I carry laddoos to work instead of these bars. It was not possible as it is inconvenient to carry the fragile sweets in bags,” Yash recalls. Usha, undeterred by initial doubts and numerous failures, took on the challenge to transform her laddoos into durable bars. “We were not confident that she would be able to make bars out of it. My wife and I would jokingly throw those bars at each other to check its stiffness. Instead of taking it personally, she remained passionate and took it as a challenge. I was impressed to see her dedication,” Yash adds.
Usha’s hard work paid off after 80 attempts, leading her to establish ‘Mama Nourish,’ a startup dedicated to modernizing traditional recipes. The venture marked a significant milestone for
Usha, who at 62, began pursuing a dream she had long deferred.
Turning delayed dreams into a timeless legacy
Born in a small village in Uttar Pradesh, Usha had aspired to become a policewoman, but societal and familial pressures led her to abandon her dreams. “After my marriage, I was expected to meet all household needs and look after my husband and children. Often, I would come up with business ideas but never received any support from my in-laws,” she recounts.
Mama Nourish was inspired in 2021 when Usha visited her son and daughter-in-law in Mumbai, bringing gond ke laddoo to share. Faced with her daughter’s gestational diabetes, Usha innovated by using dates instead of jaggery or sugar, creating a healthier version of the laddoo that everyone loved.
The success of this new recipe sparked the idea to create a product that could preserve traditional flavors while being convenient for modern lifestyles. Usha and her family realized that traditional recipes could easily be lost in today’s fast-paced world and decided to find a solution.
Dream for a healthy lifestyle turned into a business
In early 2024, Mama Nourish was launched, offering a range of laddu bars made with ingredients like millets, fenugreek, dry fruits, ginger, and Kamarkas seeds. The startup’s first corporate order came from Netflix, and it quickly expanded its client base to include major companies such as Google, Meta (Facebook), IKEA, and Axis Bank.
Chief Operating Officer Kunal Goel noted, “We wanted to reach out to working professionals, who often rely on office pantries or vending machines for snacks. This led us to install our vending machines at airports in Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi, and Ahmedabad.”
The startup has sold over one lakh units through these channels and has received inquiries from international markets like Australia, California, and Germany. “Within a few months of launching, we’ve seen a tenfold growth. The response has been overwhelmingly positive,” Yash reports.
Chasing Dreams sans age limits
For Yash, leaving his job at TATA Motors to focus on Mama Nourish was a significant decision. “While Kunal was working with robots and I was making cars, we found our true calling at my home in my mother. We call her an enterprising mother. I remember, she always encouraged me to participate in any competition or projects. She never dissuaded me from following my dreams – something she lacked as an ambitious child,” Yash reflects.
For Usha, starting Mama Nourish has been deeply fulfilling. “Now that my children are settled, I have all the time to myself. I wanted to establish an identity for myself, and now I have the opportunity to fulfill my dreams. It is so satisfying to get compliments from my relatives and friends. There is no age limit to achieving your dreams. I feel so confident now,” she concludes.
