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As an MBA pupil at Harvard Enterprise Faculty, Ahana Gautam’s mornings began with two cups of espresso and two croissants. She anxious about why she wasn’t shedding weight regardless of figuring out on the health club when a buddy identified that she was having bread and butter for breakfast every day. This opened her eyes to the significance of a superb weight loss program and the necessity to have wholesome meals, particularly snacks.
Ahana, raised by a single mom in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, typically loved ghevar (a Rajasthani disc-shaped candy constructed from ghee, flour, and sugar syrup) and bhujia (deep-fried besan sticks) as her routine night snacks after faculty. As she began studying concerning the significance of a nutritious diet, she grew to become conscious of the unhealthy meals she had been consuming since childhood.
In the meantime, Ahana’s niece in India was recognized 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 model referred to as ‘Open Secret’ to supply more healthy options. The model affords over 30 snack varieties constructed from components like dry fruits and millet. She asserts that their merchandise comprise no refined flour, trans fat, palm oil, or synthetic preservatives.
The model is on observe to attain a gross income of Rs 100 crore this 12 months.
How a mom’s unwavering assist sowed the seed of entrepreneurship
Ahana’s first aim when she was in class was to get into IIT Bombay, following within the footsteps of her brother. Her mom was a professor at a school and at all times instructed Ahana and her brother that training ranges the enjoying subject. This was etched in younger Ahana’s thoughts as she labored onerous to get into the distinguished establishment — in a state with one of many lowest feminine literacy charges.
“I may see clearly how alternatives weren’t the identical for each genders. My feminine classmates weren’t given the identical training as their brothers. In truth, many households had been okay with a mediocre training for his or her daughters. However my mother didn’t pay heed to what everybody mentioned. She spent all her time working, as a single father or mother, to offer each of us with a superb training,” Ahana tells The Higher India.
When she gained admission to IIT-Bombay, some “well-wishers” questioned her mom about why she was sending her daughter to Mumbai, contemplating her dream (of getting a baby learning at IIT) was already achieved. In response, her mom merely mentioned, “Let her do no matter she needs. Each my kids are equal.”
It was at IIT that the entrepreneurial bug took beginning contained in the chemical engineer. Moreover, being a part of the entrepreneurship cell and the theatre group in school modified her outlook in direction of life. “I knew in the future I needed to create a model from scratch. Storytelling, to me, is highly effective, and I needed to share my story via a model. I made a decision it ought to be within the client items business, regardless that I hadn’t found out the specifics,” she provides.
Even whereas learning at IIT, Ahana’s consuming habits remained poor as she resorted to junk. She would fall sick typically, be it in school or school, with out realising that one of many causes was the meals she consumed. It will 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 Enterprise Faculty. Ahana labored within the product provide division at Procter & Gamble (P&G) for 4 years. She went to Complete Meals Market to buy wholesome snacks. This American grocery store chain, as per its web site, gives meals with out hydrogenated fat and synthetic colors, flavours, and preservatives. She considers her first go to to the grocery store as her ‘Aha’ second.
“I used to be blown away by the choices in entrance of me. I puzzled why we didn’t have entry to such wholesome choices in India,” she shares.
As Ahana started working and choosing more healthy meals, she seen an enchancment in her well being. Reflecting on her childhood sicknesses and weight points, she realised that if such merchandise had been accessible in India, it might have been less complicated for moms like hers to offer more healthy snacks to their kids.
On the identical time, her sister-in-law in India was going through the identical conundrum as her mom as soon as did — easy methods to pack nutritious meals for her daughter (who has Sort 1 diabetes) going to high school. Two generations of moms had been going through the identical downside, and now Ahana knew what her enterprise could be.
“India is an innovation hub, and but, there was nobody fixing the issue of creating more healthy biscuits, cookies and chips. Mothers nonetheless needed to give their kids maida biscuits and deep-fried snacks. My sister-in-law had the identical choices from the identical manufacturers as my mom did, virtually 30 years in the past!” she provides.
To supply improved merchandise to households and dealing professionals, she got here again to Mumbai in 2018. She started conducting surveys to know folks’s meals preferences and what elements would make them belief a brand new model.
“Everybody mentioned that they needed to eat wholesome, however nobody needed to compromise on style,” says the now Mumbai resident.
Having labored at Procter & Gamble (P&G) and Basic Mills, Ahana gained data throughout numerous features of the patron items business, spanning provide chain, finance, advertising, and manufacturing. In 2019, she left Basic Mills and based Open Secret.
Her mom, the second director, supplied 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 discovering an appropriate manufacturing facility. “I used to be positive I needed the shopfloor to be run by ladies. Once I checked out manufacturing items in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra, there was an enormous downside — there have been no bogs for ladies as there have been solely males in all these services,” she shares. After many visits, she determined to arrange her personal manufacturing unit in Bhandup, Mumbai, which might be operated by an all-women crew.
The following and largest problem was, cracking the proper recipe and establishing an meeting line for it.
To sort out the primary problem, Ahana revisited her previous experiences at different corporations. Throughout her time launching new merchandise for a earlier model, she extensively visited prospects in metro cities, gaining invaluable insights into their snacking preferences. Drawing on this data, she performed focus teams to determine buyer favourites in snacks, cookies, biscuits, and extra.
“Within the focus teams, we requested folks what they appreciated and disliked within the snacks they had been consuming. The uniform response from everybody — be it working professionals, college students or mothers — was the maida. I then requested them what they discovered wholesome, to which most mentioned dry fruits,” she provides.
Based mostly on this suggestions and with the assistance of an in-house R&D crew, Ahana labored on formulating the proper ‘unjunked’ cookie. “We unjunked the everyday cookie by changing maida with 40 to 50 % dry fruits and millet utilizing much less sugar. Most of our merchandise have simply 1 to 2 grams of sugar,” she says.
She additional concerned a gaggle of 100 moms, dubbed by Ahana as the corporate’s ‘Chief Innovation Officers’. Ahana despatched them numerous flavours and samples, utilizing their suggestions to enhance the merchandise. “They helped us crack the correct product,” says Ahana.
She asserts that they’ve taken measures to ensure the snacks stay delectable even after substituting sure components with their nutritious counterparts. This ensures that prospects not solely benefit from the style but additionally reap well being advantages from their consumption. Therefore, 9 months and 1,000 cookies later, Ahana was prepared with the primary product — the nutty cookie, which up to now is their bestseller.
The following problem was studying easy methods to manufacture the product. “It’s a one-of-a-kind product with no benchmark. I had to make use of my engineering abilities to arrange the correct meeting line. We additionally needed to work on extending the shelf life 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 lastly launched ‘Open Secret’ in January 2020 via on-line and offline channels.
So, how does a brand new model attract prospects and persuade them to buy? Ahana utilized her MBA data, utilising the idea of purchaser advertising to advertise Open Secret. She and her crew visited shops, offering free samples of their merchandise. In line with the CEO, everybody who tried the product ended up making a purchase order.
“We made Open Secret seen on the level of buy in supermarkets and shops. We did many free trials of the product, as as soon as they fight, they may purchase. We additionally incentivised prospects utilizing reductions,” says Ahana.
She mentions that in addition they employed blind tasting to evaluate their merchandise with customers. In line with Ahana, their Distinctive Promoting Proposition (USP) lies in the truth that their product replicates the style of junk meals, fulfilling folks’s cravings healthily.
As they slowly began constructing their presence, they confronted their first roadblock two months later as COVID-19 hit India. Not one to bow down throughout a disaster, Ahana labored on changing it into a possibility. They targeted on on-line channels and had been in a position to function in the course of the lockdown as they fell underneath the important classes listing.
“We hustled via COVID-19. As soon as, the cooling refrigeration system on the manufacturing unit stopped working in the course of 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 averted a serious disaster,” laughs Ahana.
To make themselves seen 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 bought over 10 lakh cookies. Since then, there was no trying again. Open Secret sells over 30 merchandise, together with cookies, biscuits, chips, dry fruits, snacks, sweets, brownies, cereals and extra.
They’re current throughout on-line channels together with Amazon, Flipkart, their very own web site, and fast commerce chains like Zepto, Blinkit, Huge Basket and extra. Additionally they promote via supermarkets offline. By their platform, in addition they companion with and promote merchandise from over 100 wholesome manufacturers.
Ahana states that they may obtain product sales of Rs 100 crore this 12 months and needs to grow to be a Rs 10,000 crore firm within the coming years.
‘An ode to my mom’
Open Secret’s USP, apart from its snacks, is its ladies, says Ahana.
Their factories are run by 200 ladies and over 50 % of its workers are ladies. Why? Ahana believes that ladies leaders like her, who’re privileged, should present alternatives to ladies. In any case, it was on account of her mom’s perception that this lady from Bharatpur went to IIT, and Harvard, and launched her personal model.
“Folks nonetheless deal with a single girl with numerous judgement. Once I returned to India, everybody assumed that it was both due to visa points or marriage. Why can’t a single girl observe her passions? Why is getting married the one strategy to quiet down?” asks Ahana.
She provides that crucial factor for ladies is to have a superb training and be financially impartial. “You’ll be unstoppable,” she says, including, “I used to be fortunate as a result of my mom gave me that chance, however not everybody will get it. Girls leaders have the duty to offer jobs to different ladies. Let’s create an equal world for younger ladies.”
Open Secret, in actual fact, is Ahana’s love letter to her single mom, who confirmed her daughter that nothing is unattainable. “It’s an ‘open secret’ that we’re who we’re due to our moms,” says the proud daughter dedicating her model to all moms.
Whereas Ahana’s mom noticed her daughter open her wings and fly, she handed away in the course of the second wave of COVID-19 in 2021. Ahana needed to make a tricky selection the following day as she had an investor assembly to attend.
“I may both pause and grieve, or pitch to the investor for our Collection A spherical, and I selected the latter, as I needed to construct this model and preserve my mom’s legacy alive.”
Edited by Pranita Bhat
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