Her story of developing Some More Food Products, a company started in 2013 to sell natural food, starts with a vacuum in the market. Having seen many of her friends and relatives readily feed their children supplements, M. Deepa says she found it difficult to believe that very few people were giving their toddlers nutritious organic supplements but preferring instant food instead. This is where the idea to develop ‘First Spoon’ began, she tells Sanjana Ganesh. Ms. Deepa was a participant at RISE summit conducted in Madurai recently.
Ms. Deepa says her journey into the world of business was completely her own. “I grew up in a cloistered environment in Tirupur. Then, women were rarely allowed to be ambitious,” she says. However, her passion to enter the world of business began when she was young.
“I studied nutrition and dietetics in undergraduation and hence know the basics of paediatrics. It was my dream from childhood to create something on my own. However, the idea was not well received by both my parents’ and my husband’s families initially,” she says.
In order to ensure that the business was her own from the start, Ms. Deepa began conducting tuition for schoolchildren in her neighbourhood. She went on to set up textile exhibitions and sold home decor. With a stable income, she was able to bootstrap and begin her own business. Marketing came to her effortlessly because she grew up around businessmen.
“I began selling organic sevai and noodles on Amazon.in. It gained wide popularity. After thinking of First Spoon brand and testing out the baby food product, I realised that there was some potential. I approached 40 paediatric hospitals and attempted to market the product to them. Now, all of them buy it,” she says.
She adds that she would like First Spoon to remain a cash-and-carry model as it would be profitable as a small-scale venture. She hopes to expand and reach other States and South-East Asia soon.
“I have a sizeable e-commerce base and am also looking for distributors in different districts. Our food is tasty and certified. I am confident of scaling up the business,” she says.
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