She is a professional interior designer, holds a Bachelor in Foreign Trade degree, and is an Environmentalist. But it was her role as Mother to her 6-year-old son that made her an Entrepreneur. She turned her learnings from her own mom into a venture that would offer the best homemade healthy products especially for kids. And she rightly called it, The Mumma Secret.
Shrijika Parikh Agrawal, Founder, The Mumma Secret shares, “The vision of The Mumma Secret products is to give real food to kids which is purely homemade and fresh, free from sugar, chemicals, and artificial preservatives. The inspiration for me is my Mom, the brand is dedicated to her and her recipes, that’s why the name – The Mumma Secret, which now I wish to share with all. I remember how my mom would treat me to her homemade murabbas and Chyawanprash in my childhood. I loved them because of the taste – now I realise that they were full of health too. When I became a mom, like every mother, I too wanted to give the best to my baby. I scoured the market endlessly for the right products but all I could find were glossily packaged food items with artificial content like sugar, chemicals, added colours and preservatives. Even the so-called baby food was no exception. That was when I decided to prepare these myself and from there The Mumma Secret started taking shape.”
Business begins at Home
Shrijika began with making jams and ketchups at home with 100% natural ingredients and in a completely natural traditional way. She started selling it to friends and through word of mouth, she started getting more orders, and this encouraged her to keep creating things one after the another and kickstarted a whole healthy lifestyle program.
The Mumma Secret product basket has more than 30 homemade delicacies which include variety of Jams, Ketchup, Spices, Pickles, Healthy Flours, Immune Boosters and Chyawanprash made with 51 ingredients. One of the most popular product categories, Shrijika says, is butter in which she offers Peanut Butter, Almond Butter and Choco Hazelnut Butter – natural, healthy and perfect for the fitness conscious. Another popular range is spice range that has Chai spice, garam masala and jeeravan. Other than these the brand also offers Granola that is made with all-natural Nuts and Amaranth. There are also 3 health flours: Sattu, Sattu Maavu (Health mix) for kids and Organic Sprouted Ragi flour which has 3 times more calcium than milk.
All the The Mumma Secret products have been certified by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the ingredients procured are 100% natural and only from certified sources. She says, “All the raw material used for making The Mumma Secret products are sourced locally, either direct from the farmers or from certified organic vendors. Once the raw material is received, they are checked and sorted. We don’t compromise on quality, so any bad stuff is immediately discarded, even though it incurs a loss.”
Health is the ONLY wealth
Commenting on the organic food market in India, Shrijika opines that the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us to value food in the right way. “In the past 5 years, the awareness of organic food has increased. People now know how bad the fertilisers, pest and preservatives are for us. Covid-19 has definitely made everyone think of self sustainability and made sure health is the Only wealth.”
The Mumma Secret is a direct consumer brand from home to home. The products are available on The Mumma Secret Social Media handle – Instagram and Facebook: https://www.instagram.com/themummasecret/& https://www.facebook.com/themummasecret/
The company has not stared exporting the products but very soon The Mumma Secret products will be available in USA & Australia. Shrijika informs, “We wish to make our products easily available pan India, though we are soon launching our E-com website, www.themummasecret.com. We shall be foraying into the international market as well. We will be adding to our healthy food range, both for kids and adults.”
And what advice will she give aspiring women entrepreneurs? “No one can stop you to do anything if you Believe!! So just BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. A mom can do anything. So just recognise your capabilities and dare to take tiny steps to fulfill your dreams,” Shrijika says emphatically.
