Inspiring Indian Women Foodpreneurs Redefining Our Culinary Experience

By: WE Staff

The Indian food industry is a highly competitive one, with a myriad number of successful Foodpreneurs plying their trades ranging from street food stalls to cafes and mid-sized restaurants to cosy fine-dining ones. Food Entrepreneurs in India are lining up in the markets and streets with their innovative and quirky ideas. Since time immemorial, women have been known for being excellent homemakers and cooks. It is a result of millions of years of biological evolution which has given women a natural advantage over men in certain tasks and vice-versa. In recent times women entrepreneurs have stepped up to the plate and established a significant foothold in the Food & Beverage industry. This article is an attempt to celebrate and raise a toast for some famous female Foodpreneurs hailing from India.

Rashmi Daga – Founder of Online venture FreshMenu

An IIM Graduate, Rashmi Daga had immersed herself in several industries like IT, Medical, Jewellery before finally venturing into the online food delivery segment, when she founded Freshmenu back in 2014. FreshMenu is a unique online food delivery service that fulfilled Rashmi Daga's vision of offering freshly prepared home-styled food to working people too tired to cook their own food after a hard day of work. Originally based out of Bengaluru, FreshMenu now has a PAN India presence with branches located in Mumbai and NCR region as well. At present Freshmenu serves over 30,000 customers in a single day. FreshMenu's focus primarily lies on the concept of delivering fresh food across a variety of cuisines ranging from Continental, Asian, Lebanese, Mediterranean, Italian and of course homemade Indian food as well.

Shweta Ravi – Director of Multi-Cuisine Restaurant Nandhana Group

Born in a family of entrepreneurs, Shweta Ravi after completing her Masters in Finance from Warwick University and training at various hotels joined her family-run Andhra restaurant Nandhana Palace in Bangalore which was started by her father. With her innovative ideas and a strong code of conduct, Shweta was able to take her family-run business to the next level. Known for serving good food in the city of Bangalore, Nandhana Palace specializes in introducing Andhra cuisine to the people of Bangalore.  Having a total of 13 branches spread across the city, they make more than 1000 meals every day.

Jyoti Ganapathi – Owner of Dosa Inc

Since her teenage years, Jyothi Ganapathi had dreamt of being part of the restaurant industry and starting her brand name.  Her love for South Indian cuisine inspired her to open Dosa Inc. It is one of the rare food brands in Delhi that exclusively serves traditional South Indian meals at pocket-friendly prices. Dosa Inc is mostly famous for its Dosas, and it is one of the fastest-growing food truck brands in India.

Pooja Dhingra - Founder & Pastry Chef at Le15 Petisserie

With memories of making Brownies at her Aunt's place at the age of 6, Pooja Dhingra realized her life's true calling at a very young age. After having graduated from one of the most prestigious baking schools, Le Cordon Bleu in Paris she started her venture Le15 Petisserie to fulfill her lifelong dream of baking. Initially starting out with an initial family funding 10 years ago, Le15 Petisserie is now Mumbai's most popular place to visit if one wishes to satisfy his/her sweet tooth.

Rupali Bhatnagar – General Manager of Sula Vineyard & Master Winemaker

Rupali Bhatnagar had a very humble beginning at the start of her entrepreneurial journey. She joined Sula – India's most popular wine brand as a lab technician back in 2006. A microbiology graduate she became a winemaker at a time when women were not known in the industry. Fast forward 15 years Rupali Bhatnagar is one of the most famous female Foodpreneurs and prominent winemakers in India. She created the famous Shiraz Sparkling wine and also heads the operations of Sula Vineyards as General Manager.

Women Foodpreneurs have lately taken their culinary skills outside their homes with their creative ideas, entrepreneurial and culinary skills to dominate the Indian food industry. From the above mentioned examples it becomes evident that a host of young women Foodpreneurs have totally redefined our culinary experience by carving out a space for themselves in the restaurant industry inspiring thousand others in the process.