It was my desires that started the journey which I am going today.
During my college years, I had a strong desire to work for myself. As a result, I tried variety of methods to make money. I tried to sell raincoats online by sharing them on WhatsApp and Facebook. However, it was a failure. I tried to figure out digital marketing for a couple of projects, but I wasn't an expert, so it didn't work out. Then I began selling used mobile phones, which went well at first, but I was later defrauded by a person and lost over 50,000 rupees. I tried to work on many other things in order to overcome this crisis, as I had to repay the money I lent for that business.
In my hometown, I began selling tea snacks to bakeries. I made them in my home kitchen with my mother's help, and delivered them in my scooter. At the same time, I used to get orders from my families and close friends, because I shared the business on my social media profiles. I started getting orders from places far from Kerala and overseas. I discovered that people who live in remote areas have a stronger desire for traditional snacks. However, getting the product to distant locations without it spoiling was impossible.
This problem prompted me to conduct research into possible solutions. One of my WhatsApp friends suggested to contact ICAR-CIFT, Cochin, and I went there to learn about the technological options for overcoming this situation. After months of trials and experiments, we were able to launch our first product, Ready to Fry Kallumakkaya Nirachath, which is a popular tea-snack in the Malabar region. As a result, Foo Foods was born.
Foo Foods is now available in 150+ stores across Kerala, with the majority of sales coming from its e-commerce channels. In January 2021, Foo Foods began exporting its products to the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain. Foo plans to extend even more countries in the near future.
Foo Foods aims to bring traditional and ethnic snacks to urban people in a convenient and fresh manner. The main advantage of Foo Foods is that its products can be stored at room temperature for up to a year without being frozen or chilled. As a result, this provides a great deal of convenience in terms of transporting, storing, and consuming products regardless of location or season.
Foo Foods aims to serve 30,000 foodies by 2023, and by 2026, it expects to be a 100 crore value brand.
