These Mom-Run Businesses In Mumbai Are Awesome And Show The Undaunted Mom spirit #GoMoms

Mom's can do EVERYTHING! That's a statement that absolutely cannot be refuted. The power of mom is super strong and mom's actually make the best entrepreneurs. Again, cannot be refuted. There are a zillion mom-run businesses and ventures that are not only inspiring but also reflective of their undaunting spirit. Age no bar, these mompreneurs are ruling the world! Take a look!

1. Sassy Art Corner

Priyanka Biyani, during lockdown, decided to come up with board games! That’s right, the Mumbai-based mother of one is an artist who hand paints and creates the cutest board games. Priyanka Biyani started the SassyArtCorner about a few months back as a way of dealing with the lockdown. She would take care of her baby during the day and would paint while the baby slept. Initially, Priyanka would paint on home decor items but after talking to a bunch of kids she decided that she wanted to make board games. Priyanka has created fun games like Harry Potter Ludo, Comic Con Ludo, Dino Jenga, and many more. Priyanka hand paints each game and uses non-toxic colours. Priyanka’s endeavour is to make the games fun, interactive, informative and of course, safe for kids. To learn more about her work and to place orders you can check out the SassyArtCorner here.

2. Swati Snacks

Started by Minakshi Jhaveri, a single mom with a talent for cooking the yummiest chaats, Swati Snacks was a humble eatery with four tables located in Tardeo, South Mumbai. The initial menu only contained items like sev puri, bhel puri, ragda pattice and pani puri. Minakshi was always known for her famous chaat in her family circles and decided to finally set up a business of her own to provide a legacy for her children. Soon, the hungry and always in a hurry working class citizens of Tardeo started frequenting Swati Snacks for their fill of something munchy. The eatery opened at the perfect ‘chai time’, 4 pm every day. Word of mouth spread, and Swati Snacks became a sensation. Minakshi passed away in 1979 and her daughter Asha took over the business and spearheaded it into a new era till the 2000s. She expanded the business timings to lunch and created a whole new clientele. Her brother Anand and nephews Shaan and Karan now are a part of the business too, ensuring that it retains its charm. 

3. Dadi's Kitchen

Juhu-based Raksha ji has been making achars for friends and family for free until this January, 2020. She started her home-run business venture this year, so she could pour her heart and soul into it. After the sad demise of her husband, Raksha channelled her passion into her home-run venture Dadi's Kitchen. Here you will find an amazing range of pickles that are made with so much love that it reflects in each bite. When you place the order, a sweet voice will understand your palate and offer you achars that are seasonal and in stock. If you want something more, then fresh out of Dadi's Kitchen you will get limited food menu options too. She prepares delicious pure veg snacks and meals that are prepared keeping the highest safety and hygiene standards in mind. You can call or WhatsApp on 08080392349 or 07738099994. You can either opt for home delivery (charges applicable) or you can pick them up from the address in Juhu they will share with you once you place the order.

4. RUR GreenLife

Showing Mumbaikars how to lower their waste generation and recycle biodegradable waste is Monisha Narke and her foundation RUR - Are You Reducing Reusing Recycling? Founded by Monisha in 2009, this socio-environmental organisation aims at waste management and promoting green practices to ensure we have a sustainable future. Monisha's journey began shortly after she came back to Mumbai post completing her Masters from Stanford University. What started as a bunch of volunteers is now a full-blown socio-environmental organisation. RUR designed a patented aerobic bio composter, which takes daily food waste generated from a household and recycles it naturally. It doesn't need any electricity or microbial culture of any kind. Not only that, Monisha also collaborates with Tetra Pak's Go Green Initiative. This particular initiative educates citizens, sets up recycling centres to collect discarded cartons in shopping centres, retail stores, schools, and housing societies. That leads to making recycled products from Tetra Pak cartons. Team RUR and their volunteers are on an eco-mission and it's about time we jumped on the bandwagon and did our bit for our sustainable future.

5. KT Chai Masala

Mrs. Parekh lives with her son Tushar and daughter-in-law Preeti in Mumbai and is known for her excellent cooking skills. Amongst an array of yummy Gujarati dishes, Mrs. Parekh serves up a secret chai masala which promises to elevate the taste of any chai. This masala has been passed down in her family for generations.  The masala powder also provides immunity and improves digestion. Recently, she decided to start her masala business and sell it all over India. She took this decision as she needed to keep herself occupied during the lockdown. So, at 79, she decided to start her business. She then chose the name of the brand, KT Chai Masala, Kokila and Tushar’s Chai Masala. Tushar, her youngest child even helped in designing the logo, getting in touch with vendors for the source and finding the packaging material. The masala is made by Mrs. Parekh and the packaging is done by three domestic helpers who wear hairnets, masks and gloves while handling the masalas. The masala ranges from 50 gm packets to 250 gm ones and the price starts at Rs. 125. If you wish to order, then you can check out KT Masala’s Facebook page or drop a message at 9820584461.

6. Mommy's Kitchen

Image Courtesy: Facebook
Pratibha Kanoi started a successful business venture at the age of 67. Mumbai-based mother of 3 and grand mom of 4, Pratibha would have never dreamed that her home-made wholesome Pizzas would become the toast of the city. But then what can you say about talent? It can never be suppressed for long. When the pandemic hit, she and her family decided that they would not eat any outside food. But then lockdown cravings hit everyone, and since her 2 sons, their wives and kids live with her, she decided to make pizzas at home. The pizzas turned out to be so good that her sons encouraged her to actually turn it into an enterprise. Thus on May 2, 2020, Mommy’s Kitchen was born. Her small business has become so famous that bigshot Mumbai names like Devendra Fadnavis, Praful Patel, Sonali Bendre, the Bachchan family, and filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar are a part of her clientele. Want to try out some of Pratibha’s delicious and safe pizzas? Get in touch with them here.

7. Bong Appetite

Started by Shampa Barua, who is a sculptor by qualification, Bong Appetite brings to you authentic, home-cooked Bengali fish thalis that incorporate century-old recipes of all thammas and didas (grandmothers). How did the kitchen start? Shampa's daughter, who worked in Mumbai during the last lockdown, didn't have time to cook given her extra long working hours. And sadly, she fell ill and had to go back to Kolkata, where she recovered with oodles of Maa ki Mamta and of course, Maa ke haath ka khana! See, mom-made food has magical properties! And that's when Shampa realised that just like her daughter, many kids in the Maximum City craved home cooked meals and also didn't have time to cook and eat properly during a strenuous work schedule and lockdown! So, with that aim in mind to feed all these hungry souls like us, Bong Appetite kicked off. You can order online from their delivery menu here order, DM them on Instagram, or contact them on 9711302193.

8. Frangipani

Started by two young moms back in 2012, this brand is dedicated to your kids. This Mumbai-based brand is guaranteed to be your go-to brand for your kids clothing as they offer high quality clothing items with affordable prices. They have a vast variety of quirky prints for you to pick from. Frangipani has the most adorable ethenic wear for your kids. Be it a festival or a family wedding, they have something amazing to contribute to your kid’s wardrobe. Their clothes are super comfortable because kids care more about being comfortable than being stylish. They have the cutest lehengas for your baby girls and amazing kurta & sherwani options for your little boys, which are suitable for every occasion. In addition to all of this, they also added an interesting range of pjs for kids. These two talented mothers introduced a bright, quirky and quite summery range of T-shirts and pajamas.
Contact: +91 22 22165518 or email at info@frangipani.co.in

Other successful mompreneurs:
1. Aditi Handa, The Baker's Dozen
2. Aakanksha Bhargava, PM Relocations
3. Poonam Naik-Desai, Peekaboo
4. Hetal Desai, The Ethnic Co
5. Rachel Goenka, The Chocolate Spoon Company
6. Malini Agarwal, PepPlay
These are just a few. We salute all mom-run businesses and wish them super success. #GoMoms!
With inputs from Rachna Srivastava