I always wanted to have my own business. My first job was with a company importing flatpack furniture into the UK, but I hated it. I loved coming home at the end of the day and cooking – it meant a lot to me. I was learning Indian recipes from my mum at the time, and when my friends came over to eat they would say that the reason they liked it was because Indian food was normally so unhealthy. I got a bee in my bonnet about the idea, and that was the start of my food journey.
A proper Indian plate is very well balanced compared to what people might eat at a restaurant, which is usually a lot of carbohydrates and meat. In the Indian home it would be one protein dish – often lentils and beans, one carbohydrate and one green vegetable. Brits love Indian food, but I decided I wanted to give people something that was healthy and delicious.
It took me a couple of years to get my first cookbook published. I think I was quite naive then about how tough it is to get things done. I went to the library, found the names of cookbook publishers and wrote to them. I was turned down by them all. There was a lot of “Who are you?” and “Do you have a restaurant?” So I started working in restaurants and cafes, anywhere I could get a job, and I learned so much. I spent a few years in the US and when I came back I got an agent, and finally a publisher. I’ve now written eight books, done three TV series, and produced sauces and chutneys for supermarkets under the Spice Tailor range.
My husband is also an entrepreneur and in 2011 he became my business partner. I do the creative side – the food, PR and packaging – and he does the finance and manages the factories. Over time we’ve hired people to help, but work still spills over into the home. We don’t really shut off from it easily, but it’s such an exciting journey that we always want to talk about what we’re doing next and it’s been great. Four years ago we started selling in Australia, and last year we went into Canada.
You each have to focus on what you’re bringing to the table and trust the other to do their best. At the beginning, because I had a business degree, I would sometimes suggest we do things differently. We got a non-executive director, who has ended up being a bit like a marriage counsellor – if we’re not sure of the next steps, or we disagree about something, we’ll turn to him for his thoughts and experience. Between us, we work it out.
We’re a really small business and we’re relatively young. There are always challenges – nothing is straightforward or easy. We’re manufacturing products in India, but running things from the UK, and I realised early on in the process that the sauces we started with had changed and the product wasn’t consistent. So, even though I had great people doing the job, I needed to create my own quality-control team there. We also set up new processes: every month we taste our products over Skype at the same time, talk about them and rate them, so we’re all on the same page.
Having a real story and a real passion is very important. You’ve got to come from somewhere genuine. Because I grew up in the west but spent time in India, I can see what India has to offer that would work in the home – I use my intuition and then back it up with numbers. I think people understand that my story is genuine. If you have the passion but don’t have the experience you need, talk to people, find a mentor, or get a business partner. Look for people who have more experience to help you if you’re just starting out.
On days when it’s tough, I think I could have done something else. You’re always firefighting as a small business, and we’re competing with people who have much deeper pockets. But we’re expanding and we set up our own factory this year, which is really exciting. When doing anything you really want to do, you have to work hard to succeed, and when you run a business you have the satisfaction of knowing you’re doing it for yourself. There’s never a dull moment.
