Meet first-time entrepreneur Lisa Sohanpal and her successful startup, Mini nom nom’s.
Lisa is the founder and MD. Lisa created the company with her husband Imrat after working across the world in another job and needing to make sure that there were healthy international meals available to feed her young children as she travelled.
“As busy working parents to three children all under the age of four, we found it difficult to have at hand quick, naturally healthy dinners,” said Mrs Sohanpal. “I would be staying up late making batches of curry, so I began searching for a ready meal alternative and there was nothing on the market. That’s why we made Mini nom nom's; to redefine the category by introducing a new generation of ready meals.”
Sohanpal’s Mini nom nom’s solution sells healthy, internationally- inspired ready meals for British children, with no added salt, sugar or preservatives.
Launched in 2014 with support and a start-up loan from Virgin StartUp, the business has already built a loud and loyal fan base that certain retailers have found hard to ignore. From July 2015, the meals will be sold through the UK’s most popular online supermarket, Ocado, department store Selfridges, and across Virgin Active health clubs.
Lisa’s children’s food business, launched in London, is attempting to help counter growing obesity in the UK. She knows that in this country there’s a childhood obesity epidemic, with one in three children overweight.
At the same time, Lisa is aiming to help end hunger and child employment in India.
Lisa has long been aware that India is home to a quarter of all undernourished people worldwide, with 360 million Indians living below the poverty line.
The business sends a proportion of its profits towards providing lunch for an entire school of 271 children in New Delhi, India, through the Askhaya Patra Foundation.
Mini nom nom’s popular appeal isn’t just down to the product. Success has also happened because of the social values the group stands for.
“I met the president of the Akshaya Patra foundation at a networking event in London, and felt inspired by the charity’s mission to feed five million school children per day by 2020,” said Sohanpal. “The sponsorship of the school in India improves attendance, as children get their meals provided; usually a roti (Indian round bread), dhal and vegetable curry. This meal means the children don’t have to go out and earn money to pay for their food instead of going to school. Keeping them in school for longer results in the pupils getting better jobs when they leave, which will hopefully mean they can use their education to rise out of poverty.
The annual dropout rate has also reduced from 60% to 8%.
Mini nom nom’s aims to educate children in Britain about the reality of hunger in many countries and also to show them they can make a difference. The company aims to educate and engage children in the charitable values of the brand through virtual reality and storytelling on pack.”
So what’s Mrs Sohanpal's advice on adding a social element to your business?
“You have to believe in the value of it. It’s not something you can just add on. Our business proposition fits with the ideals of the Akshaya Patra Foundation and that’s why it works. What’s the issue that your business is tackling and how can you communicate that to your customers in a meaningful way?”
What was the hardest part of setting up her business?
“It’s breaking the status quo in ready meals and packaging our meals in 100% recyclable material, to ensure the film used is compatible with the pulp board tray being used. We need to provide a 100% consistent hermetic seal – needed to prevent any air leakage that can affect the life (and therefore shelf life) of the food. We had to resort to a bespoke solution that cost us in time delays to launch, as well as additional investment.
Over on the other side of the world, we have sponsored over 70, 000 school meals in an entire school in India. Keeping 271 school children off the streets and in school to gain an education makes me very proud.”
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“Keeping 271 school children off the streets and in school to gain an education makes me very proud.” Lisa Sohanpal
