At 62, She Turned Homemade Sweets Into a Business

Introduction

In some cases, a business concept starts off without a business plan, without more than a massive investment, nor with the aspiration to be famous. It can start as simple as cooking meals for your family.

Sunita Agarwal, a homemaker from Guwahati, Assam has always been busy in making sweets and snacks. She loved cooking the traditional dishes for her family, friends and guests. From then on, people started to enjoy her homemade food.

It began as a passion project and has now evolved into Kitchen & Gupshup, a homemade sweets & savouries company, which started in 2022. The age of 62 obviously did not deter Sunita from exploring a new opportunity and making a lifelong activity a business.

Her story is one to inspire aspiring entrepreneurs that sometimes, the idea you seek is already in your everyday life.

How Sunita Agarwal's passion for cooking turned into a business idea

Sunita had a passion for cooking for her family for many years. She liked to prepare traditional Indian sweets and snacks especially. As she was not always happy with the sweet sold at the shops, she started to make her own sweets for her children at home.

Her home cooking was soon enjoyed by friends and relatives who enjoyed the taste of her homemade cooking.

With the growing up of her children, Sunita got more time to indulge in her passion for cooking. She was always making sweets and distributing them to her friends. They would respond well so she was wondering if her house cookery could be something more than family work.

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This was a mere thought, yet the starting point of her entrepreneurial journey.

Sunita realised that the traditional flavours which people are used to cooking at home may be willing to pay for them. This was a chance to leverage a current skill into a business.

Kitchen & Gupshup Started With Just Four Products

Sunita began Kitchen & Gupshup with 4 products in 2022 – besan barfi, gond barfi, masala channa daal and mathris.

Instead of a big menu right out the gate, the business started off of a small scale from her home kitchen. It targeted its customers in the city of Guwahati at first.

The local start meant that the family could get to know their customers' needs, preferences, and trust, while enhancing its product offerings. Gradually they gained confidence, as a result of positive feedback.

This is an early warning sign that the first-time entrepreneur should be aware of. Debtors are not required to have a dozen products from the get-go. It's not necessary to spend a lot of time on development before the entrepreneur discovers what customers are looking for; a few good prepared offerings can be enough to get them a clue.

Sunita stayed committed to the traditional flavors, ingredients of quality and care given to the food.

In this way, how Her Son Helped Expand the Business.

Kitchen & Gupshup started picking up as their Rajvardhan's son, Sunita was also caught up in the show.

He had just quit his position when the family talked about going to a larger market. His participation added to the success and activities of the business.

Rajvardhan went across various parts of northern and western India to gain insight into local sweets and techniques of the expert sweet makers. He also brought in the expertise of the skilled halwais from Rajasthan and Haryana for the venture.

The family's strategy was to have Sunita's experience and traditional recipes, as well as the work it would take to create a bigger business.

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This phase also serves as an example of how family businesses can develop when they involve the family members with their expertise. You can have one person focused on the product, and another on operation, marketing, growing and reaching the customer.

But like all growth there are new responsibilities. As more orders come in, it becomes more important to ensure that the product remains taster, thicker, and clean and that the customers are satisfied.

This will take you from a Home Kitchen to a Commercial Kitchen.

Over time, Kitchen & Gupshup slowly grew from four to more than 70 products. By 2024, it extended its product range to over 30 sweet and savoury items and the company had relocated to a commercial kitchen.

As the expansion took place there was a need for the production and food safety practices to be more organised. The team also expanded to help the kitchens, marketing and other business.

With the changes, Sunita continued to be a significant player in product quality. Her tasting and approval of batches before they are packed have been published.

This quality-oriented aspect of the business is a significant part of the business narrative. People buying conventional sweets tend to seek out familiar tastes and flavors. These qualities can serve as an indicator of maintaining customer trust as a food business increases.

The shift from a domestic kitchen to commercial kitchen also highlights the importance of business planning to grow. Growing production is more than just about preparing more food. It also includes the control of ingredients, personnel, packaging, sanitary conditions and deliveries.

What's the difference between Kitchen & Gupshup?

In India, traditional sweets and snacks are prevalent and the food business must provide an incentive to their customers to select their products.

Kitchen & Gupshup is based on the concept of traditional Indian flavours, handmade preparation and quality ingredients. The company has made a point of using pure ghee and has refrained from using artificial flavours in its products.

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It also highlights traditional dishes, which allows customers to feel a sense of familiarity with the dishes they have known their families' eating. Meanwhile, diversifying its product line helps the company to cater to more diversified demands.

There are three important concepts for small business owners that are brought to the forefront by the story:

• Learn from their experiences: Sunita is a chef who worked in the kitchen for many years, not an industry that she had never been involved in before.

• Product quality: Attaining consistency of taste and careful preparation can help to build customer trust.

• 3. Expand with demand: Growing small provided the family with learning about the business before scale-up in the menu and production unit.

These can be also used in other businesses too be it selling homemade food, handmade items, clothes or digital services.

How Sunita Agarwal's success story can be a lesson for entrepreneurs?

Sunita's trip includes some lessons that all individuals can benefit from if they are interested in starting their own small business.

Do not procrastinate, it is never too late

Many think that only the young are capable of starting a business. Sunita's trip calls it into question. Know-how, patience and experience can also turn out to be valuable business assets.

When planning a summer school course, it is best to begin with a skill you already possess.

Some people have a knack for baking, sewing, creating designs, teaching, or creating handmade items; a business may already exist. The next question that needs to be answered is, whether customers require that product or service or not.

Increase Trust before increasing.

The early buyers can give important insights. Hearing them will also give entrepreneurs useful insights to enhance their products and knowledge about people's return to it.

The success of Family Support depends on the family.Family Support is dependent on the family.

Sunita's son was involved in the business, which helped them in expanding the business. Responsibilities and decisions can be clearly managed for families to contribute different skills.

Passion Needs Planning

The fun of a certain activity serves as an initial step, but the business also has to have pricing, budgeting, marketing, customer service and abiding by the applicable rules.

Businessmen should take into account expenses and do some market research before putting in substantial investments. Just because a product is popular, it doesn't mean that it will make money.

Conclusion

Sunita Agarwal's success story illustrates that anything that relates to a person's daily skills and interests can lead to a very fruitful business. It all started with homemade sweets served to loved ones and friends and has since grown into a flourishing business revolving around traditional Indian cuisine, Kitchen & Gupshup.

Her employment was more than just as a chef. Involved in it was recognising an opportunity, starting with a small range of products, gaining customer trust, family working, and slowly developing operations to support an expansion.

The message for those who want to be entrepreneurs is simple: It's not always necessary to have an entirely new idea to start a business. In some cases, it's important to first identify your strengths, determine who may benefit from them and try your idea on a small scale.

It is possible to make a small idea the basis of a business if you are patient and have a plan and are dedicated to quality.

Source & Disclaimer

This article is independently written using publicly available reports about Sunita Agarwal, Kitchen & Gupshup, and her journey from homemade sweets to a growing food business. Business milestones and details are based on published reports and may change over time.

Digital Startup India is an independent private platform and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Sunita Agarwal, Kitchen & Gupshup, or any organisation mentioned in this article.