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The Startup CPG Podcast

Plant-Based Indian Food: Sabah Ashraf, House of Kajaana

The Startup CPG Podcast

Startup CPG

Startup, Food, Business, Beverage, Cpg, Entrepreneurship

4.9 • 642 Ratings

🗓️ 17 May 2024

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This episode was sponsored by Hummingbirds. Go to hummingbirds.com/startupCPG
This episode was sponsored by Cin7. Go to cin7.com/startupcpg
This episode was sponsored by Grassroots Marketing. Schedule a call at https://calendly.com/grassrootsmarketing/grassroots-x-startupcpg-intro-call)


Join Grace Kennedy in this bonus episode of the Startup CPG podcast as she delves into the flavorful world of House of Kajaana, a pioneering plant-based Indian food brand owned by Sabah Ashraf. Sabah unravels the remarkable transition from investment banking to culinary entrepreneurship, and discover how House of Kajana is redefining frozen meals, prioritizing taste and inclusivity by crafting gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, and nut-free dishes like roasted cauliflower tikka masala and coconut Malabar curry.


Explore their strategic approach to product selection, rooted in building strong consumer connections through familiar flavor profiles. Delve into their expansion strategies, including partnerships with renowned retailers like Fresh Direct and an upcoming launch in Whole Foods stores nationwide.


Gain insights into House of Kajana's commitment to engaging consumers through in-store demos and digital platforms like Instagram and Aisle. Learn about their vision for the future, centered on providing convenient access to healthier meal options across the country.


Tune in to this mouthwatering conversation and join the plant-based revolution with House of Kajana!

Listen in as Sabah shares about:


  • House of Kajaana Mission and Identity
  • Early Influences and Love for Indian Food
  • Product Development
  • Launch Strategy and Retail Expansion
  • Preparation for Nationwide Presence
  • Navigating Distribution and Finding Great Partners
  • Challenges of Being a Founder
  • Advice for Other Founders
  • Future Plans for the House of Kajaana


Episode Links:

House of Kajaana’s Website

Saba’s LinkedIn

Don't forget to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you enjoyed this episode. For potential sponsorship opportunities or to join the Startup CPG community, visit http://www.startupcpg.com.

Show Links:

  • Transcripts of each episode are available on the Transistor platform that hosts our podcast here (click on the episode and toggle to “Transcript” at the top)
  • Join the Startup CPG Slack community (15K+ members and growing!)
  • Follow @startupcpg
  • Visit host Daniel's Linkedin 
  • Questions or comments about the episode? Email Daniel at podcast@startupcpg.com
  • Episode music by Super Fantastics

Cin7 Links:

Hummingbirds Links:

Grassroots Links: 


Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Imagine this. You get accepted into a new regional chain. Hooray! Now, the race to drive velocity begins, but awareness plays are so expensive, demos, displays, coupon programs, the list goes on.

0:14.0

But what if there was a way to connect with millennial women, some of the most important shoppers out there, to actually go into the store, buy your product,

0:21.6

and then post about it to their trusted friends and neighbors.

0:24.6

Well, now there is. Meet Hummingbirds, the new platform that connects your brands with real shoppers in a specific city.

0:31.6

Hummingbirds lets you set up your campaign, match with the local birds who are interested,

0:36.6

and then track the social

0:38.0

impact of the campaign. It's such a cool concept to hear about a product from someone from my own

0:43.3

community that I know and trust rather than some big-time influencer who might not even be relevant

0:48.4

in certain zip codes. To learn more, check out hummingbirds.com backslash startup CPG,

0:55.4

and you can even register for a chance to win a free custom-managed program.

1:00.3

Terms and conditions apply.

1:02.0

Please visit the website for details.

1:03.9

Good luck.

1:28.5

Thank you. We are a plant-based Indian food brand, and our mission is to make it easy for people to joyfully nourish themselves without sacrificing their health, the planet, or their time.

1:30.7

And we have recently launched and to have this opportunity to be able to share our story

1:36.4

is something we're incredibly grateful for.

1:38.5

Really early days, we knew that there were certain things that is a brand we wanted to stand

1:43.5

for and as products,

1:44.8

especially with aspirations of delivering to the masses.

1:48.4

We knew we wanted to be 100% made from plants.

1:51.8

And we looked at the world and where it was and wanted to make the best decisions

1:55.6

for what we could see for where nutrition was and the Earth was and having the life's footprint

...

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