Five women entrepreneurs earning crores from millet business

It may sound clichéd, but women have a natural flair for everything around food and cooking. It is not surprising as they have been the custodians of traditional recipes passed on from one generation to the next. 

As a result, women also understand the health and nutritional benefits of foods made without using preservatives. If this skill is combined with effective marketing, women can create successful products, especially in the food industry.

In the last few years, there has been a renewed focus on millets, the coarse grains that were part of every family’s diet until the Green Revolution promoted wheat and rice at their expense. 

Among the entrepreneurs bringing back millets to Indian kitchens, around 50 percent are women. Most of them became entrepreneurs to meet the nutritional needs of their children and family and went on to start businesses that became successful. Their products range from millet-based noodles, pasta, cakes and cookies to idli-dosa batters. 

Here are five women who started millet businesses from scratch and are now earning crores:

1. Krishnaa Kantthawala, Gujarat 

Krishnaa quit her job in Singapore to set up a healthy food business. She launched her Smart Eleven brand in 2021 and now exports her millet noodles, pasta and other products to five countries, which bring in 60% of her revenues. The rest of the revenues are from domestic sales and she earns Rs12 lakh monthly (Rs1.44 crore annually).

Here’s her story: This MBA quit her Singapore job to become a millet entrepreneur; earns Rs12 lakh monthly revenue

2. Annapurna Kalluri, Telangana

Annapurna Kalluri quit IBM to pursue millet entrepreneurship. Her enterprise Sri Haritha Agro Food sells millet breakfast mixes, flakes, and other items under the Avasya brand and also does contract manufacturing for others. Its annual turnover was Rs2.5 crore in FY24 and Annapurna is targeting Rs25 crore turnover by FY28 as her new factory will commence production next year.

Read her full story here: This MBA quit IBM to start millet business; clocks Rs2.5 crore annual turnover

3. Deepa Muthukumaraswamy, Tamil Nadu

Deepa began making millet-based foods for her toddler son in her kitchen. Soon, her neighbours were demanding the same for their children. The small business that started in her kitchen now clocks Rs3 crore annual turnover. 

Her startup Some More Foods offers millet-based noodles, pasta, vermicelli, cookies, and other products across India. It is doubling revenues annually and is setting up its manufacturing plant in Tirupur with a daily capacity of three tonnes.

Her story: How this nutritionist mom set up Rs3 crore ready-to-cook millet foods business

4. Shubhadra, Tamil Nadu

In 2015, Shubhadra quit as the CEO and Vice Principal of a college in Ooty to start a healthy food business that could empower women. Today, her Coimbatore-based startup PVR Foods sells 83 types of millets ready-to-cook products in the form of millet flour, idli dosa batter, millet chapati mix, millet noodles, paniyaram, millet pongal and puttu besides health mixes for children and pregnant women. Her turnover was Rs3 crore in FY24.  

Her story: Computer science professor turns millet entrepreneur, earns Rs 3 crore annually

5. Jayashree Krishnamurthy, Tamil Nadu

Jayashree is a practising CA and also an entrepreneur. Her healthy food startup Rasa Wellness offers millet-based and gluten-free porridges, snacks, sweets and other items across India. She founded the company in July 2022 after mastering millet-based products in her kitchen. Her initial investment was only Rs1 lakh and her annual turnover hit Rs50 lakh in FY24. Rasa is doubling revenues annually and will cross Rs1 crore next fiscal.

Here’s her story: How this CA set up Rs50 lakh food business with Rs1 lakh investment 

(Riya Singh is a Ranchi-based journalist who writes on environment, sustainability, education & women empowerment)

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