This Aspect Hustle Highlight Q&A options 35-year-old New York Metropolis-based entrepreneur Mehek Khera. Khera is the founder and CEO of Niramaya Meals, a snack model “rooted in wellness and impressed by Indian heritage.”
On the age of 24, Khera left New Delhi, India and immigrated to the U.S., the place she landed a job at Walmart. Then burnout and well being points motivated her to begin a health-forward facet hustle.
Niramaya is hitting $1 million in income for the primary time in 2025. Find out how Khera remodeled Niramaya into the profitable enterprise behind Naan pretzels and dips, right here. Responses have been edited for size and readability.
Picture Credit score: Niramaya Meals. Mehek Khera.
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What was your day job or main occupation whenever you began your facet hustle?
I used to be working in retail at Walmart ecommerce, managing the class and provide chain for magnificence and attire. It was fast-paced, high-pressure and fulfilling in some ways — however over time, the lengthy hours, lack of actual meals and stress started to take a toll on my physique and thoughts.
When did you begin your facet hustle, and the place did you discover the inspiration for it?
Niramaya started to kind in 2020, throughout a season of burnout and well being struggles. I used to be coping with continual, undiagnosed autoimmune situations and could not discover solutions. I left my job and turned to diet college — and thru that, rediscovered the therapeutic energy of the meals I grew up with: vibrant dals, purposeful spices, sabzis comprised of contemporary greens. I spotted these recipes, handed down by way of generations, have been drugs in themselves, and but, I could not discover them on any shelf in a approach that felt clear, handy or fashionable. That hole between tradition and comfort, custom and as we speak, turned the inspiration for Niramaya.
What have been a number of the first steps you took to get your facet hustle off the bottom? How a lot cash/funding did it take to launch?
I began in my kitchen, enjoying with recipes, taking suggestions significantly and testing early variations at native markets. I knew I could not do that casually, so I saved up about $50,000 over two years to afford the minimal order portions for our first co-manufacturer. I researched tirelessly, made a whole bunch of cellphone calls and ultimately discovered a accomplice that aligned with our mission. We developed early packaging, launched a small web site and put actual merchandise into folks’s palms. That is when the magic began.
Picture Credit score: Courtesy of Niramaya Meals
Are there any free or paid assets that have been particularly useful?
Founder networks like Startup CPG, Naturally Community and SKU Accelerator made a world of distinction. Slack teams for CPG founders have been quick, brutally trustworthy and extremely supportive. On the instruments facet: Notion for monitoring every little thing, Canva for design, QuickBooks for funds. However probably the most helpful useful resource by far? Speaking to customers face-to-face throughout demos. No software program can exchange that.
In case you might return and alter one course of or strategy, what wouldn’t it be?
I would not change the trail — each problem taught me one thing I wanted. However I’d higher put together for the sheer useful resource drain. Finances twice the cash and provides your self twice the time. The whole lot takes longer and prices greater than you suppose — and that is not a flaw: It is simply the character of the sport.
What’s one thing about this facet hustle turned enterprise that shocked or challenged you probably the most?
How capital-intensive retail actually is. Getting onto cabinets is simply the beginning — then comes the actual work of driving velocity, educating the consumer and staying top-of-mind. One other problem was re-educating folks about Indian meals. So many assume it is simply “heavy curry.” However our delicacies is a lot extra: vibrant, clear, gut-friendly, plant-forward. Translating that fact by way of packaging, product and language has been each a problem and a privilege.
Are you able to recall a selected second when one thing went mistaken — how did you deal with it?
At one in all our early retail companions, our dips have been priced too excessive and positioned on the very high shelf — nearly invisible to the patron. Relatively than panic, I calmly reached out to the customer with gross sales information and shelf psychology insights and provided to help with demos and social posts if they’d take into account revisiting value and placement. They agreed. That second jogged my memory that being proactive, respectful and solutions-oriented goes a great distance in retail.
Picture Credit score: Courtesy of Niramaya Meals
How lengthy did it take to see constant income?
We began seeing regular traction round 9 months in. We started with smaller independents, just a few regional shops and quite a lot of in-person occasions. It was grassroots, however it taught me the way to hear, adapt and scale responsibly.
What does development and income appear to be as we speak?
Right now, Niramaya is out there in over 1,200 retail doorways throughout the nation, together with Sprouts, Albertsons and a robust base of New York Metropolis independents. This might be our first 12 months in seven figures. We’re launching new SKUs and doubling down on retailers who consider in what we’re constructing.
What do you take pleasure in most about operating this enterprise?
The deep artistic satisfaction of constructing one thing that feels true and seeing it contact folks. When somebody says, “I’ve by no means tasted something so clear and daring without delay,” I do know we’re doing one thing significant. We’re not simply promoting meals: We’re shifting the notion of Indian flavors and bringing extra folks into the fold.
What’s your finest piece of particular, actionable enterprise recommendation?
Begin earlier than you are feeling “prepared.” However do not construct in a bubble. Get suggestions always, particularly out of your prospects. Keep lean. Construct belief along with your companions. Do not be afraid to ask dumb questions. And bear in mind — relationships will carry you farther than any advertising and marketing marketing campaign. Be beneficiant, be trustworthy and comply with by way of.
This Aspect Hustle Highlight Q&A options 35-year-old New York Metropolis-based entrepreneur Mehek Khera. Khera is the founder and CEO of Niramaya Meals, a snack model “rooted in wellness and impressed by Indian heritage.”
On the age of 24, Khera left New Delhi, India and immigrated to the U.S., the place she landed a job at Walmart. Then burnout and well being points motivated her to begin a health-forward facet hustle.
Niramaya is hitting $1 million in income for the primary time in 2025. Find out how Khera remodeled Niramaya into the profitable enterprise behind Naan pretzels and dips, right here. Responses have been edited for size and readability.
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