The abrogation of Article 370 has opened up world-class business opportunities for the youth in Jammu & Kashmir.
The youth residing in Jammu and Kashmir have entered the mainstream and get access to world-class opportunities to grow their start-ups. The success story of Ridhima Arora truly exemplifies this fact.
Ridhima Arora from Jammu, launched Namhya Foods Private Ltd., for making healthy food items with herbs and ayurvedic ingredients. Namahya snacks, breakfast, Ayurvedic tea, every product has Ayurvedic herbs like Ashwagandha, Brahmi, Tulsi, Arjun-bark etc., which is a healthy option to use them in our everyday food.
She had done her B.Tech in Electronics and Communications (2009-13) from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University in J&K and completed MBA at Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai (2013-15).
She quit her job at Lava International, the mobile phone company, where she had been working for more than three years.
“I was Head of the Digital Marketing team and was earning Rs 27,000 when I left them in 2019,” says Ridhima.
When Ridhima Arora’s father became sick, she took a three-month break from her job to stay at home and look after him.
“My father was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis, and doctors said there was nothing they could do, because his condition was worsening rapidly. While he was at home, I spent my time ensuring he ate nutritious food that is clean and locally sourced,” Ridhima said adding that she began treating her father with various herbal teas, ayurvedic concoctions, and traditional foods.
After strictly excluding packaged food and items with preservatives, the family began sourcing all their ingredients from local farmers. Some of the food Ridhima’s father consumed regularly consisted of medicinal herbs like haridati (Indian hog plum) and harad, which has antiseptic properties.
“Within three months, his condition started improving, and he was feeling better. Though liver cirrhosis is incurable, my father was able to regain his strength by changing his food habits and exercising regularly. Now, he goes to work every day and takes care of our family business of selling dry fruits, medicinal herbs, organic produce, and ayurvedic medicine,” says Ridhima.
Seeing how her father’s condition deteriorated and improved depending on the food he was consuming, Ridhima was motivated to help others change their lives by altering their eating habits as well.
“Most people have the habit of picking instant “healthy” food without checking the ingredients used to make them. Sugar-free products, diet supplements, and other foods labelled as “healthy” alternatives, all have at least one harmful ingredient in them, including preservatives, maida, or fructose. So, I decided to launch a series of ayurvedic, herbal, and healthy products using family recipes,” she says.
The first product she launched was ‘Heart Tea’ to lower cholesterol. “The Heart Tea (priced at Rs 230) contains Arjuna Chhaal which helps in natural control of cholesterol,” she says.
“A friend’s mother, who used to take blood thinning medicines thrice a day to control high cholesterol, used the product. Within three weeks her condition improved and she cut down on her medicines.”
Another product they launched in the initial months was PCOS Tea, which also got good reviews from users.
“Diabetic Tea, PCOS Tea, Thyroid Tea, Liver Cleanse Tea, Ayurvedic Tea, Poppy based tea (good for bone health), and immunity booster latte (made of tulsi, haldi, giloy, ashwagandha, moringa) are the products I personally vouch for, because of their great results. Our most expensive product is priced Rs 450,” says Ridhima, who had to shut down the business temporarily due to lockdown in March.
When she reopened in May, with increasing demand for immunity boosters in the market, she hasn’t been able to keep pace with the orders.
Now, dedicated to promote healthy eating habits, Ridhima offers her leanings in one go. “Fat is needed to imbibe the good effects of haldi (turmeric); hence mixing it in milk we created Turmeric Latte. Also, always eat food which is produced 8-10 km within home region, which will ensure that you don’t need preservatives in your food, and you will eat it fresh.”
With an aim to create products for young professionals who don’t have time for extensive cooking, Namhya Foods has launched their breakfast range, ragi and sattu based cereals.
“Coco based products are in the pipeline as they are great flavour enhancer for milk. Gond ka tira (an edible gum, used to make laddoos and an antidote for constipation) is sold majorly in UAE,” says Ridhima.
“It is good for skin, digestion, constipation, has cooling properties and it is used more in UAE. Arabs eat more of dry fruits and gond ka tira.”
Namya products are available on their website, Amazon, Big Basket, and other major online marketplaces.