As soon as Chhath arrives, we start remembering the taste of ‘Thekua’. Now not only Bihar and Purvanchal, but the entire country is familiar with the taste of this Mahaprasad of Chhath. The taste of flour, jaggery or sugar), ghee and dry fruits and the beautiful carving of leaves or flowers using wooden molds… make Thekua special. Now, after the Chhath holidays, if any Bihari or Purvanchali returns to work in Delhi, Mumbai or any other city, his co-workers will definitely ask for Thekua.
However, Thekua has gone beyond being a Chhath Prasad and has now become an international product and in the era of fast food and packaged snacks, some Biharis have converted this traditional taste into a business worth crores. Two teenagers Jayant and Kailash from Bihar are also one of them.
Jayant and Kailash tasted the ‘pure taste’ of Thekua
Jayant and Kailash together started a brand named ‘Shuddh Swad’, whose turnover today is in crores. The company has delivered its products to millions of customers. This time the company has also introduced coconut, cardamom and many other flavours.
This business was not started with any big plan or huge investment, but due to a problem that arose after eating thekua. As Jayant has been telling, he had eaten thekua from a roadside shop, after which his health deteriorated. This incident forced him to think that although people like the taste of traditional Indian snacks, there may be a lack of confidence in their purity and cleanliness.
It was from here that he got the idea of starting a business where people could get clean and good quality snacks with traditional taste.
A shopkeeper gave the idea of starting a business
Jayant realized that the demand for traditional snacks like Thekua should not be limited to just Chhath or other festivals. These are a part of Indian food and culture, but many times people are able to find them only during festivals or at local shops.
Jayant wanted Thekua and other traditional snacks to be available to people throughout the year. Besides, their quality and cleanliness should also be taken care of.
He shared his idea with his friend Kailash. Kailash had dropped out of school and used to sell water bottles at railway stations to help his family. He saw an opportunity in this work through which he could fulfill his dream of making something of his own along with earning.
The company is also very active on social media and is also popular among the people with its creative ads.
Started work from home, used to work hard for 10 hours every day
Both friends started their business from home. He worked with Thekua to create products like makhana, banana chips and gram flour laddus.
Both of them worked hard for about 10 hours every day to improve the recipe and keep the taste the same. Their aim was to provide traditional flavored snacks to the customers, which were also clean, affordable and tasty.
Not a single order received for two months
Pure Taste’s beginnings were not easy. Neither of them received a single order for the first two months. Many people called his business idea impractical. But both of them did not give up.
He continued improving his products and started spreading his story to people through Instagram. Additionally, they reached out to local communities where people who loved traditional tastes and homemade snacks were present.
Gradually people’s confidence increased and orders started coming. The demand for their products started reaching from small cities to big metros.
Brand reached millions of customers, turnover in crores
Pure Taste, which started from a small kitchen at home, has today become an online business. According to the brand, till now its products have reached lakhs of customers and the turnover has crossed the crores mark.
Through traditional snacks like thekua, makhana, banana chips and gram flour laddu, Jayant and Kailash have shown that local taste and traditional food can also be taken to the mass market.
Source: ndtv.in
