My Journey

“The universe buries strange jewels deep within us all, and then stands back to see if we can find them.”

There are some journeys that begin with a business idea.

Mine began much earlier — around the dining table, through my own struggles, and with a belief I carried for many years:

Healthy food comes with compromise.

I was perhaps the most unlikely person to start a whole food plant-based food brand.

As a child, I was often unwell and grew up believing I was not as capable as others. For many years, I carried the feeling that I was not good enough. Life moved on — studies, work, marriage, motherhood and responsibilities — but somewhere along the way, I lost touch with myself.

I had always loved drawing, painting and creating, but those parts of me slowly became buried beneath everyday life.

Food, however, had already begun writing its own story.

More than twenty years ago, my father underwent heart surgery. Overnight, food became a list of restrictions — less oil, fewer indulgences and endless caution around what could and could not be eaten.

My mother did her best, but I remember those meals feeling very different from the food we had always loved.

Years later, my husband was diagnosed with an autoimmune condition. He began reading deeply about health and became conscious about food and ingredients long before terms like “clean label” and “ingredient transparency” became common.

He wanted us to change the way we ate.

I resisted.

I loved the food I ate, including non-vegetarian food, and I did not believe that food, movement or meditation could make such a difference. At that point in my life, every new request felt like one more adjustment being asked of me.

Then, during Covid, my husband came across a webinar by Saee on whole food plant-based eating and nature-based lifestyle practices.

By then, I had my own health concerns and reluctantly agreed to join her seven-day programme.

Something unexpected happened.

I felt better.

That small experience made me curious enough to continue.

Right food. Right thought. Right movement. Right rest.

Slowly, things began to shift — not only in my body, but within me.

The anger softened. I began looking inward. I rediscovered creativity and, after nearly 35 years, started drawing and painting again.

And then I rediscovered another part of myself.

My love for cooking.

Saee noticed it too.

She encouraged me to experiment with whole food plant-based food. One recipe led to another. I began learning how different ingredients worked together, how to create texture and crunch without the usual shortcuts, and most importantly, how to make food that people genuinely enjoyed eating.

I started taking live cooking sessions, then workshops. People began asking me for recipes.

And I kept experimenting.

One of my first products carried a memory.

My father loved masala peanuts.

Years after he was gone, I found myself wondering whether I could recreate that familiar joy in a different way.

When I told my mother that I planned to sell masala peanuts made without oil, she was skeptical.

“Won’t they be dry?” she asked.

Then she tasted them.

They were crunchy, satisfying and full of flavour.

And she smiled.

That moment stayed with me.

Perhaps healthy food was never meant to feel like punishment.

Perhaps nourishment and enjoyment were never meant to be separate.

What began as experiments in my kitchen slowly became weekly orders. Within a year, I launched Poshak Foods, a whole food plant-based snack kitchen.

Today, Poshak Foods is part of Poshak Life — a journey I now share with Saee and Monica, two women I am deeply grateful to have in my life.

From our laddoos and cookies to crackers, bars and savoury snacks, every product begins with a simple question:

Can we create something people genuinely enjoy eating, using ingredients we would feel good about serving to our own families?

We make in small batches, often after receiving orders, because freshness matters to us.

Our snacks are made for families.

For the child reaching for a cookie.

For the parent reading the ingredient list.

For the grandparent looking for something familiar.

And for anyone who believes that making a better choice should not mean giving up the joy of eating.

When I look back, I realise that Poshak Life did not begin on the day we created a brand.

It began through all the experiences that led me here — the struggles, the resistance, the people who entered my life, the creativity I rediscovered and the courage to finally look for the jewels within me.

Poshak Life grew from a simple realisation:

The snacks we love and the ingredients we trust can belong together.