Who are we?
“We did not do anything “Out Of The Box”, instead added value to the daily lives of people, which is making the real difference”
We were not exceptions but the quite ordinary. And, we made the ordinary people a part of the safe and healthy society. Our story is simple. You don’t need to learn or become an entrepreneur to understand what we did or doing. We habitually shared what we cooked with our external family, and then they shared with their family, and in turn they shared it with their friends, eventually it got extended to a stranger. Thus, it became a cycle. Did we manage to build a community? We didn’t know then, but we continued doing what we had been.
Consequently, we indeed built a community
Yes, the term that interests people now, which has become a fade, without doing anything artificial or spending money, but it happened on its own. Perhaps, we were delighted to see the elusive “Word Of Mouth” phenomenon working for us for the very first time.
Only when a stranger asked someone who had offered our food to them “Who made this food?”, and further made effort in enquiring “Where are we? “, And, most importantly this was not an isolated incident but many did, did we recognize that we had created what considered to be a landmark accomplishment in marketing, ” Pull Demand” for our solutions. It implies we are not required to put anymore maximum marketing effort in bringing about awareness about our solutions, and the consumers themselves will come forward asking for our solutions through various conventional and digital channels.
The story of Vanilla affectionately known as “Namma Patti”
I’m innately selfless and needed to be useful to everyone. My son suggested an idea. Thus, “Patti Vaithyam” came into existence.
I was born in a village near Periyakulam – Theni, of Madurai district. I was the first female child of my family. Even though, my parents were teachers, I was entrusted for the well being of my sibling sisters and brothers. My parents had to leave because of the nature of their job. Consequently, parenthood manifested in me at a very young age itself. I was accountable for everything to run my family – from cleaning, cooking to keeping the home tidy and healthy. Since I was alone I didn’t have the luxury of going to a hospital or getting medicine from a pharmacy if someone falls ill at home. I overheard elders talking about eating food for curing certain illness. I decided to rely on the wisdom of our traditional idea of using food as medicine. When someone doesn’t feel good, I got to an elder and ask for advice then prepare and administer it to them. I was delighted when I saw them recovered.
Later, I got married and I moved to Madurai. My husband worked in a mill. We gave birth to a female and a male. They studied well and went on to become successful professionals. Unfortunately, my husband died of natural causes a decade back. Since my children were working in Chennai, they asked me to move to Chennai. I was hesitant because my home and life revolved around Madurai and I cannot possibly exist elsewhere. But I didnt have a choice and I reluctantly moved to Chennai. I was sober.
One day I was recalling the accounts of my past – how I was useful to the community then but here I’m idle. I told them I was innately selfless and needed everyone to be happy and healthy. But, here I’m not able to make any difference. My son asked me “Amma, you said our Tamil culture is rich in medicinal value and we use food as medicine. However, this wisdom is not well documented and disseminated. Therefore, why don’t we take this wisdom to everyone in the world? ” I was excited. What happened rest is well known to you.
Now, let’s have a talk with Mrs Sandhya, co-founder & CEO of “Namma Patti Food Products”
Coexistence is increasingly becoming a rare phenomenon in the Tamil – Indian context. But, we (my mother in law and I) proved otherwise. The synergy between us was not only biological but societal.
After completion of my engineering graduation, even though, I needed to take the road less traveled, I chose the usual path of employment in the tech sector because of the parental compulsion. I worked in a corporation for five years. I would not blame the organization but the nature of our work became mundane. Because that’s how the business works. Thanks to the external market forces, a significant proportion of the cost needed to be cut. Obviously, human resource was the major cost. I didn’t see it as a threat but an opportunity. I invariably needed to do something usual the unusual way.
My mother in law was recalling her past to us. My husband who is a tech professional and a professor, suggested me to leverage my technical expertise to take his mother’s wisdom on traditional medicine to the masses. The entrepreneurial spirit, which was implicit in me began exhibiting. Thus, our household “Namma Patti Vaithyiam” saw the world.
Company Website : paativaithiyam.in
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