Maharashtra has a rich food culture. Even if we divide the state into four major parts, viz. Konkan, Khandesh, Vidharbha and Western Maharashtra, each of these further has diverse food culture. Each division has its own speciality, e.g. mango and jackfruit and foods made from these fruits, from Konkan, oranges and orange burfi from Nagpur, etc. People from all these parts have tried hard to make the specialities from their respective regions available all over the state, and are continuing to do so. And in comparison with them, barring a couple of dishes, not much from Western Maharashtra is available in other parts. Rama Potdar realised this and decided to make the food culture of Western Maharashtra accessible to all. For this, she created the brand Krushnakathchi Mejwani (a taste of food culture from Krishnatiri).
Under the brand Krushnakathchi Mejwani, she serves specialities from the Sangli, Satara and Kolhapur regions to her customers. Basundi, khoya, pedha and kavath burfi from Narsobachi Wadi, rice puffs and turmeric powder from Sangli, spices from Kolhapur, honey and gulkand from Satara region, etc. are made available to customers.
Rama Potdar is actually a ‘sangit visharad’ (proficient in music having passed the respective examinations). She works as a music teacher in a renowned school in Pune. Originally from Narsobachi Wadi, she moved to Pune after marriage. While doing a job in Pune, she started a handbag business in parallel. For this business, she also rented a shop in DSK Vishwa. While balancing her school job, she was running this business under the name Gandhar Bags and Cosmetics, for which she was getting very good response. Going forward, she started selling basundi from Narsobachi Wadi along with her handbags, during festivals and other days in the Marathi month of Shravan. It got sold in no time. During the festival of Gudhi Padwa the following year, she delivered an order of 200-300 kg basundi. Considering the response she was getting for basundi, she experimented the same with a couple of more products. Those too got sold in a jiffy. That’s when she realised that food products are always in demand.
Around the same time, Rama travelled to Dubai to attend an exhibition related to food products. This was just before Covid hit. She got to see many products from India at the exhibition, such as Bikaneri, Rajasthani, Konkani products. However, she couldn’t find anything from Western Maharashtra. With the rich heritage from the banks of the Krishna River, and given the insanely tasty food products like khoya-basundi, she strongly felt that these products had to reach all over the world. This is where she decided to establish the brand ‘Krushnakathchi Mejwani’.
To implement this idea, she signed contracts with suppliers from Sangli, Satara and Kolhapur. She took help from women’s self-help groups for the spice mixes. She procured the above-mentioned food products in Pune, packed them properly and sold them under the brand ‘Krushnakathchi Mejwani’. Apart from that, she also started a company by the name Vexel Exporters to export food products to other countries. Initially, she started exporting fruits and vegetables. Vexel Exporters takes care of their packing and other aspects of the business. Rama genuinely feels that all products of Krushnakathchi Mejwani are available and accessible to people living abroad. She has also obtained all the necessary license and permissions required for export. This has enabled her to form a client base in other countries too.
And then COVID struck. During this period, Rama shut down her shop in DSK Vishwa. Ever since, the entire business is run from home. Rama advertises the different products she sells on social media. She home delivers the orders she thus gets from her customers. Delivery within 5 km from her home is free. She however charges a delivery fee if the distance is more than 5 km. During Ganesha Festival, she delivers products like pedha, burfi, mango burfi, gulkand burfi, kavath burfi, etc. only against an advance order. This ensures zero wastage of food. Basundi is stored at a very cold temperature, because of which it can easily last for 6-8 months even without any preservatives. It is available in a variety of flavours such as custard apple, gulkand, etc. Apart from these sweets, she also supplies spices like turmeric and chilli powder, etc. Thanks to the variety she makes available, she has customers within and outside Pune. Some of her other products include raisins, black raisins, rice puffs and ‘khaja’ from Sangli. During Diwali and even at other times of the year, she gets some snacks like chivda and chakli made from self-help groups. Excellent quality packing material is used for all these products, which helps the food to stay fresh for a long time.
From all these businesses, Rama generates a turnover of Rs.60000-70000. Even if the business is presently run from home, Rama plans to open an outlet soon. Besides, she is also looking to give out franchises of Krushnakathchi Mejwani in different cities. This will enable customers to check out the products first before purchasing them. For all the work she carries out, she has two women assistants to help out with the packing and two boys for delivery. Considering the increasing demand for Krushnakathchi Mejwani, we’re sure that this mejwani (feast) will be savoured far and wide.
Ms. Rama Potdar - Contact No. - 9372511613
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