"If you dream it, you can do it, you have all the potential to be successful as long as you believe in your powers", says, Nidhi Jain who is the founder of KrrunchIt when asked about what defines her thought process as a business leader. KrrunchIt is quickly gaining popularity as a preferred Snack & Savouries destination in the state of Rajasthan. Under Nidhi's guidance, KrrunchIt is aiming to develop its business operations to greater heights and in an exclusive interview with Women Entrepreneur, she talks more about her professional journey and the unique business operations of KrrunchIt.

Take us through your educational and professional background. What are the factors that motivated you to ultimately venture into the field of food & beverage as an entrepreneur?

I hail from Raipur, Chhatisgarh, and did my schooling at Scindia School, Gwalior. I graduated in Arts from Delhi University and hold a Diploma in Interior Designing from International Polytechnic, Delhi. During the lockdown, I realized that our snacking habits had got significantly influenced. The sedentary lifestyle and limited entertainment options had made many of us couch potatoes. Snacks had evolved into not merely satiating our hunger but also as a go-to option for our boredom.

Food, specially made in the Satvik style nourishes not merely our bodies but our souls too. And with ever-increasing demands of managing work from home, supervising children, and doing household chores. A delectable savory will be a mood lifter, whether a mathri or a cracker. The silver lining of the pandemic has been the transition towards health consciousness, driving them towards healthier snacking options albeit hand in hand with unhealthy guilty pleasure snacks, often because of a lack of awareness but in equal parts because of unavailability.

People have migrated from regular food to snacks, and they opt for smaller value packs that are priced more modestly. This motivated me to start KrrunchIt, but lack of experience in the industry was the looming fear I had. Often, successful ventures require a team effort and, in my case, the wholesome support of friends and family propelled me into my entrepreneurial journey. I have always believed in a can-do attitude, and this I believe overrides certifications or formalized training, especially in a scenario where the product is something we have been experts at, although in the confines of the home kitchen. The venture has brought forth my belief in self-confidence, the assertion of ideas, and a dare to win attitude.

Give us a brief overview of krrunchit and kindly throw some light on your various food products and beverages with key emphasis on your flagship offering

KrrunchIt is a Snack & Savouries destination and it intends to raise the taste of authentic, traditional snacks bringing with it a sense of nostalgia. We have carefully curated the bite-sized range of snacks, and all our snacks are handcrafted using fresh ingredients, without any artificial flavors & preservatives so that one can Krrunch their favorite snacks, Guilt-free.  Having been a Chef to foodies at home, the company is a mere stepover over scaling up my culinary skills. We have, carefully curated, a range of 15 + products which includes baked as well as fried snacks. We hold the promise of Purity, Authenticity, and Yumminess. Chakli, Mathri, Methi Mathri, Sabudana Krackers are our fast-selling items in the fried category, and looking at the rising demand for healthy snacks we also developed the same authentic snacks in the baked category.

“Falling & getting up is intrinsic to growth, and what matters is whether that fall taught you something and are you moving forward not merely with more confidence but with enhanced knowledge & learning”

Baked Methi Mathri, Baked Gur Papdi, Roasted Jowar Chivda, Khakharas, Flavoured Makhanas have become immensely popular and are always in demand. We use Olive Oil in all our baked offerings. I have always believed that taste gets enhanced with the freshness in preparations. Our strategy is; always use the best quality of raw materials and ensure authenticity in taste. This has ensured that the shelf life of our products is a minimum of 90 days.

What benefits do your company's food products and beverages offer to customers that other companies in the market fail to deliver? Explain your usp.

Other snack companies use Palm Oil, Cottonseed Oil, and sometimes a mixture of different oils to manufacture their products. Additionally, they use preservatives to enhance the shelf life of their products. A significant difference in our offering is that we use the best quality Groundnut oil and all our baked items are made in Olive Oil. Our USP is the recipe- Age-old recipes passed successively across generations.

How has been krrunchit growth journey so far and what are the different facets of your personality or your leadership style that have helped the company propel further in its growth journey?

I have always believed that the mark of a successful entrepreneur is to be an ongoing learner, in tandem with deep knowledge of your customer segments and the industry. The process has been evolutionary for me and to say that it has been extraordinary, is an understatement. From humble beginnings of 20-50 kgs a month we have moved to 500+ kgs monthly, and yet this growth is a mere tip of the iceberg of opportunity that I see in this sector.

Falling & getting up is intrinsic to growth, and what matters is whether that fall taught you something and are you moving forward not merely with more confidence but with enhanced knowledge & learning. This philosophy has propelled KrrunchIt to continuously reach the next levels of success. Too often we forget that the journey of 1000 miles starts with a mere step, and I can say with confidence that we have done many miles under our belt and we have many more to tread.

What is the roadmap ahead for krruunchit? Is the firm looking to focus on any specific areas to fuel its growth trajectory in the days to come?

We are soon foraying into the Retail Segment. Consumers now seek convenience - Be it packed size or bite-sized packs. This is the prevailing trend in the food industry. The objective is to be within the consumer's grasp whether in location or affordability which will ensure that there would be no looking back for us.

Nidhi Jain, Founder, Krruunchit

With her leading the company from the front, krruunchit has been aiming to strive for greater heights and has set its sights on developing into a market leader in the segment in the coming years.