Today we’d like to introduce you to Raina Kumra
Hi Raina, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
After facing multiple overlapping family health disasters in early 2021, I set out to find a better way to integrate healthy, healing foods into the meals we eat. I grew up with Ayurveda and learned from my mother and grandmother that the first stop when illness strikes isn’t the drug store – it’s the spice drawer. When I had my first child in 2013, I went back to deploying the power of the pantry and making plant-based medicine at home. During the pandemic, my husband had knee surgery, on the same day my daughter and son were in a bike accident, resulting in broken bones for one of them! I turned all my focus to taking care of them!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Initially, the road was very smooth and we had products in the market within 6 months! The growth of CPG businesses in this very archaic business model has been difficult. I came from a long and fruitful career in tech, and the lack of efficiency in the CPG / Food industry is really amazing. So much opportunity to make it better!
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Salt and pepper haven’t been innovated in 100 years- we are updating the category on consumer trends of food-as-medicine and clean label and microplastic testing. As I began formally studying plant medicine to deepen my understanding of the science behind where our medicine originally came from, I understood how the food we eat has an outsized impact on our ability to fend off chronic disease. In short, we are better off getting our vitamins from vegetables and fruits of many colors than taking them in pill form. I began doing more research on the fact that our soil has fewer nutrients now than it ever has, and that the food grown in this soil is also less nutritive. I came to understand how our entire food and health system was broken. And no matter how well we eat, we are still not getting enough of what we need.
I learned that most Americans are walking around with a nutrient deficiency. And there is a direct link to chronic illness. And, being the problem-solver and movement-builder that I am at my core, I was determined to fix this at scale. I set out to solve this problem by starting with the first nutrient-dense and lower-in-sodium salt and pepper. I’ve added ancient Ayurvedic formulations known to help the body and mind adapt to inflammation and stress, as well as 21 vitamins and minerals to eat with your food – the way they were always meant to be absorbed. I started with salt and pepper because they unite the American palate and my aim is to bring you a little bit extra (specifically, 10% of your recommended daily intake of key nutrients), without sacrificing flavor and without changing our daily habits around cooking and seasoning.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I am a major risk taker – I literally cannot life without taking some risks, especially in business and creativity. These risks are always calculated, and the more experience one has in taking risks, the better your outcomes. So always best to start now – right?
Pricing:
- Spicewell Products range from $9.99-$250.00
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.spicewell.com
- Instagram: @spicewell
- Facebook: @spicewell
- LinkedIn: @spicewell / @kumratronic
- Twitter: @spicewell
- Youtube: @spicewell
Image Credits
John Policarpio, Lauren Urasek
