Preena Chauhan interview

Preena Chauhan's brand Arvinda's, which is a purveyor of authentic, fresh and wholesome cooking ingredients for Indian cuisine, was recently a part of the Gourmet Food and Wine Expo in Toronto. The Toronto entrepreneur answers some questions for Cityguide.

How did you come up with the idea for the company?
My mother, Arvinda Chauhan has been teaching regional Indian cooking classes since 1993 in Southern Ontario through her cooking school, Arvinda’s Healthy Gourmet Indian Cooking school. It was through the cooking school my mom started to sell her spice blends and cooking masala to her clients. Some were derived from family traditions but most she created herself--realizing her students wanted something to make Indian cooking at home less daunting. She used to make them in small batches and sold them in small plastic bags through the cooking school. Soon, her clients were buying them regularly, sharing them with their families, friends and neighbours. A small following of devoted customers would remind my mom they had run out of the spice blends, so based on special request she would roast and grind fresh batches made-to-order. We realized we had a great product and while in still in high school, my brother Paresh and I always said we should bring them to market to share them with others. At that time, we only talked about it as if it was an unattainable dream.

I went on to do my Master’s degree in Environmental Studies, with the focus of my research centring on sustainable food systems and the role of the private sector in contributing to this through more ethical and sustainable practices. In my Summer 2005 term, I attained a grant from the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade at the time to start my own “summer company”. Since I was closely tied to my mother’s cooking school, and having always wanting to bring our spice blends to market, it was an opportunity I had to embrace. I tied the theoretical concepts of my studies and linked it to the practical level of incorporating those concepts into a business in the food sector. My brother Paresh found himself naturally involved and excited about this, since we had talked about it several years before. When we launched the products, we realized there was again some good interest in our spice combinations. Paresh realized too he would be happy to pursue this vision we always had, and quickly left his career in software development. Since then, the two of us have been working together on our products.

What has the experience been like so far?
It's been a wonderful experience--to do what you really love to do everyday. I love anything that has to do with food and I also have a passion for teaching so for me it's been wonderful to pair the two together. Education and "teaching" Indian cuisine is really at the core of the products. Both Paresh and I also love meeting our colleagues in the food business who also share the same passion for food as we do.

What sorts of reactions have you received from South Asian and non-South Asian customers?
Our reaction from our customers is great -- they absolutely love the ease of use and the unique and notable texture, aroma and flavour. We find second and third generation South Asians are very receptive to our spice blends as it "tastes like home" for them. Some of them have not had the transmission of culinary knowledge and recipes, or are just looking for something convenient yet authentic--so we find they enjoy our products very much.

Is there a particular demographic that are continually buying your products?
We find we attract a lot of the "foodies" and gourmet cooks who are looking for quality and want to cook from scratch using fresh ingredients. Our spice blends enable them to cook with a lot of flavour with good quality of spices but allow them to use fresh and organic ingredients. We find chefs are really engaged with our products and we also sell our products in foodservice sized containers for restaurants and caterers looking to incorporate authentic Indian flavours into their offerings.

Where have you been selling the products?
Gourmet and specialty retailers -- such as Pusateri's, The Big Carrot, Leslieville Cheese, All the Best Fine Foods in Toronto.

What are some of the short term and long term goals you have for the company?
We are continually striving to make our business environmentally sustainable which we're striving to incorporate gradually into the business. Also we are an "ingredients" company -- giving people the tools they need to make healthy and flavourful Indian cuisine at home, therefore have plans for including new products into our portfolio.

What have you learned from the experience?
It's been a constant learning experience--especially having little formal business training or background, however it's our passion that keeps us going.
Consumers are demanding different things in the climate of today's vast food choices and we've learnt to adapt to this and to listen to our customers.

For more info on Preena and the company and recipes, visit arvindas.com

and
For more info on Preena and the company and recipes, visit hgic.ca

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Preena Chauhan interview

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