I offer 1-to-1 product development and clarity support for home producers and early-stage food businesses, specialising in Indian food. My work is grounded in extensive, hands-on experience across food product creation, manufacturing, retail supply, and direct-to-consumer e-commerce. My background includes founding Saffron Tree, an award-winning Indian food business specialising in ready meals and spice blends. The brand achieved national recognition, including a UK Grocer New Product Award, supply into premium retailers such as Waitrose, and features on national television, where both the products and I appeared alongside celebrity chefs including the Hairy Bikers. After taking time away from the industry for personal health reasons, I returned with a renewed and more focused approach and now run Monalisa’s Kitchen, a growing food business supplying products across the UK, with a strong emphasis on e-commerce and direct-to-consumer sales via Shopify. The range includes curry cooking pastes, spice blends and meal kits, developed for home cooks, and the brand has continued to gain industry recognition, including being the bronze winner for Grocer New Product Award in the Cooking Sauces and Meal Kit category — reflecting a consistent focus on flavour, quality, and thoughtful product development. This experience gives me a practical, end-to-end understanding of what it takes to build food products — from early ideas and recipe development, through decisions around product range, scale, pricing, positioning, and compliance awareness, right through to launching and selling products online. Through building and running my own food businesses, I have also worked hands-on with the technical and food safety aspects required to bring products to market, including product documentation, labelling requirements, allergen information, and HACCP processes. In sessions, I can help founders understand what is involved, how to approach this sensibly, and when specialist or formal support may be needed. These sessions are designed for people at the very beginning or early stages of their journey — whether you are exploring an idea, developing products from home, or preparing to launch an Indian food business. This is not coaching or packaged consultancy, but focused, confidential support to help you think clearly, avoid common pitfalls, and move forward with confidence. If you’re looking for thoughtful, practical guidance and a space to talk things through, I may be able to help you.