Breaking barriers: 48-year-old woman entrepreneur makes waves in startup world, wins top startup award

A 48-year-old woman from Mysuru is having a significant impact in the startup industry, preferably dominated by youthful technocrats, with her company Mamma Mills.

During the Mysuru Big Tech Show 2024, Anitha Sadanand, a mother of three children, won the top fundable startup award for her firm.

Anitha launched two vegan products with this firm; they are sugar and milk-free products made with organic crops that are adaptable to climate change.

Two more products for mothers who are pregnant or breastfeeding are about to be released. The Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) exhibited her products in Europe, Australia, South Africa, and South Korea, demonstrating the high caliber and marketability of her goods.

Anitha founded this company to provide babies with fortification and traditional recipes based on the idea of grandmother's recipe, or "sattu maavu."

Her own experiences served as the foundation for Mamma Mills.

"My third child arrived prematurely. Her pediatrician recommended fortification and weaning using a traditional recipe. My daughter was receiving two mixes from me, which included green gram, Dalia, black chana, and ragi (finger millet). I've now turned it into a startup," she remarked.

Mamma Mills sources premium grains for its vegan and organic products from Organic Mandya, a Mandya-based initiative.

In a market now dominated by huge enterprises, Shivashankar B, chief executive of Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering — Science & Technology Entrepreneurs Park (SJCE-STEP), a start-up technology business incubator center at JSS Technical Institutions Campus in Mysuru praised the firm for its focus on providing needed nutritious meals for babies.

In order to promote a healthy society, he emphasized the significance of resurrecting traditional food production methods and practices.

He pointed out that the community as a whole has been put at risk by the overabundance of Western fast food culture and traditional methods, like those of Mamma Mills, can contribute to the development of a healthier society by addressing important problems in the baby food market and maintaining products that are accessible and easy to use for the younger generation.