There are people who eat to survive and then there are people who live to eat. But over time, we have been witnessing another category of people who have made their life everything about ‘food’ — from their hobby to passion, mission, and even profession!
Our Bengaluru based mom and entrepreneur Kirti Yadav is one such woman who made food & healthy eating her passion, mission as well as profession!
Kirti always wanted to do something of her own. Public speaking, presentations, leading always fascinated her, and somewhere deep inside, she knew that this is what she wanted — this is what she was made for and when she took a break from her years’ long corporate career to take care of her newborn child, she also got an opportunity to build her entrepreneurial career.
“I left my corporate career after our daughter was born. She is our blessing because while I was busy taking care of her, I also joined Plattershare, my first venture which was run by a few of my friends. I used to work only when she was sleeping and dedicate the rest of the time to her. That period of my life was a whole different experience. I knew that this is what I’ll be continuing with,” Kirti says. “In 2018 I started my second venture KuKClean — ‘Kitchen U and Kirti’s Clean’ eating journey to inspire everyone about the whole plant-based food lifestyle.”
Kirti’s KuKClean is bringing a plate level change. She believes that a plant-based food lifestyle is a future to heal the world. KuKClean promotes healthy and clean food, spreads awareness about it by conducting corporate wellness programs, online and offline cooking workshops, and by providing personal counselling with the holistic approach to change the complete lifestyle.
For Kirti, being an entrepreneur gave her an opportunity to interact and inspire several other people. It all started six years back when her fight between health and taste began, “I wanted to lose weight but could not compromise on bland and boring food. When I lost 28 kgs and turned vegan, I realized what it means to be a vegan in a dairy obsessed country. Slowly, people started noticing me and asking me tips for weight loss. That’s when I decided to conduct corporate wellness programs and provide personal counselling.” She also started promoting the whole plant-based food lifestyle through her FB group followed by establishing her venture KuKClean. Her quest about nutrition helped her to become a certified holistic nutritionist from AFPA and she started KuKClean wholesome plant-based community e-store in Bengaluru to provide personalized healthy tasty vegan food products.
As of now, KuKClean is preincubated in NSRCEL, IIM- Bangalore and there is a lot to learn and adapt like any other startup. “Operations are tricky and we have to do everything — from creating content to building an online presence to delivery, but I feel these things teach you unlimited lessons which no corporate job can teach you,” Kirti continues. “It’s like raising a child; you will love your kid unconditionally but you will also need to face the challenges and look after them!”
Food and beverage industry saw a surge during the pandemic, especially with all the healthy food & lifestyle becoming a priority, people are more conscious than ever. KuKClean got the complete advantage of this and was operating during the lockdown when a lot of other businesses were on the verge of closing down.
Kirti dedicates the success of KuKClean to her family who always supported her. From getting her first job to making her father proud to marrying her life partner and giving birth to her wonderful daughter, these are the moments Kirit finds strength and solace in.
On asking about tips to start an entrepreneurial journey, she says, “build your niche, understand your target audience, take a plunge and move forward.” Kirti further wants to expand KuKClean to the international market and as her 6YO kid wishes, she wants to see her venture on roadside hoardings.
She concludes her story by asking every woman to never give up. “Keep going. Put in some effort every day. Do not give up on your dreams or career due to kids or family or society. Koshish toh karo, kuch naa kuch ho hi jayega!”
You can connect with Kirti through her Facebook page or Instagram account. You can also visit the website of KuKClean or follow their updates on Facebook or Instagram.
Have you found your true calling yet? Or know someone who has realised it? Keep sharing such #PassionToProfession stories with me and stay tuned for another tale next Sunday! #InfanoWomen