From the moment you conceive up until 2 months after postpartum, your body requires specific nutritions to maintain your health. Living in nuclear families has taken away the option of easy access to our grandmother's home remedies and the growing popularity of Western medicine has become an alternative to our traditions. Alpana Tiwari found the gap that exists between the new mothers now and reliable Ayurvedic pregnancy care and created her brand, Nuskha Kitchen.
What made Alpana Tiwari start her brand
Based in Rajasthan, Alpana was always surrounded by family members like her grandfather, and her father, who were all practicing Ayurvedic medicine. She would help her father out by making the prescribed herbs for his patients after school, but she did not want to become a vaidya herself. She thought the profession would lead to her being employed in a village and she wanted to experience the city life after seeing her relatives’ live a different kind of lifestyle.
But even then she was the go-to person for her family members and friends, and would offer her Ayurvedic expertise for any health problems they were experiencing. After she gave birth to her own two children, she started helping out other women in the neighborhood with pregnancy and postnatal care by making laddus and other food in her kitchen. She realized that they either did not know enough about Ayurvedic remedies, or did not have the time to make it themselves. Alpana wanted to give these women, and anyone else in need, an alternative to the Western supplements. Encouraged by her gynecologist Dr. Santosh Yadav, she decided to launch her brand Nuskha Kitchen in 2019 with her eldest son, Viral. Her brand offered Ayurvedic remedies containing herbs and other organic ingredients to treat specific ailments and for overall maintenance of health.
What products do they offer, and their USP
With Nuskha Kitchen, Alpana Tiwari offers a variety of products like laddus, herb mixtures, and massage oils which are available individually as well as a part of their packages. This woman-led brand’s range of pregnancy remedies has products that cater to the month-wise nutritional needs of pregnant women, and even a guide book on pregnancy. They include items like Shatavari mix to balance your hormones throughout your pregnancy, and Chana Laddu to regulate your blood sugar that can only be had in the 9th month.
Their postnatal care package will last for the entirety of the crucial first 50 days. It comes with two variations, one with 14 items (₹8,999) and other with 22 items (₹14,500), with a diet chart and a meal plan included. They also make specific changes to the products based on factors like your body type, the nature of delivery, and also cater to custom requests like making their laddus in almond oil if you are vegan.
You can also find baby food from ages 6 months to 36 months with ingredients like moong dal, and oats. They have other Ayurvedic remedies for issues like digestion or to help with your skin as well. On top of selling the products on their website, they have also put their packages as well as individual items on Amazon for a more convenient purchasing experience.
Alpana’s commitment to customer service is what sets Nushka Kitchen apart. Not only do they have a 24/7 helpline to answer all the queries of a new mother, they also can connect you to their listed natal yoga/ Lamaze experts, doctors, and Ayurvedic vaidyas.
What challenges did she overcome
When launching her business, Alpana Tiwari faced a lot of skepticism from family members for her decision. They would ask her why she was choosing to waste her money on this venture, and would also claim that it would not be sustainable.
Another crucial challenge Alpana faced was about lack of recognition for Ayurvedic remedies as mainstream solutions. While widely recognized, there are still many questions that are raised on the success of Ayurveda in substituting for techniques found in other popularized solutions. It is not that there is no need for Alpana’s Ayurvedic remedies for pregnancy care, it was all about getting the word out for her bootstrapped brand.
What are the ways Alpana is growing her brand
Since visibility is one of their main concerns, they are tackling it head-on by different means. Alpana Tiwari made an appearance on Shark Tank in 2023 and gained a lot of popularity for their natural and effective solutions.
To add to their virtual presence, Nuskha kitchen is very active on their Instagram where they post videos of Alpana herself explaining the uses of a remedy and how to consume them. They also have a YouTube channel where they upload podcast episodes of the woman entrepreneur speaking with doctors and experts regarding different issues that arise during pregnancy care.
Collaborating with influencers, giving interviews on media websites and radio talk shows, as well as listing their brand with platforms like Women Listed are a few other ways Alpana is promoting her brand. If you would like to purchase her products for yourself or for a loved one, you can check out her website.
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