Since 1990, Delhi-based Chef Amit Wadhawan has been working for various hotels and organisations in the Capital. His last stint was for four years at The Oberoi Gurgaon as Senior Chef, in-charge of kitchen operations and all the hotel events. In 2020, the F&B industry faced sever repercussions due to Covid in 2020, and so did Wadhawan. However, he already had an idea up his sleeve.
“Since we were at home during these months, I spent time making jams from seasonal produce. I took mulberries from a tree outside my home in Gurugram and made a jam. There’s an orange tree in our house, so I made orange chutney. We bottled and distributed these to family and friends.” That spurred conversations with friends, hotel guests and others who had their own farms in and around Delhi. “A friend had jamun and karonda trees at their house in Farrukhnagar, Gurugram, and requested me to use this produce. In return, I gave some of my jams.
Another lady had a farm in Rajokri, and let me use her orange, lemon, pomegranate, and guava produce,” he adds. Now, he gets strawberries from Mahabaleshwar, and Kiwis from Solan. “My previous travels to Himachal also inspired me to do something – bring such produce home and preserve them. The road was long, but I was sure that sooner or later we will make our mark in the market.” Finally on June 3, he launched Anya’s Preserves, and delivered its first order on June 5.
Till then, his family lived on savings. “I realised that a chef can only cook or do consultancy, but what use did the latter have with everything shut down? Honestly, overcoming the fact that there is no job was the most difficult part. But when we figured out the game plan, there was no looking back.” Wadhawan’s whole family is on-board. “My kids Ansh and Enya came up with the name and logo, and even designed the label. My wife Reetica helped me with sourcing the produce and marketing the product,” he says, adding that she also manages the social media page and the closed WhatsApp group for friends and customers. Today, the brand has nine products made without additives, colours, and preservatives.
Each batch, he reveals, gets sold out within 10 days. “We give a shelf life of three months. Once opened, it can be refrigerated for another two months,” he adds. About the brand’s x-factor, Wadhawan says, “First, we use seasonal fruits, and package it in such a way that it’s pasteurised and the bottle is sealed. Secondly, all chutneys, jams, and table condiments, are hot poured and bottles are sterilised at 100 degrees, and we immediately put the seal that creates a vacuum.
We use the old techniques that our grandmothers used, and this is what makes our brand unique.” Being present at various farmer’s markets around Delhi-NCR also led to increased brand visibility. “Through direct interactions at farmers and lifestyle markets in Delhi and Gurugram area, we got a lot of customers,” he shares. Anya’s Preserves has FSSAI certification, delivers pan India, with plans to make it big. “February has been the best month as we got big hamper orders from hotels and for weddings. Our basic table range starts from `300 and premium range goes up to `450,” notes Wadhawan.
CONTACT: WhatsApp: 9916940124 / 9741180361, Instagram: @anyaspreserves