“I grew up in Hyderabad, but our roots are in Thonda Thirumalagiri, a small village in Suryapet district. My father works in the Telangana Police Department but has always been passionate about farming. During school holidays, we’d visit our village, and that’s where I began to understand how farming really worked—the crop cycles, price crashes, and why some harvests went unsold.

After completing my B.Pharm from BITS Pilani and MBA from IIM Calcutta, I worked in banking in Bengaluru. My mother would often send me parcels of sun-dried vegetables and homemade powders. Those thoughtful packages made it easier to eat healthy on hectic days—and that’s when I realised how valuable such food solutions could be for others too.

India processes less than 10% of its agricultural produce. Cold storage is costly, and dehydration seemed like a simple, energy-efficient, preservative-free alternative. But most dehydration methods I observed involved open-air drying with hygiene challenges, which made me think of building a better system.

In 2020, I left my corporate job and spent a year learning the science—visiting farms, food labs, and research centres. In 2021, we set up a 6,000 sq. ft unit in Thonda Thirumalagiri, and ‘Koh! Foods’ was launched in 2022 as a mother-daughter venture.

My mother, Odapalli Vijaya Laxmi, leads operations—overseeing procurement, mentoring women from nearby villages, managing production, and personally testing every product. Her discipline and traditional knowledge are the heart of what we do, along with our dedicated team.

We work directly with farmers, encouraging them to grow pesticide-residue-free crops like spinach, beetroot, moringa, and carrots. We ensure fair prices, training, and continuous support. Our products—vegetable powders, herbal teas, and fruit candies contain no additives or preservatives, just clean, honest food for everyday use.

Today, our products are available online across India and on Amazon in the US and Dubai. We’re now developing ready-to-use Indian cooking blends—simple, traceable, and rooted in sustainable farming.”

— Keerthi Priya, Founder, Koh! Foods