A Kiwi-Gujarati septuagenarian and her daughter are serving up a sizzling start-up story.
‘Sobhna’s’ range of curry paste, spice mixes and pickles have wafted their way from home delivery and farmers’ markets to aisles at 106 Countdown stores across the country.
Auckland-based Subhadra Odedra chose to call her brand Sobhna, the name her mother-in-law gave her, and the one she prefers now. The 71-year-old embarked on the culinary journey with her daughter Nimeesha.
Sobhna grew up in Africa, spent her early married life in India, and then moved to the UK before migrating to Aotearoa in 2002.
Her 49-year-old daughter says, "My mum has infused her life experiences from growing up in Zanzibar, her youth and early married life in India, and her life as a mother in the UK into her food.
My mother's cooking is also influenced by her mother, who we all called ‘Ba’. She was the most amazing woman, and her culinary skills were unmatched."
In 2004, Sobhna gave up her day job to take care of her new-born grandson Shiv, so that Nimeesha could continue working. When she eventually decided to go back to work, she could not find a job despite her diverse work experience, including roles at a chocolate factory, home light bulb production, and supermarkets.
“When he [Shiv] was five and started school, mom got bored. And she wanted to work. She missed the contact with people. She found it really hard to get work up here mainly due to her age,” says Nimeesha.
Frustration began to creep in until Sobhna discovered solace in selling samosas and Indian delicacies at Sunday markets in Auckland in 2009.
“My daughter-in-law, Miranda, decided to set up a small stall selling biscuits and chutneys at the local Silverdale market. I would go with her to help look after my then six-month-old granddaughter, Xela.
“A few years later, when Miranda decided to return to work, I told Nimeesha to help me carry on with Sunday markets,” Sobhna says.
She began experimenting with the offerings, adding curry paste, hot sauces and pickles to the mix. The market became a space for her to showcase her culinary skills and connect with people who appreciated her dishes.
“I made lots of friends. Moving on, they wanted me to make meals. And making meals was tough, I started making the curry paste in about 2015," Sobhna recalls.
Then came the Covid-19 pandemic, and the opportunity to share her passion with a broader audience. Recognising their culinary talents, Nimeesha convinced her mother to showcase their cooking skills on social media, sharing authentic Indian recipes that Sobhna learned from her mother, Liribhen Karavadra, while growing up in the western Indian state of Gujarat.
Their lockdown cooking videos struck a chord with food enthusiasts, and the duo soon amassed a solid social media following.
"Over about a period, we ended up with… went from 70 to more than 6,000 followers. And by the end of the lockdown, we started to get orders on Facebook. I drove from 7am to 8pm doing deliveries.
“Then, we began couriering the deliveries. But then we thought we must do an online store and our website. We thought we would stay online for about a few years, two or three years, before we started going into retail," says Nimeesha.
That was until one of their customers told them Countdown had launched an accelerator programme to help five small businesses upscale and launch at their supermarket in 2021.
"I thought, no, we won't get in,” Nimeesha recalls. “We are too new. We don't know what we are doing. So, I ignored it. And then, a friend encouraged me to apply. I applied and then got selected in September 2021. It took us over a year to upscale. In December 2022, we made a bold leap into the shelves of Countdown, marking a significant milestone in our trajectory.”
The business has flourished ever since, attracting customers from all over New Zealand and earning accolades, including a silver medal at Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards.
“With Sobhna's trademark curry pastes that are available in mild, medium and hot, we endeavour to introduce New Zealanders to the authentic flavours of Indian food and empower them to create delicious meals at home,” Nimeesha says.
“Our products are prepared in a stage process, so we do everything the traditional way...the way our mothers or grandmothers did back in India."
The mother and daughter have their eyes set on expanding the business now. “The ultimate dream is to have our own [manufacturing] facility. We want to also expand to Australia within the next two years,” Nimeesha says.
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