(NTI) : Sanjeeta KK, a Chennai-based entrepreneur, founded OGMO Foods in 2018 with a mission to make a significant impact through the use of ancient minor millets. Her brand, which specializes in products made from millets like barnyard and little millet, is now featured in premium stores across Chennai and Pune.
Sanjeeta’s journey took an unexpected turn in the 1990s when a medical emergency forced her to leave her corporate job and take an eight-year hiatus. Fueled by her passion for food, she reinvented her career as a food blogger, styling consultant, and social entrepreneur. In 2018, she launched OGMO Foods, which stands for Organic Movement, in Chennai.
Drawing on her corporate experience, Sanjeeta established meticulous processes for her operations, leading to some surprising discoveries. “On our first production day, I had labeled all the raw materials and left detailed notes like ‘Measure 20kg of barnyard millet, 5 kg of raisins, 1 gram of pink salt,’” she recounts. “I was stunned to find that none of my staff, who were from rural backgrounds, could read or write in English or Tamil.”
Despite this challenge, Sanjeeta persevered. During a visit to her farm near Cheyyur in Tamil Nadu, where she grows organic vegetables and fruits, she spoke with local farmers who shared that they once cultivated various ancient grains but had stopped due to lack of market demand. This conversation inspired her to revive millet production, benefiting both farmers and the environment. Millets require significantly less water than staples like wheat and rice.
Millets, revered as a staple crop of our ancestors, are categorized into major and minor varieties. Minor millets include finger millet, little millet, kodo millet, foxtail millet, barnyard millet, and proso millet. Before the Green Revolution in the 1960s, millets comprised about 40% of cultivated grains, but their production has since diminished in favor of rice and wheat.
OGMO Foods began with a focus on minor millets such as barnyard and little millet. The brand offers minimally processed products including overnight millets, health mixes, baby foods, granolas, energy bites, snacks, ready-to-cook premixes, pre-soaked millets, whole grains, and flours. Sanjeeta notes that their health mixes, energy bites, and premixes are particularly popular.
“We haven’t invested in marketing or advertising; our growth has been driven by word of mouth,” she says. OGMO Foods’ flagship product, the overnight millet, is unique in the market. The products are available in premium stores across Chennai, Pune, and the northeast, as well as online through Amazon and BigBasket.
OGMO Foods operates with a social entrepreneurship ethos, employing 12 people, many of whom are women, at both the farm and factory. Sanjeeta’s husband, Krishnakumar, a former IT professional, assists with daily operations.
“Our goal isn’t financial gain, as my children are settled and there’s no need for extra income,” explains Sanjeeta. “Our focus is on making a difference—through women’s empowerment, promoting healthy eating, and supporting farmers.”
Looking ahead, Sanjeeta plans to expand her product line and emphasize natural farming practices. She takes pride in raising awareness about minor millets and reintroducing them to our diets.
Four years into her social entrepreneurial journey, Sanjeeta’s advice to aspiring women entrepreneurs is clear: stay focused and start, no matter how small the beginning.
