Hyderabad resident Prathima Viswanath, a mother of two, spent years travelling with her daughter, a tennis player, to various tournaments. The challenge of providing nutritious homemade food during these travels led her to look for solutions.

“When my daughter received a sports scholarship to study in the US, I knew that the time had come for me to do something,” Prathima says.

The difficulty Prathima faced was finding healthy, homemade food that could withstand long travel hours without spoiling. She realised that many mothers experience the same problem.

In 2019, she and her husband, Viswanath, launched Ammamma’s — a ready-to-cook food business.

They invested Rs 10 lakh to start, with just three employees. “We wanted to build a food business as this is a universal need,” says Prathima.

After months of research and testing, Prathima perfected a recipe for ready-to-cook chapatis. The couple began distributing their whole wheat chapatis in gated communities in Hyderabad. The positive response from customers led them to venture into modern trade stores.

Today, their products are available in major retail chains across Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Bengaluru, in addition to being sold on their website.

Ammamma’s soon expanded its product range to include methi, ragi, and moringa chapatis, along with pooris and idli-dosa batters. Snacks like murukulu, chakodi, boondi, and cow ghee followed.

Their bestsellers are whole wheat chapatis, idli-dosa batter, and methi chapatis, all of which quickly became customer favourites.

In 2023, they also launched four chutneys — the famous alam (ginger), coconut chana, tomato and peanut.

The biggest satisfaction for her is the feedback from customers, who come back for her products.

Despite initial success, the journey was not without challenges. Getting products into retail store shelves involved significant investment.

“Getting the right distributors and convincing stores to stock your product is not a cakewalk. We have pumped in almost all of our savings into this which is more than Rs 4 crore,” shares Prathima.

Ammamma’s now sells over 90,000 chapatis daily and has achieved a turnover of Rs 9.6 crore. The company is growing at an impressive 40% year-on-year rate, with a presence in 800 stores across Hyderabad, Secunderabad, and Bengaluru.

Looking ahead, Prathima and Viswanath plan to expand Ammamma’s across India in the next five years. With 130+ employees and a solid growth trajectory, they aim to bring their convenient, healthy food solutions to families nationwide.