From designing rockets to building a Rs 1 crore baby food empire: Meet Meerut engineer who found her entrepreneurial dream through motherhood

For many women, motherhood comes with lots of challenges and responsibilities. Working women, especially, have it tougher, juggling both their careers and family life. But for entrepreneur Jyoti Srivastava, motherhood became the foundation for her business journey, helping her build a Rs 1 crore baby food empire. Jyoti, a former chemical engineer, specialised in nanotechnology and rocket propellants. Burned out and underpaid, she quit the job in 2018 and found out that she was pregnant a year later. After childbirth, Jyoti started researching nutritious foods for her son’s solid-food journey and eventually discovered the benefits of locally grown millet.

Profit from baby food business

Jyoti, who used to design rockets to be commissioned in the Indian Army, launched her food business, Little Cherry Mom, in 2022 with her husband, Gaurav Goel, an MBA graduate who looks after the operations and finances of the company, reports The Better India. Since its launch, the company has catered to over 12000 customers.

Little Cherry Mom recorded a turnover of Rs 1 crore in FY 2022-23, after starting with Rs 2.87 lakh in revenue and 385 orders in its first month, revealed Jyoti in a conversation with Ideapreneur India.com. Today, the business generates around Rs 12 lakh a month and fulfils more than 1,300 orders on average.

All about the millet-based food business

Jyoti’s millet-based baby food business offers a diverse range of products including millet flours, instant dosa mixes, and sugar- and jaggery-free laddoos. They also have healthy snacks for kids like khakras (thin crackers), A2 Bilona cow ghee, and amla prash (immunity booster made from Indian gooseberry). As per Jyoti, millets have healing properties that help with hormone- and bone-related issues. Her products have no hidden maida, refined sugar, or artificial flavours.

Launching the bootstrapped venture was far from easy, with limited funds and stiff competition from established brands. However, Jyoti focused on making her products research-backed and easily digestible. For example, the company sprouts ragi to maximise its protein content and improve digestion, while its milk mix combines carefully selected spices to support respiratory health and immunity.

The brand draws heavily from traditional Indian food practices, using sprouted grains, fermented ingredients and cold-pressed fats in its recipes. Quality remains a priority, with Jyoti testing every product on her own children first. Ingredients are sourced from verified farms, with strict checks for chemical fertilisers and pesticide residues.