After almost five years of living in Abu Dhabi with her husband Ajin M P, Lakshmi Raj returned to Kerala In 2016.
She says that on coming back, she found that instant food was not as readily available as in Abu Dhabi.
Meanwhile, she notes, most dishes native to Kerala use some form of coconut — grated, ground, or milk.
“Having to grate it the traditional way every time was proving to be difficult for me. Even though Kerala has plenty of coconut trees, grated coconut is not easily available here,” she says.
This predicament led her to start her food venture Easy ‘n’ Fresh in 2016 with a loan of Rs 5 lakh.
She tied up with coconut farmers to buy the coconut at market price.
Today, she distributes her product in different supermarkets across Kerala.
“A hundred grams of frozen grated coconut costs Rs 33, and 200 grams costs Rs 46. The shelf life of the product is five days,” she says.
Apart from grated coconut, she also produces coconut chutney powder, varutharacha chicken curry masala, prawns chutney powder, hot processed virgin coconut oil, frozen grated coconut and theeyal masala.
“I earn Rs 1 lakh per month from selling my products,” she says. “The profit is used to expand my business and make more varieties of products.”