Meet Sujata Singh
We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sujata Singh a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Sujata, thanks for joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
I am an accountant by profession. 5 years ago, having been a stay at home parent for 10+ years and thinking that I wanted to get back into workforce, I started looking at different job options available. Nothing really appealed to me. As luck would have it, when I was having drinks with my husband one evening, an out of town person at the bar asked us if we knew of a good Indian restaurant in town. He traveled here often for work, but found the Indian food scene to be lacking. I jokingly said “well, my kitchen of course”. That got me thinking that how we actually did not have an authentic Indian restaurant in town, and the Indian food that people here (in this city or US) are familiar with is not what most Indians grew up with. Keeping that in mind, I started doing pop-up dinners every other month with menus that featured dishes from all over India and were authentic. These pop-ups did very well. Few months later, pandemic hit and I had to pivot into doing meals-to-go. And in late 2021 I came upon the space we are in now and it was available. Even though I was not planning on having a brick and mortar place, I decided to make a go of it and here we are after having that conversation with a stranger at a bar in summer of 2018
Sujata, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
As I said in the previous section, I started with doing Indian pop-up dinners, that were (and still are) multi course tasting dinners. At my brick and mortar space we offer a rotating menu of a small batch cooked, freshly prepared, Indian food that is prepared to go. We also offer a curated selection of spices, chocolates, home goods, etc. all sourced from India. The thing that I am most proud is the quality of product that we offer. I want to be known for and continued to be known for the quality of our food, the way we prepare it so that each batch has that home-made taste and quality.
Have you ever had to pivot?
I had to pivot twice, once because of pandemic when I had to stop doing pop-up dinners and I started doing meals to go. The second time was when I found the current place we are in and decided that it will work really well for a brick and mortar space, even though I had no plans to do so any time soon.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
I tried different marketing strategies for the business, but in the end for me the best thing that worked was social media. I saw the most consistent results with it, and still do.
Contact Info:
Website: www.spicetrailcha.com
Instagram: @spicetrailcha
Facebook: @spicetrailcha
Linkedin: Spice Trail | Chattanooga