Kerala couple's dosa and Idli batter, a big hit in Netherlands

A couple, both IT professionals, landed in the Netherlands as part of their job 11 years ago and started 'Mother's Kitchen, a company, which prepares idli dosa batter and distributes it in supermarkets.

Ernakulam (Kerala): A search for crispy dosas and puffy idlis in the Netherlands has forced a Kerala couple to launch a dosa and idly batter company in the foreign land. The company is a runaway success in the Netherlands and the couple is now supplying the batter to more than 75 per cent of supermarkets in the country. Naveen and Ramya, both IT professionals, landed in the Netherlands as part of their job 11 years ago. Naveen said, "When we came to the Netherlands, we were in search of authentic South Indian food, especially dosa and idli. However, we could only get frozen dosas. The unavailability of their favourite food made us think about starting a business of the same in a foreign land."

First, they prepared a 10 kg dosa batter using a wet grinder. When they understood there was a good demand, Naveen quit his job and purchased modern equipment to increase the production to 500 kgs. Then there was no looking back. Ramya is still working as an IT professional but spends her free time helping her husband at the company.

The company 'Mother's Kitchen', produces the batter for three days of the week and distributes them to the supermarket in the next two days of the week. Their products are now available in more than 75 per cent of the supermarkets in the country. From an employee, Naveen is now an employer and has recruited helping staff at his company. The couple is now thinking about replicating their successful business model in their homeland as well.