From IIM to CEO’s Office to ₹1 Crore Turnover: How Keerthi Priya Built Koh Foods

Keerthi Priya, an IIM graduate, gave up a promising corporate career to start a business that today boasts a turnover of ₹1 crore. Her company, Koh Foods, sells healthy vegetable powders and mixes, and was founded in 2022 in Telangana with a vision to provide 100% natural nutrition to busy urban households.

Addressing Modern Health Challenges
In today’s fast-paced urban lifestyle, poor dietary habits have contributed to rising health issues like diabetes and hypertension. Observing that people often skip nutritious meals in favor of fast food, Keerthi Priya decided to offer a simple solution. Using homemade dehydrated vegetable powders sent by her mother, she created a commercially viable product line that combines convenience with nutrition.

Humble Beginnings
Keerthi hails from a small village in Telangana. Despite earning a B. Pharma from BITS Pilani and an MBA from IIM Calcutta, she began her career in the corporate sector, first at Janalakshmi Small Finance Bank in the CEO’s office, and later at a startup called Local Name. Frequent missed meals inspired her mother to send her homemade vegetable powders, which she would quickly add to curries and juices for nutrition. This sparked the idea of taking this traditional practice to millions of urban consumers. The conceptual foundation for Koh Foods was laid in 2018.

Leaving the Job to Start Up
Between 2018 and 2020, Keerthi’s idea was in its experimental stage. Her decision to quit her secure job raised concerns within her family, as she became the first-generation entrepreneur in her household. At 26, she faced the daunting challenge of setting up a manufacturing unit in rural Telangana and gaining the trust of local farmers. Undeterred, she collaborated with farmers practicing pesticide-free agriculture. With support from Standup India and Startup India, she established her factory on a one-acre plot.

Empowering Rural Women
Koh Foods products are 100% plant-based and preservative-free. Keerthi works with around 20 progressive farmers who cultivate spinach, beetroot, carrot, and curry leaves. These vegetables are dried using low-temperature (below 60°C) electrical dehydration to preserve nutrients. The factory also employs 15 rural women. To promote her products, Keerthi conducted live cooking demonstrations, showing how easily her powders could be incorporated into dishes like colorful dosas and pink idlis.

Scaling New Heights
Demand for Koh Foods products has grown rapidly. From a revenue of ₹20 lakh in FY 2024, the company has now crossed ₹1 crore. Keerthi’s vision extends beyond India, with her products now available in the United States. Her goal is to establish a globally trusted “clean label” brand that appeals to consumers in Western countries as well.

Keerthi Priya’s journey proves that with strong intent and a quality product, even a small idea can evolve into a multi-crore business.