Young and budding entrepreneurs are always very inspiring to learn from! This month, we at Hi!! had the privilege of meeting the talented, Yadusha Ravindran.
Starting at the tender age of 17, right after the completion of her A/Level examinations, Yadusha set foot into her career by opening up Kafcà; a brand that produces and provides affordable, healthy yet delicious products such as organic peanut butter, etc which are additive and preservative-free!
Initially known as Nutify, Yadusha went on to brainstorm some appealing names alongside her brother and later on, renamed her company to Kafcà! Yadusha adds, "I wanted a more neutral name for my brand that was also cohesive with the plans I had for its future and Kafcà was pretty much god-sent!"
This skilled & capable businesswoman had always dreamed of starting a brand of her own; seeing her parents, especially her father, work hard and dedicating themselves to take their choices of work to great heights, had served her a remarkable sense of inspiration! She founded Kafcà just three and a half months ago, amidst the current coronavirus pandemic, and it had been a very intriguing ride initially. “For every ambitious endeavor, the journey was most definitely not going to be an easy one”, stated Yadusha. She told us that during the production stage, it had evidently been very difficult at most times to obtain high-quality ingredients and eco-friendly packaging to market their goodies to customers. Nevertheless, that did not allow her to give up.
Kafcà was able to hit it off with two flavours of peanut butter, namely “Crunchy” & “Smooth”, which was followed by a ‘Trail-mix with a Sri Lankan twist’ in the next month of operation. So far, her customers have been loving the organic and appetizing taste her products brought out and they’ve been showing some extra love towards the “Peanut Butter: Smooth” product! “It definitely left their mark on our account books!”, Yadusha shared very jubilantly.
One of Kafcà’s goals is to spread interest in organic peanut butter across Sri Lanka. Although currently, they only have a couple of flavours out in the market, they are planning to launch two new flavours in the months to come, while retaining its organic nature and healthiness: "Chocolate" and "Chocolate chip". That being said, I am very delighted to state that I received a chance to taste their "Peanut Butter: Chocolate" and “Peanut Butter: Crunchy” spreads just recently and the chocolate flavoured one has become my absolute favourite! You can easily spread the paste on some slices of bread, have them toasted, and have a rather delicious hot meal for breakfast. It is recommendable to even eat it while having a good cup of tea on a hot Sunday afternoon!
Yadusha educated us by declaring her Mission & Vision for Kafcà. Her mission for her brand is to make high-quality products that are preservative and additive-free at affordable prices and making them available for the local community. In terms of her vision for Kafcà, she plans to make it global one day by sustainably producing high-quality products, while maintaining eco-friendly principles and preserving the Lankan culture. She also plans to open a store with her products and provide a platform for local & small businesses to grow as well.
Today, while only being 18 years of age, she goes onto encourage anyone else who is willing & thriving to create a brand of their own;
“Don’t think about your age - it doesn’t matter. It’s all about achieving your goals and the little risks you are willing to take. The best thing about being an entrepreneur is that you can make use of your techniques and strategies in your business. What you create becomes your ‘baby’, and you will watch it grow knowing that it was your hard work that caused it to become what it is one day. Of course, it can go either way, but then again it’s a risk you should be willing to take”.
