Mugdha Bhagchandka, Co-Owner, Meal of the Moment (M.O.M)
M.O.M. is Mugdha Bhagchandka’s debut entrepreneurial project with her husband Prateek Bhagchandka, with whom she enjoys working with immensely and she envisions to see M.O.M in every household cabinet in the next few years.
Mugdha, a post graduate in finance from Kings College, London, started M.O.M with purview providing wholesome, delicious and preservative free food to their consumers at affordable prices.
“We at M.O.M, felt that there was a blaring gap in the market. Ready to eat foods in India so far have focused on providing restaurant type food like Dal Makhani which people don’t want to eat daily. Also, they tend to be quite expensive. The convenience breakfast category has seen a surge in product launches but the quality of the products has been sub-par. We wanted to offer a quality product which people can consume every day and at an affordable price point,”says Mugdha.
Being the product head of the brand, she needs to brainstorm everyday to bring innovations, develop parallel product lines and think of what’s next! It’s a very creative job of adapting authentic home recipes into this modern and convenient format.
She believes that society has transformed drastically and it is no more a male dominating world now. “I have felt that the society is now very supportive of women entrepreneurs and appreciates our achievements. If a woman thinks she can do the job then there is no stopping her. I have never felt any differential treatment during industry meets despite being the only female in the room,” Bhagchandka added.
M.O.M products are manufactured in a one lakh sq. ft. state of the art manufacturing facility in Kota, Rajasthan, claims company. The next few years will be an ongoing journey to continuously increase distribution and channels. M.O.M has been licensed by IRCTC to sell on all trains and railway stations across India.
Speaking about the current challenges, she told, “M.O.M. is a new product and a new concept for the Indian consumer market. Educating people about this idea is challenging but we love that part of it. We got the opportunity to bring something that we see equally being enjoyed by a 5-year-old and an 80-year-old. Indians are very receptive to try new things and that is helping us.”