: After Losing Job During Pandemic, Goan Girl Builds Business Using Mom’s Pickle Recipes #IndiaNEWS #Entrepreneurs A few years ago, Yachika Chopra (34) was a rather busy flight attendant with an airline.

After Losing Job During Pandemic, Goan Girl Builds Business Using Mom’s Pickle Recipes #IndiaNEWS #Entrepreneurs
A few years ago, Yachika Chopra (34) was a rather busy flight attendant with an airline. Focused on her career, she says that she never gave much thought to anything else until April 2020 when the lockdown was announced and the world came to a standstill.

At home in Goa, without a job, Yachika stumbled upon her mother Poonam Chopra’s little black book filled with recipes. That turned out to be a treasure trove for her.

Speaking to The Better India, she says, “Building a brand that sold artisanal pickles was a dream that my mother had nurtured. However, she never mustered the courage to see this plan through. Instead in the little black book, she made meticulous notes on the resources that would be needed to start a business. �?

Unfortunately, Yachika lost her mother in 2020.

Poonam Chopra

She says, “Circa was founded in April 2021 as a tribute to mom. �? And adds, “Never did I imagine myself being immersed in oil and spices the way I am now. �?

Having started with an initial investment of about Rs 20,000 Circa today fulfils between 700 to 900 orders each month with a monthly revenue of Rs 1 lakh.

Teachings from mom

Circa pickles

While people were making Dalgona coffee and experimenting with making sourdough bread, Yachika and her husband, Ray Vaz decided to do some home cleaning. “It was during this time that I found mom’s diary filled with recipes. In fact, not just the recipe but she had also made notes of the health benefits of each of the ingredients that she used. �?

On the insistence of her husband, she decided to make a small batch of the sweet and sour green chilli pickle, to begin with. “I remember telling him that pickles were usually grandmothers domain and I didn’t see myself as someone who could make pickles. It requires a lot of work and I wasn’t sure I was cut out for it. The lockdown was one major factor that pushed me to take up this challenge,�? she says.

The first batch that was made was distributed amongst friends and family. Almost all of them came back asking for more. “Even then I did not see myself doing it. I told people how it took me the entire day to make one batch and I wasn’t ready for all that work again. But they kept insisting and I made it again. This time I was brave enough to attempt two flavours (sweet and sour chilli and carrot cauliflower),�? she adds.

She recalls how the smell while making the first batch transported her back to her childhood.

Poonams little black book

“It was that smell that sealed the deal. I knew I was doing the right thing and I had my mother’s blessings,�? she says.