The Curry Evangelist

“What is wrong in having the courage to say, ‘Let’s move America from mashed potatoes to Bombay potatoes’?” asks Meera Vasudevan, the woman who has helped bring Indian food to places like Trader’s Joe and Whole Food, and to introduce it to a largely American population.

As vice president of the Stamford, CT based Preferred Brands International,  she and her partners launched Tasty Bite, the first Indian brand to bring all natural shelf stabilized food to the mainstream. She recalls, “No one had done retort pouches at that time, so we were, in a sense, pioneers. I would say, even today, our entire focus is on the mainstream grocery.”

This year Tasty Bite was recognized by Good Housekeeping magazine as among the top 100 convenience foods in America.  The company has a subsidiary in India, Tasty Bites Eatables, which is on the Bombay Stock Exchange, and is the manufacturing arm in India. Most of the produce is grown on their farm outside Pune, and the Tasty Bite products are also marketed in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

As for bringing Indian food to Americans, Vasudevan maintains that their food is what would be served in any Indian home. “What we have done is not make it crazy hot because then you are killing the palate to all the wonderful spices that you use.”  Besides Indian entrees, the company has also introduced Thai and Pan Asian foods, as well as kosher, vegan and gluten-free meals. Vasudevan is constantly promoting the virtues of Indian food, and her staff take curry to road shows across America, to events as diverse as the Marine Corps Marathon and Earth Share.  You could call it currying favor!

Asked about the challenges of the job, she says, “The fun part is how innovative we can get and the whole brand pivots around innovation, be it the recipes, the balance of taste and nutrition, even how we communicate on the pack. The American consumer is the most fussy consumer in the world so we have a whole host of innovative ways in which we look at product development and marketing programs.”