Mangaluru: What began as a personal journey into motherhood has transformed into a nationally recognised innovation for 32-year-old entrepreneur Anusha Achar from Moodubidire. Inspired by the traditional postpartum remedies prepared by the women in her family, she has been selected among 26 innovators from across India for the prestigious Grassroots Innovator Recognition 2026.

Anusha, founder of MaVedas Foods and Cereals Pvt. Ltd., will receive the award from President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan on July 31.

A graduate in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the National Institute of Engineering (NIE), Mysuru, Anusha never envisioned a career in traditional nutrition. The turning point came after the birth of her daughters, Annapoorna and Diya, when she realised that many time-tested postpartum dietary practices were slowly disappearing from modern households.

Determined to preserve this knowledge, she began documenting and recreating recipes passed down by her grandmother Lalitha and aunt Asha, believing that they represented generations of practical nutritional wisdom.

In late 2024, she started developing herbal formulations, spending months refining the recipes through repeated trials, consultations with nutritionists, and feedback from women visiting anganwadis and senior citizens familiar with traditional diets. Based on expert advice, she reduced the sugar content in her products before subjecting them to laboratory testing for nutritional quality and shelf life.

Her entrepreneurial journey gained momentum after joining the Atal Incubation Centre (AIC) at Nitte (Deemed to be University), where she received mentorship from CEO Prof. A.P. Achar. The incubation programme helped her formally establish her startup, participate in exhibitions, distribute product samples and improve her products using customer feedback. Soon, orders began arriving from Bengaluru and several other cities.

Although she narrowly missed securing seed funding through an earlier programme, Anusha remained undeterred. On the final day for applications, June 26, she submitted her proposal to the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) under NITI Aayog’s Grassroots Innovation programme.

She was subsequently shortlisted for a virtual presentation, where she had just five minutes to present her idea followed by a question-and-answer session. With guidance from Prof. A.P. Achar, she successfully completed the evaluation process. Following the interview round held on July 15, she received confirmation of her selection for the national honour.

Today, MaVedas offers four traditional nutrition products, including Bananthi Leha for postpartum mothers, Methi Satva for women’s health across different life stages, Methi Laddu, and Garlic Leha, a preparation traditionally consumed during the first few days after childbirth.

Having also completed a certification programme at the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Anusha is now expanding her work to develop baby foods, lactation bars and other nutrition products inspired by traditional Indian recipes.

She credits her family for their unwavering support, especially her husband Prajwal Achar, Managing Director of SKF Elixer, her father-in-law Ramakrishna Achar, Chairman of SKF Elixer, and other family members who encouraged her throughout the journey.