Tejari Founder Roma Patel on Building Resilience and a Brand

Brand executive turned founder Roma Patel started her company when she zeroed in on a gap in the market—and a gap in nutrition. Tejari, which she named after her two sons and the inspiration for the DTC company, is disrupting the protein category with its simplistic, clean plant-based blends. And with national distribution on the horizon, Patel’s background in brand-building and deep consumer empathy are the perfect mix for her marketing approach. Read on to hear what she’s learned as a founder thus far and how the mantra “lift as you climb” plays a big role in her career and company. How did you get to where you are today? I’ve always been guided by three simple yet profound intentions: build resilience, stay committed and ask for support. And I can tell you that I’ve had to constantly remind myself of all three of those at various times while standing up a new company and building the brand. Besides launching your brand during the pandemic, what’s one major challenge you’ve overcome since founding Tejari? We’ve had to pivot numerous times along the way in order to narrow in on our product market fit and provide the best organic, plant-based protein out there. That required learning from registered dietitians, taking notes from local farmers, and pushing the boundaries with food scientists. Fast forward to this summer: we’re launching Tejari in more than 50 Whole Foods locations in the Southeast and currently in the midst of assessing operations for the next stage of our growth. What’s one thing you’ve learned from the growing pains of starting your own company? That as a brand, it’s critical to be open and transparent with your customers as you experience hiccups—from supply chain issues to shipping delays and even packaging mishhaps. The reality is that no brand is perfect, but we always do our absolute best to maintain trust and deliver an experience they will come back for. Tejari has launched a few influencer partnerships that extend far beyond digital activations. Can you share more about that? We look to partner with people who are passionate about health, wellness and nutrition, like most recently Scout the City (Sai De Silva), Katy Schuele (The Sculpt Society) and Lauren Scruggs Kennedy. With each partnership, we focus on different aspects of well-being and go beyond surface level collaborations, creating liimited edition blends that speak to both of our communities. For example, Lauren Kennedy’s passion around clean ingredients really pushed us to develop a new blend with organic beets and organic carrots and we were able to test it out with consumers in a fun way with recipes like carrot cakes, red beet hummus and popsicles. Brands living their purpose has become tablestakes in recent years. How do you think about this as a founder? From day one, I knew I wanted to give back to those who don’t have the luxuries we take for granted every day. The simple things, right? One of our recent give-backs was partnering with schools in Ahmedabad Gujarat (where my parents were raised and where I visited every summer), to deliver school supply kits to students from marginalized communities. Our goal is to deliver 1000 school kits by 2023. Its a good reminder that every action rooted in purpose—no matter how big or small—is a step towards better. One of my favorite mantras is that ‘it’s not what happens to you that matters—it’s how you handle it.’ Have you had any recent snafus that would apply to that? Oh boy… just one? [smiles]. Well, to prepare for our Whole Foods launch, I opened up one of the 100+ boxes of our single-serving sachets and found they were printed incorrectly. At first, I was in complete disarray—but then I took a deep breath and went into problem-solving mode. I came up with a plan to get to shelf-ready products with the help of my Advisors. I’ll never forget this hiccup and will continue to share this story, as it only made us stronger and proves that you can work through anything with an incredibly supportive group of people by your side. What’s one way you’ve broken the rules and challenged the norm for entrepreneurs today? Launching Tejari with an incomplete business plan. I think it’s more important to be nimble and agile as you approach your business. I knew I would have to be flexible and pivot as you narrow in and truly understand how your product solves a problem. You aren’t going to deeply understand this without constructive feedback and learning from data. There’s no doubt you want to have a plan when you get started—but don’t fall into the trap of trying to make it perfect. What’s the single best piece of advice you’ve ever received? “Lift as you climb” which I learned from one of my mentors, Wendy Clark. I’m determined to use my position to change the face of the industry, making sure I’m always asking myself, “How are you bringing people with you?” My focus is to bring as many other talented, supportive, intelligent women with me as I can. Michelle Yeoh Didn’t Set Out to Be a Star. She Just Stayed True to What She Believed In

Women Trailblazers

Tejari Founder Roma Patel on Building Resilience and a Brand

The former marketing exec talks purpose, partnerships and learnings from hiccups

Heide Palermo

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Heide Palermo