What It Takes to Get on Store Shelves

From our home kitchen to a national trade show - and what this leap means for a small brand like ours.

We’re heading to New York City.

For the first time ever, PODI life will be showcasing our products at one of the most prestigious food trade shows in the country, the Specialty Food Association's Summer Fancy Food Show. It’s a huge opportunity - one that could help put our podis and one-pot meals on more retail shelves across America.

We received a partial grant to make this happen. And even with that help, showing up at this scale is a significant investment for a small, immigrant- and women-led business like ours. But it’s a leap we knew we had to take. Because for brands like ours, opportunities like this are make-or-break.

Why we took the leap

Four years ago, I started PODI life with no background in food or consumer products, just a quiet determination to build something meaningful with my amma.

She once told me she felt like her life hadn’t amounted to much beyond being a source of support for others. And I saw so clearly that her labor - her love - deserved to be honored, preserved, and shared. That impulse grew into a mission: to bring the flavors of our South Indian kitchen to more passionate home cooks, in more homes, across America.

We began with homemade batches. Simple Ziploc packaging. Hand-applied labels. Orders packed at our kitchen table. Every small milestone felt like a leap... because it was.

What you’ve helped us build

Two years ago, a few retailers found us organically and decided to take a chance. That gave us the courage to dream bigger. Since then:

• We’ve revamped our packaging to help our podis stand out on shelves
• We’ve improved our unit economics so we can scale sustainably
• We’ve built a tiny but mighty team
• We’ve been tracking reorders and growing our retail footprint
• And we even won an award for Best Seasoning

Now, we’re ready. We’re heading to NYC with 8 products - 5 podis and 3 one-pot meal mixes (including a brand new one we’ll be sneak-peeking!) - and the goal of connecting with national retailers.

But getting onto store shelves isn't just about having great products. It’s about access. Visibility. Distribution.

What most people don’t see: why retail is everything

There’s a myth that good products sell themselves. But in the world of packaged food, that’s rarely true. You can make the most flavorful, beautiful, responsibly-sourced product, but if it isn’t in people’s line of sight, it might as well not exist.

Getting onto retail shelves is one of the biggest hurdles for a small brand. Trade shows like this one are how it happens. It’s where the buyers are. It’s where you show them that your product isn’t just niche or cute or culturally “interesting”... it’s ready for prime time. For real shelf space. For real homes.

But it’s also where the big players show up. With enormous booths. Teams of marketers. Months of prep and professional polish. We’re not showing up like that. We’re showing up with care, conviction, and a whole lot of flavor.

This is our chance to grow without compromising our values.

What’s really at stake

Even with the grant, the final leg of this journey is stretching us. Booth fees, logistics, ingredient costs (especially with recent tariffs) - they’ve all taken a real toll on our cash flow.

But we didn’t build PODI life to be trendy. We built it to last. To make a place for South Indian pantry staples on American tables - not as novelties, but as essentials.

When we show up at this trade show, we’re not just representing our brand. We’re representing all the immigrant-founded, intergenerational, kitchen-table-to-shelf stories that often go unseen.

We’re showing up for flavors that don’t always get the spotlight. For people who have fed quietly for decades. For the possibility that the foods we grew up with can be embraced, loved, and stocked—everywhere.

Thank you for being part of this journey

We say this often, and we mean it every single time: this business is only as resilient as the community around it. And we feel your support deeply.

From a home kitchen to the aisles of a national trade show… we couldn’t have gotten here without you.