Featured Alumni Business: MissionRoot
Featured Alumni Business: MissionRoot
Name of Business:
Mission/ Description:
MissionRoot, an organic beverage line formulated with fruits and herbs from the Indian holistic practice Ayurveda contain fresh-pressed ginger root and nutrient-rich traditional Ayurvedic ingredients Indian gooseberry, Indian Holy Basil, and Hibiscus, which are believed to detoxify, replenish and balance the body.
Indian-American founder Soham Patel, MBA ’12, developed the beverage line in partnership with famed chef and flavorist Barr Hogen, who developed Odwalla beverages and food bars during her nine years as creative chef for the company. MissionRoot is designed to bring the flavors and ingredients central to Ayurvedic traditions to the Western palate.
To give back to the country that helped conceive MissionRoot, the company will invest 5% of profits to The Akshaya Patra Foundation, one of the world’s largest non-government school lunch programs, which provides hot meals to more than 1.3 million school children in India everyday.
MissionRoot is also a YouthTrade certified company and has worked with the organization since its inception in 2011, an organization which was central to MissionRoot getting off the ground.
Alumni Name and Contact Information:
Soham Patel MBA’ 12; soham@missionroot.com
Located: Cambridge, MA
Inspiration/ Business:
” When I first set out to formulate MissionRoot I consulted the Ayurvedic practitioner closest to me: my mother. As an Indian Classical dance teacher, my mom always kept a homemade Ayurvedic concoction on hand to refresh her students: lemonade flavored with ginger, turmeric, chili powder and salt, a concoction my high school friends loved to drink too. I also looked to Indian summertime standards such as fresh-pressed sugar cane and lemon juice sold roadside in my parents’ hometown of Ahmedabad in the Indian state Gujarat”
How The Idea Began:
” Growing up in suburban Chicago, I did not embrace the Indian culture that inspired MissionRoot in as a kid; Even though I’m Indian and grew up in an Indian home, I ignored my heritage and didn’t realize all the goodness that came from those roots until I’d left home. I started MissionRoot because I wanted to incorp
orate that goodness into everyday living in America… I wanted to create a brand that signified my mission to bring my roots to America, hence the name MissionRoot.
In 2010, as a first year MBA student, I looked around the natural foods marketplace and realized Ayurvedic products were missing even though the concept is understood and followed by a high-end consumer base. After doing a quick market analysis I knew the potential customer base was big enough to warrant some serious thought and effort to starting an Ayurvedic product line catering to Western palates”
Favorite Thing About The Business:
“Learning about two entirely new industries, to me, beverages and Ayurveda, and talking to people who have never heard of Ayurveda. Seeing people eyes light about a new product which incorporates ancient traditions being brought to market by a young entrepreneur is priceless.”
Worst Thing About The Business:
“Going at it alone. Starting MissionRoot has been a lonely process, one that took patience and positive energy day after day. I had a lot of creative help from close friends inside of Babson and outside of Babson, but the operations has been a one-man grind”