Sajani Amarasiri is a complete pure at being a small enterprise proprietor. Her tea firm, Kola Goodies, has skilled quick progress within the two years since its inception. The model’s Sri Lankan tea blends are already promoting in brick-and-mortar shops, they’ve landed a partnership with an enormous Boba chain, and so they’re presently within the works of increasing their product line. This success gained’t be stunning to anybody accustomed to Sajani’s background.
“My mother and father are entrepreneurs — small enterprise house owners,” Sajani mentioned. “So for a very long time, I did not understand that was the one reference I had for a profession… so company was not the dream. I at all times thought I might do one thing by myself.”
However, the street to paving her personal firm took a while. After shifting to the US from Sri Lanka for faculty, Sajani determined to enter the tech area not as a result of that was her dream profession, however as a result of it was probably the most reasonable choice for her – a survival mechanism as an immigrant. She ended up working at Amazon after which made the transfer to Microsoft the place the corporate sponsored her work visa.
It seems, that Sajani really loved working in tech. Her job particularly targeted on {hardware} provide chain, which might show to be helpful as soon as she made the change to working a enterprise. And, regardless of the lengthy hours, Sajani didn’t let her day job take up all of her time. She at all times had facet hustles like beginning a web-based clothes retailer. Ultimately, she determined to deal with a good greater undertaking and managed to open up the primary ever co-working house in Sri Lanka – Colombo Cooperative – which was fully women-founded and funded.
However even that wasn’t sufficient for the Sri Lankan native. The itch to do one thing greater and bolder was brewing within her. By connecting again to her roots and leveraging her distinct perspective as an immigrant, Sajani would go on to create a small enterprise that embraces her Sri Lankan heritage.
A novel and multicultural perspective
Just a few years in the past, Sajani observed the wellness increase which promised well being and vitality via holistic superfoods. Residing within the Bay Space, Sajani was surrounded by this new well being kick. It rapidly turned obvious that rituals and substances she grew up with in her Sri Lankan family – like turmeric and coconut oil – have been blowing up in her new residence.
And whereas it was good to see elements of her tradition being acknowledged, Sajani couldn’t assist however really feel like her upbringing was additionally being co-opted.
“[These ingredients] have been in our generational kitchens and households for 1,000s of years,” Sajani mentioned. “However our tales weren’t being advised. That cultural appropriation was type of loopy to witness being an immigrant.”
She realized that all the tea manufacturers that have been promoting turmeric drinks on the time weren’t owned by South Asian founders, regardless of the yellow spice originating in South Asia. Together with her background and experience, Sajani knew she might develop an genuine, nutritious, and scrumptious turmeric drink. Much more so, she wished to create a product that might seamlessly mix her two identities.
“You get to have this distinctive perception from a distinct cultural lens. Two properties …my residence in America and my residence the place I grew up [in Sri Lanka],” Sajani mentioned. “For me, it was like, ‘how do I create worth addition from that perspective, in a means that provides again to each the locations the place I come from?”
In actual fact, Sajani named the corporate after a preferred Sri Lanka drink “Kola Kanda,” which is constructed from uncooked rice, coconut milk, and natural leaves which are mentioned to have medicinal properties. This was a drink she grew up with and has significantly fond recollections of.
“It’s a deeply standard, very Sri Lankan breakfast tea that’s so good for you. It is full of greens, it is warming, and it is nice to your digestion and power,” Sajani mentioned.
In 2020, she launched a minimal viable product of their first mix, the tremendous inexperienced latte, which incorporates turmeric. By this testing course of, Sajani acquired tons of suggestions and discovered what customers wished.
This laid down the framework for Kola Goodies. Now, two years later, the corporate simply launched their third product – a dairy-free oat milk latte. Whereas Kola Goodies has seen a whole lot of success, Sajani has needed to alter her imaginative and prescient a few occasions alongside the way in which.
Discovering your why and sticking to it
Sajani credit her success as an entrepreneur to 1 important factor: figuring out her why. Even when she’s confronted obstacles in her companies, she’s been in a position to join again to her finish aim which has at all times pushed her ahead.
“I feel one of many largest issues is having your ‘why’ very clear as to, ‘why you’re beginning this?’ And, ‘what’s the imaginative and prescient behind it?’” Sajani mentioned. “As a result of it’s not simple to undergo day-after-day pushing a small enterprise to achieve success. However having that why… will at all times provide help to get via it.”
For Sajani, her important goal has at all times been to boost extra consciousness of Sri Lankan tradition and amplify the voices of the Sri Lankan neighborhood. So, although it was troublesome for the entrepreneur to shut down Colomba Cooperative a yr into the pandemic, she was nonetheless happy with the expertise as a result of she knew she’d achieved her aim. The co-working house was the primary of its variety in Sri Lanka and introduced folks collectively, making the neighborhood stronger.
Equally, early into Kola Goodies Sajani had discovered that she wanted to pivot with the sorts of teas they have been producing.
“After we first began, we have been extra targeted on the superfood drinks, like Moringa, and turmeric latte,” Sajani mentioned. “However then, we wished to have extra culturally impressed merchandise that we’re bringing to life supporting our personal farmers, and that have been going to deliver our tradition ahead in trendy methods.”
Quite than simply specializing in strictly wholesome drinks like their Tremendous Inexperienced Latte, Sajani was in a position to broaden the product line so as to add the Sri Lankan Milk Tea, which is presently their best-selling product. Increasing to supply milk tea additionally made it attainable for one among Kola Goodie’s largest partnerships.
Boba Guys – a well known milk tea chain in California and New York – had an accelerator program for minority founders and ended up loving Kola Goodie’s tea blends a lot, that the 2 companies collaborated to launch a turmeric boba milk tea. Not solely did this enterprise present extra publicity for Kola Goodies, however for Sajani, it was one other means to usher in extra range within the beverage house.
“It’s one factor to see golden [turmeric] milk boba out there at such a giant chain,” she mentioned. “However it’s such an incredible collaboration to see East Asian tradition and South Asian tradition coming collectively in a drink.”
Ushering in additional illustration for the Sri Lankan tradition has at all times been a aim for Sajani. However extra importantly, she wished to immediately assist her fellow Sri Lankans. This is the reason Kola Goodies immediately sources their substances from native farmers, regardless of it not being probably the most sensible route.
“I’m going to make use of that additional time and assets to seek out the [Sri Lankan] farmers to have the ability to assist them as a result of that immediately correlates to my why. And it is smart as a result of that is a price framework that I’ve for all the selections that I make,” she mentioned.
Not solely does this result in the freshest and most genuine substances, nevertheless it additionally permits Sajani to pay these farmers in USD and supply them with a extra steady earnings. At present, Sri Lanka is dealing with a political and financial disaster and Sajani has used her platform as a small enterprise proprietor to educate her clients concerning the scenario. She’s additionally raised cash for Sri Lankan organizations and donated lots of of meals on to these in want.
Having the ability to give again to her hometown means rather a lot to Sajani. And the entrepreneur mentioned she has one one that deserves the credit score for making all of it attainable – her mom. Kola Goodies’s slogan, “Bought it from my amma,” is a direct shoutout to her contributions. If it wasn’t for his or her morning rituals within the kitchen, Sajani mentioned she might by no means have been impressed to open up a Sri Lankan tea enterprise.
“[My mom] is such a cornerstone, as a result of if she did not take the time to make the issues that nourished us, that turned an enormous a part of my day-to-day rising up, then nicely, I would not even have an inspiration level to deliver a brilliant inexperienced latte or Sri Lankan tea,” she mentioned. “That was all her.”
The entrepreneur has come a great distance from consuming Kola Kanda at residence as a toddler along with her household in Sri Lanka. By merging all of her idiosyncrasies– her distinct background, her expertise in tech, and her drive to empower her neighborhood – Sajani has created one thing particular. Kola Goodies is likely one of the manufacturers bringing much-needed illustration to cultures that don’t usually get a highlight.
“The truth that there may be Sri Lankan milk tea in a San Francisco grocery store is big from a cultural perspective,” Sajani mentioned. “[Sri Lanka] is such a small nation. We’re very a lot not represented, even when it comes into the South Asian dialogue. So it is superb to only see your self on a shelf whenever you’re strolling down the grocery retailer.”
