A mother who wants to rejuvenate her prematurely born son’s health sets out on a mission and discovers the valuable spinach and its benefits. She found different ways to incorporate the vegetable into her son’s meals. The result was miraculously amazing; her son was no longer bound to hospital visits and became fit enough to participate in state-level sports.
Determined to share her secret with everyone, P. Lakshmi Priya from Tamil Nadu founded Thinasari Keerai in 2019 and provide various spinach-based mixes in powder form.
A Bit of the Backstory
It was long ago when P. Lakshmi Priya’s son, born premature, had to spent 21 days in the ICU. It is a daunting experience for anyone, and Lakshmi Priya was no different.
With multiple health issues after his birth, doctors were finding it hard to be optimistic towards his survival. But almost after 1 month, Lakshmi ji was allowed to hold her baby, and as they say—the mother effect—the baby’s pulse began to stabilize, and the miracle happened.
Eventually, his health improved and was allowed to be discharged. However, the complications didn’t end with leaving the hospital. We all know a premature baby is weaker than other kids, and so is he: a compromised immune system and multiple nutritional deficiencies.
What to Do?
The secret was hidden in replenishing his nutritional needs was the key to his recovery. For this, Lakshmi ji started giving him a blend of traditional remedies.
Discovering New Options
It was then that she discovered dietary alternatives, particularly focusing on spinach, despite her son’s initial resistance.
Little did she know that her journey to find new solutions for her son would unveil solutions that would transform not only her son’s health but also that of many others.
It was 2009 when Lakshmi Priya ji set on her quest by creating innovative spinach rice mixes aimed at enhancing her son’s well-being. She named the startup “Thinasari Keerai”, and guess what?
By then, she’d come up with a whole bunch of 15 yummy recipes using more than 40 kinds of spinach, like like manathakkali, kasini, mudakathan, and agathi karisalanganni! Unbelievable!
She obviously didn’t want her son to be bored of the same palak dish. After all, we are not Popeye 😅
Quick Facts:
- Spinach is a good source of a number of nutrients: calcium, carotenoids, folic acid, vitamins C and K.
- Moreover, it supports gut health, enhances eye health, and is an immunity booster.
- Thus, adding it to our kids’ diet 4-5 times per week is beneficial.
Expanding Her Approach to Others: Thinasari Keerai by P Lakshmi Priya
The term Keerai is often viewed as a simple component of South Indian cuisine, but for Lakshmi Priya ji, it emerged as a formidable ally in her battle against fate. Drawing on traditional wisdom and fueled by determination, she created spinach-infused dishes and remedies.
Eventually, this helped her navigate the challenges posed by her son’s delicate health.
Her first trick was to try incorporating dried and powdered spinach into her son’s everyday meals like dosas, soups, and rice mixes, without him knowing. Shhh! 🤫
She may hide the ingredient, but the positive impact was widely visible. His health flourished and he soon became free from the constraints of frequent hospital visits.
And very soon, he became a celebrated regional sports champion.
Watching him thrive made her heart swell with happiness and pride. And she started considering sharing her miraculous spinach discovery with the world.
She found a perfect spot: parent-teacher meetings.
There, she came across numerous parents with the same ordeal. And not to her surprise, most of the parents avoid spinach because bada samay and mehnat lagti hai usko tasty banane me.
A housewife cannot afford to spend half of her day preparing a delicious spinach recipe for her kids amidst the burden of fulfilling hundreds of other household chores. Moreover, if other family members are unwilling to eat the spinach dish, she would have to prepare other dishes too.
We all know the pressure. 😪
How She Built the Products?
Lakshmi Priya ji was working around traditional recipes and uses organically grown spinach from about 15 farmers in her region.
She began by providing organic manures and native seeds to farmers. WHY?
Simple, she wanted the end product to be beneficial and not harmful for children. She had to be 100% sure that the products retained the nutritional integrity required for improving their health.
Once she receives freshly harvested produce, she dries and powders the leaves. Then, add them to ingredients such as pulses and create powdered podis to be mixed with steamed rice.
Challenges and Solutions
The first challenge was to take care of spinach and retain its nutrition; it was a tough job.
She came up with new ideas all the time. Trying different methods to dry spinach using solar power.
To avoid any legal matters, she followed proper quality standards to ensure that her product was top-notch and packed with all the good stuff.
She is totally focused on giving everyone a healthy and high-quality option, without cutting any corners.
Spreading the Word Strategically
Lakshmi ji took on the responsibility of teaching the people in the community—especially students from nearby schools and colleges—all about the special and tasty traditional greens.
Her aim: to bring back the forgotten love and value for these healthy leafy veggies.
Presently, she sells 15 types of recipes made from at least 40 different types of spinach. No one ever heard of different varieties of spinach.
I bet you haven’t either.
With this, their annual sales amount to Rs 9 lakh while catering to around 5,000 customers in the last 2 years.
The success of her venture is evident by her happy and satisfied customers’ reviews.
What Next?
With Tiruchi-based Thinasari Keerai expanding its reach outside India, Lakshmi Priya ji is successfully and positively influencing lives globally, even in California and Singapore.
So, it all began when this mom—driven by her strong love for her kids—turned into a health entrepreneur. Once a stay-at-home mom, she now proudly calls herself an entrepreneur. But above all, she is a mother who knows firsthand how crucial it is to feed our children nutritious food.
Her once weak and nutricient deficit son is now a 21-year-old young man who is thriving in his professional and personal life. He often actively takes part in state-level sports competitions.
Like him, get a fresh pack of healthy greens for you and your family @ThinasariKeerai 🛍️
