“My mom started Shopneeshi, a women’s wellness business, when I was in 6th grade. She makes foods that are both fun and functional for menstrual wellness and to alleviate period cramps. The products are all freshly made and contain all natural ingredients such as pumpkin seed, flax seed, cocoa powder, and coconut sugar. 

When I was in 6th grade, I experienced painful periods that lasted for 7-9 days at a time and symptoms including cramping and heavy flow. My mom saw my struggles and was inspired to make food that would help solve the problems that came along with my period. Her first product was a chocolate cake designed to balance hormones and help get rid of cramps, acne, mood swings, hair loss, and more. 

My mom did a lot of research trying to figure out what were the best, natural and healthy  ingredients and the right ratios to incorporate into her products. I remember playing the ‘guinea pig’ to her creative process when I was younger. Sitting on the couch, she’d just start feeding me a bunch of stuff like ‘try this, try that’ and then she’d scribble down her notes to keep track of what I liked, what I didn’t, and what worked. I still go through this process with new products that she wants to launch. 

Shopneeshi launched publicly around 3 years ago and has helped kids from as young as 5th grade to senior citizens. She’s still very busy with orders, but now everything is very well organized and there is a more efficient sales system. Sales have also increased because we attend a lot of big popup events and gatherings where we have the opportunity to promote our business and teach others about the benefits of our products. 

At the beginning, it was difficult to establish our place in the hormonal wellness industry because there are already a couple companies and products that target the same issues. However, we were unique in the sense that we were the first to use baked goods to address these problems. It took some time, but after a few weeks of putting ourselves out there, we started to get orders and with more time, we got a better hold of our business plan and focused on improving products, boosting sales, and gaining customer trust. 

She just recently joined a program that allows her to network with business mentors and peers who help her with advertising and collaborations with other small business owners. She also just got her own kitchen set up in Oakland. We also started hiring interns, who are mostly my friends from school who want to help out. I’m in charge of managing the social media aspect of the business, so along with my friends I make posts and find ways to reach our target audiences and share success stories from our customers. Personally, through my experiences working with Shopneeshi I’ve been able to develop my public speaking skills. Growing up, I was really quiet and I didn’t know how to interact with people. But promoting this business has given me the chance to get out of my comfort zone and even feel at ease talking about my period to a bunch of random strangers.

At the moment, my mom is really focusing on perfecting her products. I can tell you right now that she’s probably at home baking new recipes or reaching out to share her business with new people. She usually ships her products, but when needed she will hand deliver to her customers, going as far as to drive hours away. She is very passionate about what she does and that’s a big part of the reason why Shopneeshi has gotten all the attention it has.”