🎙️ Shelf Help Podcast: Mehek Khera - Scaling Smart: A Balanced Approach to Velocity and Door Count

On this episode, we’re joined by Mehek Khera, the Founder & CEO of Niramaya Foods, heritage-inspired Indian foods built for modern eating.

Mehek takes us inside her two-year R&D sprint to turn homestyle recipes into clean-label, shelf-stable dips (no artificial preservatives) and then expands the platform with Naan Pretzels designed for snackable trial.

We go deep on formulation and process controls (pH, water activity, hot-fill), the oil-free reformulation and how she kept texture and flavor, and the packaging decisions that balance consumer perception and landed cost.

We also talk retail strategy and her contrarian take on velocity vs door count, demo tactics that actually move the needle, and what “buyer empathy” looks like in practice. Plus: the “Walmart Golden Ticket,” what’s on her daily dashboard, and the CPG trends she’s watching.



Episode Highlights:

🥘 Shelf-stable homestyle recipes without artificial preservatives
🛢️ Why she removed oils, and how she rebuilt body and mouthfeel without them
🏭 Co-packer search
🥫 Visual identity choices and packaging design
🫙 Glass jar trade-offs
📈 Going wide vs going deep: going against the grain
🧑‍🍳 Demo cadence
🛒 Buyer empathy, retailer communication, and setting the right expectations
🧾 Specialty aisle vs. center store: finding the right home and the right shopper
🥨 New product: Naan Pretzels and how they pair with the dips
🛍️ The Walmart “Golden Ticket”
📊 What’s on Mehek’s daily dashboard (velocity, deductions, fill rate, and more)
👀 The brands and trends Mehek is tracking

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Table of Contents:

00:41:23 - Niramaya intro and origin story
03:21:00 - Formulation and R&D
08:40:22 - Achieving shelf stability without artificial preservatives
09:44:44 - Maintaining the fresh product variable at scale
11:44:04 - Copackers
15:20:29 - Removing oils from the formulation
18:34:07 - Visual identity and packaging design
21:29:10 - Deciding on glass jars
22:46:23 - Velocity vs doors, going against the grain
25:39:03 - Launching in, focusing on the NYC market
29:45:06 - Demos
31:06:06 - Maintaining momentum after a big blitz
32:29:04 - Buyer empathy
34:43:18 - Specialty aisle vs center store
36:41:05 - New product: Naan pretzels
39:19:01 - The Walmart Golden Ticket
39:43:05 - Mehek’s daily dashboard
41:03:07 - Brands and trends Mehek is tracking

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Links:

Niramaya Foods - https://www.niramayafoods.com
Follow Mehek on LinkedIn -   / mehekkhera  
Follow me on LinkedIn -   / adam-martin-steinberg  
Check out https://www.kitprint.co/ for CPG production design support.