{"id":16877,"date":"2021-08-25T21:56:12","date_gmt":"2021-08-25T20:56:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/?p=16877"},"modified":"2021-08-25T21:57:45","modified_gmt":"2021-08-25T20:57:45","slug":"behind-the-biz-pankaj-hurria-tiana-foods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/2021\/08\/behind-the-biz-pankaj-hurria-tiana-foods","title":{"rendered":"Behind the Biz &#8211; Pankaj Hurria &#8211; Tiana Foods"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In today&#8217;s Behind the Biz interview I&#8217;m chatting with <a href=\"https:\/\/tianahalalpetfood.com\/\">Tiana Foods Co-founder<\/a>, Pankaj Hurria. Tiana have hit the pet food market with the <strong>world&#8217;s first halal-friendly cat food.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<script>\n      var noskimlinks= 'true';\n   <\/script>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"853\" height=\"1280\" src=\"https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Pankaj-Hurria-Tiana-Pet-food-founders.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16896\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Pankaj-Hurria-Tiana-Pet-food-founders.jpg 853w, https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Pankaj-Hurria-Tiana-Pet-food-founders-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Pankaj-Hurria-Tiana-Pet-food-founders-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Pankaj-Hurria-Tiana-Pet-food-founders-370x555.jpg 370w, https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Pankaj-Hurria-Tiana-Pet-food-founders-570x855.jpg 570w, https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Pankaj-Hurria-Tiana-Pet-food-founders-770x1155.jpg 770w, https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Pankaj-Hurria-Tiana-Pet-food-founders-387x580.jpg 387w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Please give us an overview of your business<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Tapping into the ever-evolving pet humanisation trend, Tiana is on a mission to establish itself as the world\u2019s first halal-approved cat food made with human-grade ingredients and new, freeze-drying tech which negates the need for any nutrient-sapping, heat-based processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Research states that in the UK alone there could be as many as 500,000 Muslim cat owners holding out for more pertinent meal solutions that align with their distinct lifestyle beliefs BUT don\u2019t skimp in terms of ingredients, latest production techniques or sustainable practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The target market is clearly defined, professional, moderately religious women who insist on feeding their cats tasty, health-conscious meals that align with their faith and environmental responsibilities but aren\u2019t dependent on countless hours prepping and cooking in the kitchen, which was historically the only pathway to ensure that appropriate ingredients were used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Tiana-Cat-Food-Halal-Friendly-1024x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16898\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Tiana-Cat-Food-Halal-Friendly-1024x1024.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Tiana-Cat-Food-Halal-Friendly-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Tiana-Cat-Food-Halal-Friendly-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Tiana-Cat-Food-Halal-Friendly-768x768.png 768w, https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Tiana-Cat-Food-Halal-Friendly-1536x1536.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Tiana-Cat-Food-Halal-Friendly-370x370.png 370w, https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Tiana-Cat-Food-Halal-Friendly-570x570.png 570w, https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Tiana-Cat-Food-Halal-Friendly-770x770.png 770w, https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Tiana-Cat-Food-Halal-Friendly-1170x1170.png 1170w, https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Tiana-Cat-Food-Halal-Friendly-580x580.png 580w, https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Tiana-Cat-Food-Halal-Friendly.png 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Where did the idea for Tiana come from?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Whilst the idea might seem \u2018fringe\u2019 on first inspection, the reality is that it\u2019s estimated that in the UK alone there are 500,000 Muslim cat owners.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A good family friend\u2019s mother asked when a halal friendly range might come into being because she was tired of all the hours she had to spend prepping, cutting and cooking to clear cut hurdles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My curiosity was pricked and so I sought out my good friend Umar, a full-service communications agency director and a practicing Muslim with an unrivalled grasp of the opportunity at hand. We conducted some online qualitative research and the results were incredible.&nbsp;This was the moment we knew we were onto something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What did you do before Tiana?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>As a senior buying &amp; procurement\/supply chain specialist I was well suited to becoming an entrepreneur, especially with my latest role being in pet food, which meant I was perfectly placed (and connected) to grasp and run with the fantastic opportunity that presented itself to me.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Being halal-centric wasn\u2019t my only ambition!&nbsp;I also wanted to become a vocal \u2018freeze-dried champion because an over-dependence on \u2018old-school,\u2019 heat-based techniques (pasteurisation) whose heavy-handed methodology meant that unwelcome synthetic supplements and amino acids had to reintroduced back into meals that had unwittingly been asset stripped by intense heat.&nbsp; In stark contrast, freeze-drying treats, best-in-class ingredients means that a recipe\u2019s flavour cues and nutritional worth aren\u2019t diluted during production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Did you always plan to be an entrepreneur?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Not necessarily! I know that I\u2019m well-equipped to succeed in any environment, be that a large corporate entity or a small start-up.&nbsp;More importantly, I\u2019ve always prided myself with identifying business opportunities and making things happen, which I suppose sits at the heart of what makes an effective entrepreneur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/thumbnail_Tiana-With-Certificate-with-logo-1024x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16897\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/thumbnail_Tiana-With-Certificate-with-logo-1024x1024.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/thumbnail_Tiana-With-Certificate-with-logo-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/thumbnail_Tiana-With-Certificate-with-logo-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/thumbnail_Tiana-With-Certificate-with-logo-768x768.png 768w, https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/thumbnail_Tiana-With-Certificate-with-logo-370x370.png 370w, https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/thumbnail_Tiana-With-Certificate-with-logo-570x570.png 570w, https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/thumbnail_Tiana-With-Certificate-with-logo-770x770.png 770w, https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/thumbnail_Tiana-With-Certificate-with-logo-1170x1170.png 1170w, https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/thumbnail_Tiana-With-Certificate-with-logo-580x580.png 580w, https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/thumbnail_Tiana-With-Certificate-with-logo.png 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Did COVID-19 impact your business?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Without question, certification approvals, accreditations and packaging design\/production were all hindered by the uncertainty fostered by COVID.&nbsp;It certainly ensures that you cross every<strong> t <\/strong>and dot every<strong> i <\/strong>because unwitting mistakes means that openings are lost that simply can\u2019t be recovered.&nbsp;Any good idea only has a short shelf life before \u2018me-too\u2019 pretenders arrive on the scene.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Please share a business high and low with us<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Highs \u2013 <\/strong><\/em>We\u2019ve been shortlisted for a prestigious <em><strong>Pet Quip award <\/strong><\/em>within months of launch, secured a <strong><em>PIF<\/em><\/strong> endorsement (<strong><em>Pet Industry Federation<\/em><\/strong>) and some very helpful attention from the Daily Mail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Lows \u2013 <\/em><\/strong>The stress of COVID-19, spiralling costs, constant recutting of financials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Patience &amp; perseverance <\/strong><\/em>\u2013 nothing is as ever as straight-forward as you might think.&nbsp;And never lose sight of what an achievement it is to bring a brand to fruition, so remember to enjoy the journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Thank you so much to Pankaj for taking the time to answer our Behind the Biz questions. It was really interesting to find out more about Tiana Foods and I can&#8217;t wait to see where the brand goes in the year ahead.<br><\/strong><br>Check out the <a href=\"https:\/\/tianahalalpetfood.com\/\">Tiana website<\/a> and support the business over on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/tianacatclub\">Facebook<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tianacatclub\">Twitter<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/tianacatclub\/\">Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In today&#8217;s Behind the Biz interview I&#8217;m chatting with Tiana Foods Co-founder, Pankaj Hurria. Tiana have hit the pet food market with the world&#8217;s&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16900,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1329],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16877"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16877"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16877\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16902,"href":"https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16877\/revisions\/16902"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prettygreentea.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}