Mar 06

Crafty Counter Featured on GoTexan Publication

Hema Reddy and Crafty Counter Featured in GoTexan Statewide Publication

Hema Reddy and Crafty Counter (previously known as Sneaky Apron) featured in statewide publication of GoTexan

Pasting the article write-up here for better readability

“Like any other working mom, I was trying to do my best to be the best mother and wife possible,” Reddy said. “After I realized my son was a super picky eater, I began to worry that I was failing as a mom. He had issues eating most foods, so I started making his favorite foods in a way that would go down easy without a fight. I would hide roasted veggies in his pasta or make chicken nuggets with hidden veggies and super foods. With my keen sense of taste I was able to provide him wholesome meals while making my life at home, in the car and after school much easier.”

Given that many of her friends had similar age kids, Reddy knew that this persistent problem didn’t have a current solution on the market. She took her decades of experience cooking various cuisines, a passion for ingredients and a strong desire to take her kids along as she took on a new profession, she took a leap of faith.

“I quit my job as the Program Director of Systems and Technology Group Marketing Division and went all in,” Reddy said. “Turns out I didn’t have a clue on how to start a food business! It’s much harder than anything I have ever done in my life – harder than birthing two kids.”

After tackling the practical know-how, strategy and tactical knowledge of how the food industry operates, she went after the formulation of her Wundernuggets. To get there, she went to food conferences like Bevnet Bootcamp, Expo East and networked with groups like Barcode, The Cooks Nook and many one-on-one phone calls with entrepreneurs who had been there and done that.

“Luckily for us all, everyone is extremely helpful and eager to share their experience,” Reddy said.

She loves taking her family along for the ride and benefitted from their participation as taste testers. They saw more than 50 different iterations of her nuggets and, pass or fail, at least they all got eaten at home. Her son also tags along whenever she makes a pitch to a retailer and he helps her out at the farmers market in downtown Austin on Saturdays.

“They wear my job on their sleeve,” Reddy boasts. “Nothing beats that.”

She’s a proud GO TEXAN member and couldn’t imagine running a business in any other place than Austin.

“The food startups vibe here is infectious and is perhaps the only thing that keeps me from giving up.”