Online spices from Tk 8,000 in a clay savings bank; about Tk 1 lakh in 22 days, around Tk 1 lakh a month since

According to a Prothom Alo report, a homemaker in Pomra union, Rangunia, Chattogram, had been saving small change in a clay bank since her marriage. In 2020, stuck at home in the Covid period, she took that Tk 8,000 as capital, bought chilli, coriander and turmeric from village farmers, dried and ground them, and decided to sell them packaged. She opened a Facebook page and posted videos of buying, washing, drying, grinding and packing the spices, on the page and in a Facebook group of entrepreneurs. Orders came in from around the country; on the first day six people ordered chilli powder, and over the next 22 days she earned about Tk 1 lakh. About Tk 1 lakh of goods now sells each month. She has over 500 regular buyers and has sold at least Tk 40 lakh of goods to about 4,000 customers so far. Most orders come from Uttara and Mirpur in Dhaka, and the sweet chilli powder from Hathazari is in high demand. She also sells turmeric, coriander, biryani masala, cumin and rice flour. With no local courier, she has to go to Chattogram city to dispatch goods, and she cannot pass that extra cost on to buyers. She wants to set up a factory in future.