Food Buddies CEO Shumitha Periyasamy Wins CII’s EntreprenHer Award 2025 for Innovation

A third-generation food entrepreneur and one of India’s most prolific food innovation specialists is recognised for shaping the future of sustainable, market-ready food ventures

In Chennai’s bustling ecosystem of food startups and emerging FMCG brands, few names carry the quiet authority and consistent impact of Shumitha Periyasamy. This week, her journey reached a landmark moment as she received CII’s EntreprenHer Award 2025, honouring women whose leadership and innovation are reshaping the way India builds businesses.

It’s a recognition that feels almost inevitable to those who have watched her trajectory. A third-generation food entrepreneur, sensory specialist, and certified business coach, Shumitha brings together two worlds deep technical expertise and a legacy steeped in food culture. With a B.Tech in Food Technology and Processing, she has worked with more than 3,000 clients and delivered over 400 projects, carving a reputation as a changemaker committed to purposeful, consumer-centric innovation.

Her company, Food Buddies, founded in 2014, has quietly grown into one of India’s most trusted food innovation consultancies. Over the past decade, the team has developed 2,800+ products, executed 320 first-time innovations, and completed 340 market-ready projects. Behind these numbers is a rigorous and proprietary approach—NMFI (Navigating Marketable Food Innovation)—a framework that bridges the gap between an idea and its commercial success.

With a team of over 50 in-house experts, Food Buddies offers an end-to-end suite of services: product formulation, sensory research, legal and regulatory support, factory setup, certifications, audits, and third-party manufacturing partnerships. Today, the company has built 75+ manufacturing tie-ups, helping entrepreneurs across India transform new concepts into scalable brands.

“Innovation isn’t just about creating something new. It’s about creating something that truly matters,” Shumitha said, reflecting on her win. “This award isn’t just recognition for Food Buddies it’s a celebration of the passion and shared vision that drive us to help entrepreneurs turn meaningful ideas into marketable realities.”

Her words mirror the spirit of the CII Indian Women Network (IWN) Tamil Nadu, which instituted the EntreprenHer Awards in partnership with Rajalakshmi Engineering College. The award honours women who are not just building businesses but reshaping industries with courage, clarity, and long-term impact.

For India’s fast-growing packaged food sector, Shumitha’s work offers something rare innovation that is practical, profitable, and sustainable. And in an industry where the distance between concept and shelf can be daunting, Food Buddies continues to offer the bridge.

With her latest recognition, Shumitha Periyasamy stands not just as an entrepreneur but as a catalyst someone rewriting the possibilities for food founders across the country, one idea, one product, and one innovation at a time.