[100 Emerging Women Leaders] After being diagnosed of diabetes at 22, Meghana Ambati launched a healthy food brand

At the age of 22, Meghana Ambati, was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. While she was well aware of what diabetes was, she had never imagined she would be diagnosed with the condition. 

“Initially for the first six months I was simply overwhelmed by the amount of information and details. The medicines, diets and everything was too much, and I was wondering if this would be a story for over 40 years,” says Meghana in a conversation with HerStory. 

Taking a step back, Meghana decided to get back to the drawing board and do her own research. She knew from earlier that diabetes, and conditions like PCOS are lifestyle related. 

“This means it needs to be managed by your lifestyle and not just medicines. So that is when I decided to take a look at my diet. I realised along with having a super active lifestyle, the diet also played a significantly important role,” adds Meghana. 

For two years Meghana worked on her diet and managed her condition. Being a foodie, she also had worked building foods that she could enjoy without aggravating her sugar levels. It took her close to three years to understand what works. 

“It was also during this time that I realised that there are a lot of people suffering from what I am, and there is something that I could do for them as well,” says Meghana. It led her to start Diet ’S’ Mart, a part of Socius Foods, in 2020. The brand makes all the cookies, brownies, and fudges that everyone loves with healthy ingredients. 

A graduate of Symbiosis Institute of Management, Meghana has always believed herself to be a creative person, and had always envisioned herself to be working for an agency. While Meghana has her fair share of challenges of setting up the business, she adds she hasn’t faced much biases. 

“I have had a strong support system in terms of my family, my team, and the places or people I am talking to. They never made me feel discriminated against. But having said that I also know that these biases exist, and it is a long journey ahead, and I probably could face it ahead,” says Meghana. 

She adds, the problem is that Indian culture still has a lot of traditional gender rules that are strictly followed and adhered to by everyone. “Simple things like why would you have a meeting at a particular time of the day or evening, or why are you with this particular person so late? And while it is all about work, and getting to the next step, yet these are there. So what I do is simply explain why something needs to be done, and continue down my path,” says Meghana. 

Advising women leaders, Meghana says, take the plunge. She adds it also is important to create a safe and also welcoming environment for a lot more women to come work and express themselves well. 

“As women we are bogged down by self-doubt thanks to societal pressure, we need to take action and silence that voice in your mind,” says Meghana.