Boston Herald
June 24, 2007
By Donna Goodison
Letting the chips fall: Sudbury co. finds ethnic snack
niche
Paul Jaggi’s latest “passion” is to deliver
ethnic flavors in food products that are both familiar to
and convenient for Americans.
The first of those from his Sudbury-based Passion Foods Inc.
is an Indian twist on the chip: four flavors of Baji’s
Papadums, all-natural and vegetarian, bite-sized versions
of the wafer-like lentil crisps found on the menus of many
an Indian restaurant. They’re now available at 1,200
Whole Foods, Wild Oats and other natural foods markets nationwide.
Jaggi started Passion Foods last year after a brief timeout
from the ethnic foods industry. He founded what became his
first company, Ethnic Gourmet Foods, in 1991 to offset declining
revenues at his family’s Indian restaurant in Framingham.
The company started by selling all natural, frozen Indian
food to the former Bread & Circus chain and later purchased
the Thai Chef and Bravissimo brands and expanded into frozen
Thai, Japanese and Chinese food.
Ethnic Gourmet had annual sales of $20 million and was the
nation’s second largest in the natural frozen food segment
when Jaggi sold it in 2001 to Heinz Frozen Foods, which signed
him to a three-year contract as general manager. (The brand
is now owned by Hains Celestial Group.)
“The whole concept was to bring restaurant-quality ethnic
food to the consumer in the freezer section,” Jaggi said.
With Passion Foods, Jaggi wanted to try something different.
“We said let’s do something that will have a broader
appeal,” he said. “This time we’re going to
take the ethnic flavor and apply them to more mainstream products.”
Passion Foods’ Baji’s Papadums - varieties include
traditional tandoori, tangy cilantro, creamy yogurt and dill,
and mango chutney - are made with fava beans instead of lentils
to impart a milder flavor for the American palate.
The brand pays homage to Jaggi’s mother. It’s named
for “baji” (pronounced BAH-jee), a term of endearment
for “mom” in India, according to Jaggi, who moved
here from India in 1985 armed with an MBA and experience running
his own industrial machine tools company.
The next Baji’s products, set to hit store shelves in
August or September, are fully cooked, all natural rice meals
that can be heated in a microwave in 90 seconds: Indian lentil
biryani, Thai lemongrass basil, Indonesian nasi goreng, New
Orleans jambalaya and Spanish paella.
“A Whole Foods customer is our target: an educated,
adventurous person who has traveled or is in contact with
people from other parts of the world and is on the lookout
for new, interesting flavors,” Jaggi said.
Jaggi, who runs Passion Foods with his wife, Sangeeta, expects
to do $3 million in sales this year. The startup company is
donating 1 percent sales - or 10 percent of profit, whichever
is higher - to two charities that focus on education and nutrition
for underprivileged children in Third World countries.
“The main thing we’re trying to do is develop exciting
ethnic flavors for consumers to try, and at the same time
try to make a small difference in the lives of kids in the
Third World countries by raising awareness and raising some
funds for them,” Jaggi said.
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