Married at 22, Gave Up Her MBA, Trolled for Making Reels, This Andhra Woman Built a ₹1 Cr Halwa Business With No Capital, No Factory

Pavani Madugala got married, and her world turned upside down. Her friends getting placed made her anxious, and she felt left behind. It was the beginning of a tumultuous and restless period for her, until one video changed everything. 

She was married off in her early 20s, where she began the next phase of her life in a remote village near Visakhapatnam in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Ideally, life looked good. The optics were good. She had everything that could bring contentment: family, financial security and an above-normal, comfortable life. 

Yet anxiety, dread, or emptinessarrived very soon for her and for multiple reasons. Something always felt missing for her. 

“I had money, but it wasn’t my money. There was no satisfaction,” Pavani tells Startup Pedia. “All my friends were doctors or working in IT, earning on their own. I felt I wasn’t building anything myself.”

Pavani knew she had to do something and not keep existing in a silo. She turned to content creation, a decision that no one around her understood. But from this one move emerged a business that now generates ₹1 crore in turnover, and serves 20,000+ customers across India.

HER BACKGROUND

Pavani was always a high performer and aced academically. 

“I was a topper from intermediate onwards,” she tells Startup Pedia. “I completed my BSc in Agriculture and even secured an MBA seat at Symbiosis University in Pune.”

In fact, after securing a seat, she had also paid her fees, and her career path looked set. 

But life had other plans. Just a week before the commencement of her MBA programme, her marriage was fixed, and due to some unavoidable circumstances, Pavani had to give up her much-coveted MBA seat. 

After her marriage, Pavani moved to her husband’s village, which was a secluded area nearly 90 kilometres away from mainland Visakhapatnam. It was an area plagued by poor transport connectivity and limited opportunities for work, especially for women. 

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ADVENT INTO CONTENT CREATION 

Watching her friends succeed in their careers made her feel left behind, and she tried experimenting with ideas, too, but her location made it impossible to churn out anything productive and financially viable. 

Therefore, with no immediate career option, Pavani turned to Instagram content creation. 

“I started posting videos one year ago. Not for business, just to do something on my own,” she explained to Startup Pedia. 

But here’s the thing with content creation: you never know who will support and who will look down upon this decision. Pavani was blessed with the support of her husband and the encouragement of her parents. 

But the society was not as kind. 

“As a married woman, making reels became a problem for people,” Pavani reflects. “There were comments, taunts, questions about why I needed money, what I was doing online.”

Even within extended family circles, the judgment was constant. But Pavani stayed consistent.

She told Startup Pedia, “I decided that no matter what people say, I will continue.”

HOW A HALWA VIDEO CHANGED EVERYTHING

A simple video posted at the beginning of September 2025 turned it into a business venture. In the area she lives, a traditional wheat-based halwa is made using jaggery, milk, wheat extract and water, as opposed to halwa in the rest of the country that is laden with sugar, milk, oil, and preservatives. 

This unique combination was the reason behind her success. India is increasingly shifting towards healthier options of their favourite desserts, so when Pavani made a reel of this no-sugar, no-oil halwa, it got the Internet talking. 

“I posted a video of the halwa preparation because it’s a special sweet,” she recalls.

The video took off. People began messaging her, asking if they could order it.

“At first, I said no. I told them it’s only for the video,” Pavani laughs.

But the requests kept coming. 

Finally, she decided to test it, but for just one month. In the very first month, Pavani clocked a turnover of ₹18 lakhs. 

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ZERO CAPITAL, ZERO MANUFACTURING, FULL RISK

Pavani gave in to this one-month experiment. She had: 

• No factory

• No supply chain

• No investors

• No capital

• No brand name or aesthetic packaging 

“No one would believe me if I asked for ₹5-10 lakh to set up manufacturing,” she told Startup Pedia. “So I started with zero investment.”

Her model was simple but risky:

1-  She partnered with a local halwa maker

2- Negotiated lower prices based on daily purchases

3- Took orders first

4- Purchased stock only after receiving payments

This order gave her control over the stock, pricing and delivery. 

“This plan was completely mine. Direct investment was zero,” Pavani says firmly. “My only investment was the one year I spent building my audience.”

Within a month, sales went from zero to significant daily volumes.

INVISIBLE CHALLENGES

However, Pavani was unprepared. She never anticipated that demand would keep soaring, not just from nearby areas but from around the country.

1- And, thus, her biggest challenge was logistics. 

“There is no proper transportation from our area,” Pavani explained. “Sending food products from a village is extremely difficult.”

Initially, she started sending the parcels via India Post, but it was tedious and time taking, so she eventually shifted to Delhivery and DTDC after reaching out to them personally via email.  

2- The second biggest challenge was social pressure.

“People said things openly, she’s married, she’s making reels, what is she doing?” she says. “Even extended family members passed comments, except my husband.”

But, what kept her going was her parents’ unwavering support. She highlights: “My father and mother stood by me through everything.”

SALES, SCALE, AND STAGGERING NUMBERS

Pavani officially began selling halwa in September of 2025

Today:

• She sells 80–100 kg daily on normal days

• During festivals, volumes are significantly higher

• She has served 20,000+ customers

• Orders come from every Indian state and sometimes overseas

• The business has crossed ₹1 crore in turnover

The pricing:

• 250g pack starts at ₹299

• 1 kg pack sells for ₹999 (including tax and shipping)

• Offline value of the same halwa goes up to ₹750/kg

“All ingredients are organic. No sugar. No oil. No frying,” Pavani says. “Everything is cooked traditionally, soaked wheat, manual grinding, slow cooking.”

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WHY THERE’S NO WEBSITE (YET)

Interestingly, Pavani has deliberately avoided a full-fledged website. She still takes orders via her Instagram DMs. She feels the reason she shot to fame was her personal connection with the consumers and the ability to talk to them, customise the order if needed.

She feels a website will take away that warmth. 

“I want first-time customers to talk to me,” she explains. “I want to build a relationship.”

Orders currently come through:

• WhatsApp

• Instagram

• Razorpay payment links

Pavani also recognises the turning of tides that happened as she got famous. The shift was sudden. Everyone who trolled her once now respects her. 

“After becoming successful, everything changed in one month,” Pavani says. “The same people who questioned me started respecting me.”

WHAT’S NEXT

What also happened, apart from good sales as a result of sharing her journey, was an unexpected rise in queries for franchisees from all over the country. 

“After one video, I got over 2,000 franchise applications,” she says. But Pavani says she was not ready. But she knew this was a good opportunity to scale the brand. 

Then, she roped her brother to help and guide her.

Now, with her brother handling technical and operational planning, Pavani is working on sorting franchise documentation, structuring wholesale supply models and proper pricing for partners

In the coming months, she plans to:

• Launch franchises

• Continue direct-to-customer sales

• Supply to wholesale outlets alongside retail expansion

Looking back, Pavani doesn’t see herself as extraordinary. “I just stayed consistent,” she says simply.

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