25-YO Jaipur Woman Quit Her Job At Amazon, Invested Rs 10k From Savings To Start An Exotic Salad Startup – Clocked Rs 3 Lakh In 3 Months

Swati Patel, a 25-year-old Jaipur woman, loves healthy, exotic salads. But here’s what she believes in: salads should not be overpriced. They should be affordable, healthy, and fresh.

With just Rs 10,000 in savings, this woman entrepreneur bootstrapped her affordable exotic salad startup and began her journey as a small business founder.

Three months later? She has already clocked more than Rs 3 lakh in revenue and fulfilled thousands of orders. 

And her jobs at Amazon Revolut? Long quit.

“I am not new to entrepreneurship. Somehow, I have always loved doing things on my own. I strongly believe that the same God who sends us ideas for our ventures also gives us customers to sustain them. A dash of hope, delusion, and a genuine want to give people healthy food was the start of my small business,” Swati Patel, founder of Green Forest, tells Startup Pedia in an exclusive interview.

Founded in August 2025, Green Forest is a Jaipur-based healthy food brand that offers nutritious salads that are exotic and affordable at the same time.

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THE BACKGROUND

Hailing from Madhya Pradesh, Swati Patel completed her B.Com degree from Indore and then went to the Jain University in Bengaluru to pursue her MBA.

“Five years ago, I came to Jaipur looking for a job. I joined technical support roles in companies like Amazon and Revolut. But I always had an inkling to start something of my own. Green Forest is not my first startup,” Swati shares.

In 2023, Swati started an art brand that dabbled in resin art and made unique wall clocks. While creatively fulfilling, the idea did not scale. Then in 2024, the young entrepreneur decided to give a second shot to a venture – a brand called DenimPaglu, which handcrafted embroidery on old denims.

“While the denim idea was a unique one, it didn’t scale either. I continued my corporate job,” she says.

It was in 2025 that Swati Patel decided to do something in the food industry.

“The thing is, despite not being able to scale my previous ventures, the entrepreneurial bug didn’t leave me. I knew I was made to set up a business from the ground up. This time around, the idea came from salads,” she tells Startup Pedia.

As someone who has always loved cooking, Swati would wake up early to prepare healthy salads for her breakfast. She would experiment with different kinds of dressings as well, and her friends loved it.

“The taste was so good that I was encouraged to make a business out of the salads,” the Jaipur woman says.

Until July 2025, she kept working at her corporate job but eventually quit it to focus solely on her exotic salad startup idea.

This was the start of Green Forest.

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JOURNEY AND CHALLENGES: STARTED WITH JUST RS 10,000

In August 2025, Swati started researching the variety of exotic salads and the healthy dressings that go best with them. Additionally, she set prices for each salad she would eventually sell under Green Forest.

She bootstrapped the exotic salad startup with just Rs 10,000 that came from her savings.

The small business founder reveals the breakdown of the amount:

• Approximately Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 went into buying fresh vegetables from local vendors.

• An additional Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000 went into buying raw materials such as moong dal, chana, rajma, and dressing ingredients from grocery supermarkets like DMart.

• The rest of the amount went to buying packaging material and getting the brand labels designed by a graphic designer.

“My market launch happened after Rakshabandhan. I had gone to my hometown to celebrate the festival. I also took the opportunity to explain to my parents that I have quit my job and now want to be a full-time entrepreneur,” the exotic salad startup founder shares.

After coming back to Jaipur from Rakshabandhan, the small business founder prepared the salad recipes, did a small home shoot, and decided to officially start selling exotic salads under Green Forest.

On 28th August, Swati went to a local market, GT Central, in Jaipur and distributed 35 boxes of exotic salads as free samples.

On 30th August, Swati and her sister (who has come to Jaipur to assist Swati) visited a corporate office area in Jaipur with 35-40 boxes of freshly prepared, homemade exotic salads.

The duo faced rejection for at least 3 hours. Slightly disappointed, they kept at it.

“My first sale happened because I pleaded with someone and said, 'bhaiyya, please le lo na’,” Swati laughs.

The next morning, Swati and her sister decided to give Green Forest one more chance. This time around they chose the Patrika Gate in Jaipur as their offline location. This is a place where most urban folks come to take morning walks, exercise, jog, stroll…you name it.

“We went with just ten boxes, because of the wastage that had already happened the previous times. You won’t believe it, all our exotic salads were sold out in just five minutes,” the small business founder tells Startup Pedia.

The next day, they doubled the quantity. Again, sold out!

This went on for quite a few days, and soon after, Swati Patel and her sister decided to onboard Green Forest on Swiggy and Zomato. 

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THE ZOMATO AND SWIGGY HICCUP

“This was partly because our customers were telling us to be available on online food ordering applications, so they could order exotic salads for breakfast as well as for lunch. Mostly, our affordability and taste stood out for everyone,” Swati shares.

Green Forest did launch on Zomato and Swiggy, but the commission rates ate up the business.

“The point is, Green Forest stands for pocket-friendly, healthy salads. Just to accommodate the high commissions charged by Zomato and Swiggy, I couldn’t suddenly inflate prices. That would make me just another salad option restaurant on online food ordering applications,” the exotic salad startup founder says.

Within a few days, Green Forest stopped selling on Zomato and Swiggy and began working on acquiring an offline customer chunk.

Swati Patel and her sister started distributing pamphlets with Green Forest’s official business WhatsApp number and encouraged people to order through that.

“Now, we deliver across Jaipur via Uber and Porter. People are happy paying an extra Rs 50-60 for this,” she says.

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GREEN FOREST: POCKET-FRIENDLY EXOTIC SALADS WITH DROOL-WORTHY DRESSINGS

Today, Green Forest operates as an exotic salad startup brand that has one mission: offer exotic salads at an affordable price.

“Eating healthy is anyway a challenge for most people. We just want to do our part in eliminating the cost resistance that comes with healthy food options. Our salads are health-first, taste-first, and affordability-first,” Swati Patel tells Startup Pedia.

The exotic salads are prepped and packaged entirely by Swati and her sister. The duo also wake up early to make different dressings (without the use of mayonnaise, garlic, onion, or sauces).

“One of our bestseller dressings is the mint and basil dressing which involves curd and spices as a base. We also have beetroot dressing, chipotle cheese dressing, paneer cheese dressing, chickpea hummus dressing, spinach hummus, and peanut sauce,” Swati explains.

For marketing, Green Forest heavily relies on organic content-led marketing that is founder and journey-oriented. The exotic salad startup does not run any paid digital ads via Meta or Google.

Other than organic content on Instagram, Swati Patel and her sister set up their exotic salad stall outside pickleball courts and fitness clubs every Sunday.

“We also have a group of small women who regularly host get-togethers and support small businesses. Engaging in all these activities is very important for our visibility,” the young entrepreneur notes.

THE UNIT ECONOMICS

Currently, the average order value of Green Forest’s exotic salads varies from Rs 50 (200 grams) to Rs 100 (350 grams).

For salads that are heavier and involve ingredients such as brown rice and quinoa, the price goes up to only Rs 249.

“By paying just Rs 100, people can get a whole exotic salad from us that includes fresh avocado, dragonfruit, corns, tofu, and fresh veggies, with a dash of peanut sauce mixed with honey and lemon. That is the kind of affordability we are offering,” the small business founder says.

Swati Patel revealed the unit economics for an exotic salad costing Rs 100 and weighing 350 grams:

• Rs 30 to Rs 50 go into the vegetables and other ingredients 

• Rs 5 goes into packaging (currently, it’s food-grade plastic)

• The remaining is the take-home profit, which has been getting reinvested in the business

“Towards the afternoon, we start getting lunch orders. Then our average order value shoots to Rs 150 to Rs 200,” the young entrepreneur notes.

“We have some customers who have a monthly meal plan for us, so their salads are delivered to them on an almost everyday basis, either for breakfast or for lunch,” Swati adds.

GREEN FOREST’S GROWTH TRAJECTORY: STEADY AND AMBITIOUS

The exotic salad startup started by fulfilling just 10 orders every day in September to closing up to 120 orders each day in the same month.

Green Forest catered to a total of 2,000+ orders in September, 1,500+ orders in October (the dip came because of the Diwali break that Swati took), and 2,500+ orders in November.

“All our orders either come from WhatsApp or offline customers who see our stall during events. Currently, we are focusing more on building and expanding our WhatsApp community and customer base, because setting up our stall at Patrika Gate is becoming a hassle. Someone took our picture and shared it with the Jaipur Development Authority,” Jaipur woman Swati Patel tells Startup Pedia.

As far as revenue is concerned, the exotic salad startup clocked Rs 1,10,000 in September, Rs 90,000 in October, and Rs 1,00,000+ in November.

“When I quit my secure jobs at Amazon and Revolut, I didn’t really have a Plan B other than these salads. This is something I want to pursue properly, with as much dedication as I can possibly put in. I am very grateful to my sister, who has come to Jaipur to help me set up everything properly. At Green Forest, the aim is to make health as yummy and affordable as possible. And we are well on our way to do just that,” Swati Patel concludes.

FAQ

Q.

When was Green Forest founded?

A.

Green Forest was founded in August 2025.

Q.

Who is the founder of Green Forest?

A.

Swati Patel, a 25-year-old woman in Jaipur, is the founder of Green Forest.

Q.

What does Green Forest do?

A.

Green Forest is a Jaipur-based healthy food brand that offers nutritious salads that are exotic and affordable at the same time.

Q.

What is the revenue of Green Forest?

A.

In just three months, Swati Patel has served 5,000+ customers and clocked a revenue of approximately Rs 3 lakh.