Women in SFSC: One person, one kitchen, lots of chillies

A chat with Pooja Khati | SFSC Producer | Belgium

From a single rented kitchen to customers doorsteps deliveries by bicycle, PIRO SIRO  is quietly redefining what short, spicy and woman‑led food chains can look like in the heart of Europe. Behind PIRO SIRO, there’s Pooja who has chosen to start small to build closer relationships with customers and keep value creation local even when some ingredients come from far away. But a short food supply chain does not mean necessarily easier: food safety regulations, packaging and pricing all demand attention. We sat down with Pooja to explore the behind-the-scenes of running a small local food business, focusing on the work customers rarely see, and how SFSC advisory helped her move forward.

What does a “short” food chain mean in your day-to-day reality?

For Piro Siro, a short food chain means the product moves from producer to consumer with as few intermediaries as possible.

In practice, I produce in Brussels, in a rented kitchen in Brussels, and sell directly through our online shop, local markets and corporate orders. Deliveries within Brussels are made by bicycle. This gives us full traceability, direct customer feedback and a close relationship with the community we serve. Because the value is created locally, it also stays local. It’s also a lower-impact way to run a food business. With production and delivery both in Brussels, there is no long-distance transport of finished goods, no distribution centres and no cold storage. Producing in small batches, to order, means very little overproduction or food waste, and a jar that has travelled a few kilometres arrives fresher.

Why did you decide to start with limited stock and Brussels‑only deliveries, instead of going wider from the beginning?

It was a deliberate strategy. Starting with small batches let us validate the product and refine the recipe with real customer feedback before scaling. It also kept quality and food safety fully under control, and it reduced financial risk, which matters for a self-funded start-up. Limiting deliveries to Brussels kept our logistics low-carbon and manageable, and it let us build a loyal local customer base first. We chose to grow on solid foundations rather than expand too fast.

Can you walk us through the journey of a jar of Piro Siro – from your kitchen to someone’s plate – and where the chain stays short and “human”?

A jar of PIRO SIRO  starts with careful ingredient selection and a recipe inspired by Nepali flavours. It is produced in small batches in Brussels, in compliance with AFSCA food safety requirements, then jarred, labelled and packed by hand. Branding, storytelling and customer relations are handled in-house (we’re a one person team). The jar then reaches the customer through direct channels: online orders, local markets and office deliveries, often by e-bike by the founder.

Some ingredients travel further than Brussels. How do you balance this with your ambition to keep the chain locally rooted, and where does “local” start and end for you?

We’re transparent about this: some key ingredients can’t be sourced locally and come from Asia. For us, “local” is defined by where production, transformation and value creation take place. Everything from formulation to packaging, sales and delivery happens in Brussels. Our approach is to be as local as realistically possible and honest about where we can’t be.

What has been the biggest challenge of building and running the brand from a single kitchen, and did advice or support make the difference?

The biggest challenge has been scaling a product without scaling a team. In a single kitchen with one person, I’m responsible for production, food safety, packaging, sales, marketing and finance, all at once. Every technical problem lands on my desk. When we ran into sealing issues on a new jar format, there was no production manager to hand it to. I had to diagnose it, fix it and protect quality while orders kept coming in.

The second challenge is turning a product people love into a financially sustainable business. Pricing, margins and channel strategy across direct sales, corporate orders and retail are very different problems from perfecting a recipe.

This is where support made the difference, at two different stages. When I was starting out, FoodUp.brussels helped me understand the regulatory framework for producing and selling food, which is one of the most intimidating parts of launching a food business and one that can stop a project before it begins. Today, StartLab provides the wider support I need to grow: advisory, a network of fellow entrepreneurs and mentors, and the structure to think strategically about the business.

What part of your work do people rarely see or understand?

The invisible side of production is substantial: sourcing, recipe testing, quality control, regulatory compliance, cleaning and preparation, packaging, inventory management and administration. Customers see a finished jar, but each batch involves many hours of preparation and quality assurance behind the scenes. In a small food business, those unseen operational details are what protect product quality and customer trust.

As a woman leading a small food brand, what feels most important to you in this work, and what would you say to another woman who wants to start something similar in her own city?

What matters most to me is building a business with integrity, one that reflects my values and culture and creates local value. My advice to another woman starting out: start small, validate your idea with real customers, and don’t wait until everything is perfect. Build your foundations carefully, ask for support early, and use the advisory networks available.

This testimonial is part of “Women in SFSC”, an EU4Advice initiative that gives visibility to women shaping short food supply chains across Europe, while highlighting the role of advice and support in their journeys. Follow EU4Advice on social media to discover more stories!