Hey!Hunger: Tikka Veggie Patties. EAT. LIVE. FULLY.
- KLS
- Nov 18, 2025
- 16 min read
For the 215th feature of our "Together Talks" campaign, we collaborated with Hey!Hunger and Founder, Shireen Khera. Plant-based startup creating visually striking, minimally processed delicious burgers from locally produced organic whole foods that are good for you and for our planet.
Each nutburger is carefully curated leveraging ancient eastern ayurvedic practices to deliver adaptogens without compromising on deliciousness.
"Together Talks" feature # 215: Hey!Hunger presented by KLS - Your Trusted Shipping Solutions In The USA
Story of how it was created?
Hey!Hunger was born from one of the most personal chapters of my life — losing my mom to cancer. She was the person who shaped every part of who I am: my independence, my resilience, and, most importantly, my relationship with food. Growing up in India, she taught me that food wasn’t just nourishment — it was connection, tradition, and a form of love that showed up in the everyday.
During her illness, the veggie patties we made together became one of the few things she could still enjoy. They were simple, ultra-fresh, and deeply comforting — packed with vegetables, nuts, seeds, and bold Indian spices. Those recipes kept her strong, and they kept us connected in a time when everything felt like it was slipping away.
After I lost her, I felt a pull I couldn’t ignore. I wanted to carry forward the traditions we shared and find a way to honor her legacy. I didn’t set out to build a food company — I set out to share a piece of her with the world. That’s how Hey!Hunger began.
In the early days, my focus was simply to bring those ultra-healthy patties to market. But as I learned more about the rising rates of gut issues, chronic inflammation, and lifestyle-driven diseases in the U.S., my mission expanded. I realized the foods my mom taught me to make — plant-forward, nutrient-dense, low-processed, full of fiber — were exactly what so many people needed today.
Hey!Hunger has since grown far beyond a tribute. It’s a mission-driven brand built around a simple belief: good food should help you feel good. Our Indian-inspired patties make gut health easy, accessible, and delicious, using the same whole ingredients my family cooked with for generations.
What began as a daughter’s way of keeping her mother’s legacy alive has become a company dedicated to helping people build healthier habits — one bold, vibrant, nourishing bite at a time.
What have been the biggest challenges?
Building Hey!Hunger has been one of the most rewarding — and challenging — experiences of my life. As a solo founder bringing an entirely new category of Indian-inspired, gut-focused veggie patties to market, the obstacles have been real and constant.
1. Educating the market while building the brand
I wasn’t just launching a product; I was introducing a new way of thinking about frozen food. Helping retailers and consumers understand that bold Indian flavors, whole ingredients, nuts, vegetables, and gut health can all coexist in a simple frozen patty took persistence and patience. Every demo, every conversation, every email was part of that education.
2. Manufacturing a clean-label product at scale
My patties are ultra–low processed and made with whole vegetables, nuts, and legumes — which is exactly why people love them. But those same things make manufacturing far more complex. Finding a co-packer who could honor the integrity of the recipe, maintain organic certification, and work through challenges like forming, shrinkage, and consistency has taken years of negotiation, testing, and problem-solving.
3. Being the face of the brand
This brand is deeply personal. It carries my mother’s story, my own health journey, and the traditions I grew up with. At first, showing up publicly felt uncomfortable. But I quickly learned that authenticity is my biggest strength — people connect to the “why” behind Hey!Hunger, and stepping into that role has been essential for growth.
4. Doing everything as a solo founder
From sales calls and formulation tweaks to demos, packaging design, distributor relationships, legal redlines, and financial modeling — I’ve had to wear every hat. There’s a unique kind of pressure that comes with knowing every win and every setback rests on your shoulders. It forces you to stretch in ways you never expected, but it also builds an unshakeable foundation.
5. Competing in a price-driven category without compromising values
The frozen aisle is crowded, and many brands compete on cost by using fillers, isolates, and ultra-processed ingredients. I’ve made a very intentional decision not to. Staying true to whole ingredients and organic sourcing while trying to remain competitive has been one of the toughest — and most defining — challenges.
What have you learned?
Every challenge has reinforced the same lesson: mission comes first. When you know exactly why you’re building something, you find a way through the logistics, delays, complexities, and self-doubt.
And every time a customer tells me they feel better eating Hey!Hunger, or a buyer says our patties taste unlike anything else on the shelf, it reminds me that the hard path is still the right one.
Goals for upcoming year + Next phase of the company?
The next year is a pivotal one for Hey!Hunger. After proving product-market fit across the Bay Area, refining our operational model, and deepening our understanding of customer behavior, our focus is shifting toward intentional, scalable growth — without compromising our commitment to bold flavors, organic ingredients, and gut-first nutrition.
1. Expanding Retail Distribution Across Key Regions
Our goal is to grow deeper, not just wider. We’re targeting strategic expansion across California through regional distributors — building on the strong velocities and repeat purchases we’ve seen in Northern California.
2. Bringing Manufacturing to Scale
The biggest unlock for Hey!Hunger is scaling production with a co-manufacturer who can uphold our clean-label standards. Finalizing our manufacturing partnership will allow us to reduce COGS, improve margins, and support higher-volume retail orders, as well as expand into foodservice formats.
3. Launching Foodservice as a Second Growth Channel
We’re developing bulk formats for cafés, tech cafeterias, universities, and corporate dining programs that are actively seeking plant-forward, clean-label options. This channel helps us reduce waste and reach more consumers outside the grocery aisle.
4. Deepening Brand Awareness & Consumer Education
Our products sit at the intersection of gut health, Indian flavors, and whole-food innovation — a category that still requires education. This year’s focus is building a stronger brand presence through:
• community-driven demos
• bold social content
• founder storytelling
• partnerships with wellness and South Asian creators
The goal: make Hey!Hunger the go-to brand for people who want clean, bold, better-for-you frozen meals.
5. Strengthening Operational Foundations
As a solo founder, the next phase is about building structure and support:
• onboarding new partners as well as deepening current partnerships
• implementing stronger sales systems
• creating accountability plans tied to revenue milestones
• continuing R&D on profitable line extensions
This foundation will allow the company to scale sustainably.
What is next for Hey!Hunger?
We’re entering a chapter where everything we’ve built — the product, the mission, the brand, and the early traction — converges into real, scalable momentum. The next phase of Hey!Hunger is about expansion with discipline, manufacturing with integrity, and showing up as a bold, premium, gut-health-forward brand in a frozen aisle that desperately needs innovation.
It’s the year we go from a loved local brand to a category challenger with national potential.
What were your concerns to transition to starting your own business?
Starting Hey!Hunger wasn’t a neat, linear decision — it was a leap that came with real fears and very real trade-offs. I had spent years building a stable, successful career in corporate roles where I knew the playbook, the expectations, and the path forward. Walking away from that meant stepping into a world where nothing was guaranteed.
Here were the biggest concerns that shaped that transition:
1. Leaving stability for complete uncertainty
There’s a specific kind of anxiety that comes from giving up a predictable income and stepping into a space where you’re responsible for every dollar earned. I knew that once I started, the safety net was gone — no team, no infrastructure, no roadmap. Just me.
2. Building something from scratch, alone
I had always worked in highly resourced environments with analysts, cross-functional partners, budgets, and support. As a solo founder, I had to suddenly become the R&D team, the salesperson, the operations manager, the marketing department, and the finance leader — all at once. The question "Can I actually do all of this?" was very real.
3. Putting a deeply personal story into the public
Hey!Hunger is rooted in my mother’s life and her passing. The idea of sharing something so intimate with the world — and having it tied to the success of a business — felt emotionally risky. I worried about whether people would understand, whether it would resonate, or whether it would make me feel too exposed.
4. Navigating an industry I wasn’t trained in
CPG, food manufacturing, distribution, retail margins, organic certification, co-packing — none of it was in my prior job description. My fear was not just “Can I learn this?” but “Can I learn it fast enough to survive?”
5. Competing in a crowded category without compromising my values
I knew from day one that I would never build a product full of fillers, isolates, or shortcuts. But that meant my cost structure was going to be higher than most of the category. I worried about whether retailers and customers would choose quality over convenience or low price.
6. Carrying the weight of my mission
Because this brand is tied so closely to my identity, my family, and my mother’s legacy, failure felt personal. The fear wasn’t just about the business not working — it was about letting down the story and the woman who inspired it.
What helped you move forward?
Ultimately, the purpose behind Hey!Hunger outweighed the fear. I knew there was a real need for clean, bold, gut-friendly foods made the way I grew up eating. And I knew that if I didn’t take the leap, I’d spend the rest of my life wondering what could have been.
Every step since then — every challenge, every small win, every consumer message — has reaffirmed that the risk was worth it.
How have you dealt with being the face of the company?
Stepping into the role of being the face of Hey!Hunger wasn’t something that came naturally to me at first. I’m an operator at heart — I love building systems, creating products, and solving problems quietly behind the scenes. But because Hey!Hunger is rooted in my personal story, my values, and my lived experience, I realized early on that showing up wasn’t optional — it was essential.
At the beginning, it felt uncomfortable to speak publicly, put myself on camera, or share vulnerable parts of my life — especially my health journey and my mother’s story. What helped me move through that discomfort was reframing what “being the face” really meant: it wasn’t about self-promotion. It was about being a steward of a mission that’s bigger than me.
Today, I approach it with three guiding beliefs:
1. Authenticity is my anchor.
People can feel when a brand is real. So I choose to show up exactly as I am — an immigrant woman, a founder, a daughter honoring her mother’s legacy, and someone who deeply believes in building healthier habits through simple, bold, gut-friendly food.
2. Visibility is part of the responsibility.
I’ve met so many women entrepreneurs who’ve said, “I needed to see someone like me doing this.” Showing my face, my journey, and the messy middle isn’t just personal branding — it’s representation. And that matters.
3. Mission over perfection.
Some days I’m polished, some days I’m exhausted, but I’ve learned that consistency is more valuable than perfection. When I remind myself that every post, pitch, panel, or conversation helps more people discover foods that can truly nourish them, the pressure dissolves.
Ultimately, being the face of Hey!Hunger has become one of the most meaningful parts of building this company. It’s given me a chance to connect with customers, partners, and other founders in a way I never expected — and every time someone tells me our patties helped them feel better, it reinforces exactly why I show up.
Share a decision that you made that was detrimental?
Two decisions in my early journey had a meaningful negative impact on Hey!Hunger — and both taught me lessons I carry into every part of the business today.
1. Waiting too long to scale manufacturing
I stayed in manual production far longer than I should have. I wanted to protect quality, and I believed I could “figure out” scaling while growing retail. In reality, the delay created several problems:
• I became the bottleneck for production.
• I couldn’t confidently take on larger retail orders.
• My costs stayed higher than they needed to be.
• And ultimately, I missed out on months of revenue because my capacity couldn’t match demand.
Not securing a co-manufacturer sooner slowed down our entire growth curve and kept me in survival mode instead of strategy mode.
2. Hiring the wrong branding partner
Around the same time, I trusted an agency that ultimately wasn’t aligned with our vision or pace. The misalignment wasn’t just creative — it was operationally disruptive:
• Packaging development fell significantly behind schedule.
• Our brand voice became muddled and required a full reset.
• I had to delay store launches and postpone onboarding with retailers who were ready to place orders.
• Those delays translated directly into lost revenue, lost momentum, and missed selling windows.
I also spent countless hours giving feedback, redirecting work, and ultimately unwinding the partnership — time I should have been spending on sales relationships and expansion.
What helped you move forward?
Ultimately, the purpose behind Hey!Hunger outweighed the fear. I knew there was a real need for clean, bold, gut-friendly foods made the way I grew up eating. And I knew that if I didn’t take the leap, I’d spend the rest of my life wondering what could have been.
Every step since then — every challenge, every small win, every consumer message — has reaffirmed that the risk was worth it.
How have you dealt with being the face of the company?
Stepping into the role of being the face of Hey!Hunger wasn’t something that came naturally to me at first. I’m an operator at heart — I love building systems, creating products, and solving problems quietly behind the scenes. But because Hey!Hunger is rooted in my personal story, my values, and my lived experience, I realized early on that showing up wasn’t optional — it was essential.
At the beginning, it felt uncomfortable to speak publicly, put myself on camera, or share vulnerable parts of my life — especially my health journey and my mother’s story. What helped me move through that discomfort was reframing what “being the face” really meant: it wasn’t about self-promotion. It was about being a steward of a mission that’s bigger than me.
Today, I approach it with three guiding beliefs:
1. Authenticity is my anchor.
People can feel when a brand is real. So I choose to show up exactly as I am — an immigrant woman, a founder, a daughter honoring her mother’s legacy, and someone who deeply believes in building healthier habits through simple, bold, gut-friendly food.
2. Visibility is part of the responsibility.
I’ve met so many women entrepreneurs who’ve said, “I needed to see someone like me doing this.” Showing my face, my journey, and the messy middle isn’t just personal branding — it’s representation. And that matters.
3. Mission over perfection.
Some days I’m polished, some days I’m exhausted, but I’ve learned that consistency is more valuable than perfection. When I remind myself that every post, pitch, panel, or conversation helps more people discover foods that can truly nourish them, the pressure dissolves.
Ultimately, being the face of Hey!Hunger has become one of the most meaningful parts of building this company. It’s given me a chance to connect with customers, partners, and other founders in a way I never expected — and every time someone tells me our patties helped them feel better, it reinforces exactly why I show up.
Share a decision that you made that was detrimental?
Two decisions in my early journey had a meaningful negative impact on Hey!Hunger — and both taught me lessons I carry into every part of the business today.
1. Waiting too long to scale manufacturing
I stayed in manual production far longer than I should have. I wanted to protect quality, and I believed I could “figure out” scaling while growing retail. In reality, the delay created several problems:
• I became the bottleneck for production.
• I couldn’t confidently take on larger retail orders.
• My costs stayed higher than they needed to be.
• And ultimately, I missed out on months of revenue because my capacity couldn’t match demand.
Not securing a co-manufacturer sooner slowed down our entire growth curve and kept me in survival mode instead of strategy mode.
2. Hiring the wrong branding partner
Around the same time, I trusted an agency that ultimately wasn’t aligned with our vision or pace. The misalignment wasn’t just creative — it was operationally disruptive:
• Packaging development fell significantly behind schedule.
• Our brand voice became muddled and required a full reset.
• I had to delay store launches and postpone onboarding with retailers who were ready to place orders.
• Those delays translated directly into lost revenue, lost momentum, and missed selling windows.
I also spent countless hours giving feedback, redirecting work, and ultimately unwinding the partnership — time I should have been spending on sales relationships and expansion.
What both decisions taught you?
These setbacks showed me something crucial: delayed decisions and misaligned partners cost far more than money — they cost momentum.
In CPG, timing matters. Margins matter. Packaging matters. And the partners you choose can fast-track your growth or stall it entirely.
Now I make decisions earlier, with clearer criteria, tighter scopes, and stronger checkpoints. I choose partners who understand who we are — bold, gut-health-driven, whole-food, and proudly Indian-inspired.
And I’ve learned to trust my instincts; the early signs of misalignment are almost always correct.
Why the decisions made you stronger?
Ironically, those painful experiences led to clarity:
We now have a brand identity that is stronger and more differentiated.
I know exactly what I need from manufacturing partners.
And the discipline those setbacks forced has shaped a more resilient, thoughtful company.
They were costly, but they raised the bar for every decision I make today.
What Is Your Why?
My “why” is rooted in two things: my mother’s legacy and the reality of what’s happening to our health in this country.
I grew up in India eating foods that were fresh, simple, unprocessed, and deeply connected to our culture. When my mom got sick, the veggie patties we made together — full of nuts, seeds, vegetables, and bold spices — helped her maintain strength. After she passed away, those recipes became a way for me to stay connected to her. They were comfort, healing, and home.
When I moved to the U.S., my own health changed. I developed high cholesterol, prediabetes, and high blood pressure — all symptoms of a diet that was convenient but not nourishing. I realized firsthand how easy it is to slip into foods that are quick, cheap, and heavily processed.
At the same time, gut issues, inflammation, and chronic conditions are rising at alarming rates. Nearly 95% of Americans don’t get enough fiber every day — and it’s showing up in our health outcomes, even in young people.
My “why” is to change that.
I started Hey!Hunger to make it easy for people to feel good again — through real food that actually nourishes them.
Food that’s bold, vibrant, culturally rich, and made the way I grew up eating: whole ingredients, no fillers, and flavors that make you excited to eat healthy.
My mission is simple:
bring gut-friendly, nutrient-dense, Indian-inspired food to as many people as possible — and honor my mom every step of the way.
She taught me that good food is love, and love is something you give generously. Hey!Hunger is how I continue giving.
A Moment That Brings Me the Most Joy
There are many meaningful moments as a founder, but the one that consistently brings me the most joy is surprisingly simple: when a customer tells me that my food made them feel better.
Every time someone pulls me aside at a demo, or messages me on Instagram, or emails me to say,
“Your patties finally settle my stomach,”
“My kids love them and I feel good feeding it to them,”
“I haven’t eaten something this clean in years,”
or
“This reminds me of home,”
— I feel this wave of gratitude that is hard to put into words.
Because that was exactly my intention from the beginning: to create food that nourishes people in the same way my mom nourished me.
But if I had to choose one specific moment, it would be the first time I saw a complete stranger pick up my product off a store shelf — without knowing I was the founder standing five feet away.
She looked at the ingredients, smiled, and said to her partner:“Finally, something I can actually eat.”
They put three boxes in their cart.
I didn’t say a word, but in that moment, I felt everything:
relief that the years of effort were worth it
pride in the integrity of the product
connection to my mom
and awe that something born in my kitchen was now feeding someone else’s family
It was quiet and personal, but it’s still the moment I go back to anytime the journey feels heavy.
That simple, everyday interaction captured the entire purpose of Hey!Hunger.
A Piece of Advice for Others
Start before you feel ready — and trust that clarity comes from action, not perfection.
So many dreams stall because we wait for the “right time,” the perfect plan, the perfect branding, the perfect partner, or the perfect financial situation. But entrepreneurship (and honestly, life) doesn’t reward perfection — it rewards momentum.
When I look back, the biggest unlocks in my journey came when I took a step forward even when I wasn’t fully sure, and then adjusted, refined, and improved as I went.
My advice in four parts:
1. Don’t let fear of imperfection keep you from starting.
You don’t need a perfect product, all the answers, or a flawless plan — you need movement. Momentum is your greatest teacher.
2. Choose partners who are aligned with your values, not just your goals.
The wrong partnership can set you back months (or more). Alignment, communication, and trust matter more than any pitch deck or portfolio.
3. Protect your energy like it’s an asset.
You are the engine. Burnout is real, and doing everything alone doesn’t make you a hero — it makes you ineffective. Build support early.
4. Hold your mission tightly, but hold your tactics lightly.
Your “why” should never change. But how you get there will — repeatedly. Be flexible, curious, and willing to pivot without seeing it as failure.
Community Callout
Hey!Hunger was built on the belief that food is connection — and our community is at the heart of everything we do. Whether it’s shoppers choosing cleaner meals, retailers taking a chance on a small brand, or neighbors volunteering alongside us at the SF-Marin Food Bank, our growth is entirely fueled by people who believe in better food and better health.
Thank you for showing up, cheering us on, and helping us bring bold, nourishing flavors to more families. We couldn’t do this without you.
In Closing
KLS wants to thank Hey!Hunger and Founder, Shireen Khera, for today's "Together Talks" feature. Follow along for their journey with their social handles below!
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