Born to an Indian-Malawian family in Silicon Valley, Raina Kumra was fed herbs by her grandmother whenever she felt sick as a child. Kumra remembers chewing up cloves when she had a toothache and drinking peppermint tea when her stomach was upset. So in March 2020 when her daughter broke her collarbone in a bike accident and her husband had knee-replacement surgery, Kumra turned to her grandmother's teachings in Ayurveda, an ancient medical practice from India emphasizing diet and herbal remedies, to heal them.⁠ ⁠ Equipped with extensive experience in digital marketing and venture capital, as well from founding a startup years earlier, the now-45-year-old was interested in building something new. After conducting extensive market research to determine that there was a viable business opportunity in food medicine, she founded @thespicewell, a Santa Barbara, California-based company that makes functional spice, or spice intended to have a positive effect on health beyond basic nutrition. The three-employee company, which Kumra is bootstrapping, incorporated in March 2021 and began operation that November. In its first month selling products, Spicewell generated more than $10,000 in revenue, and is projecting $250,000 in sales by January 2023. Link in bio. (Reporting by @tina_wangxt / 📸: @thespicewell)