Apeksha Jain built The Gourmet Jar on a belief that food should be personal, authentic and full of character. Her entrepreneurial journey is a story of conviction, resilience and building a distinctive food brand on her own terms.
What did you have to unlearn about being a good woman in order to become a good leader?
I had to unlearn that being agreeable makes you a good woman. I learnt that having an opinion isn’t aggression, and that trusting my judgement matters more than seeking approval.
Tell us about a room where you walked in knowing you were the least expected person to be there and walked out knowing you belonged.
At a meeting with The Oberoi Gurgaon, I negotiated with six or seven senior men to supply our jams and preserves. I walked out with a deal on my terms, realising I didn’t need to look like everyone else to belong.
What is something you were once told you were “too much” of that you now consider one of your greatest strengths?
I was told I was too independent. Today, that independence helps me trust my instincts, make decisions and take responsibility for their consequences.
What is the hardest no you’ve ever said and what did it cost you?
I’ve turned down attractive orders, investments and acquisition offers that didn’t feel right. Saying no cost us revenue, but it protected what we’d spent years building.
What is one career risk you took that looked irrational to everyone else at the time?
Continuing to build The Gourmet Jar despite slow sales, investor rejections and losses. I chose conviction over certainty because I believed in bringing authentic, personal food experiences into everyday life.
What is the invisible tax women still pay for being ambitious?
It’s the pressure to do everything perfectly: run a home, raise children, look good and succeed professionally. There’s also the guilt of choosing yourself instead of being everything to everyone.
What do you think we risk losing in the pursuit of making everything smarter?
Intuition, craft, imperfection and emotion. Technology isn’t the problem; it’s when we stop using our own judgement to improve what it creates.
What is something about your success that people see as effortless but actually came at a very high personal cost?
Behind the brand are years of uncertainty, financial pressure and self-doubt. The personal cost has been time, energy and sometimes feeling behind my peers. Success shouldn’t be romanticised.
What are you still figuring out?
How to scale without losing the quality, authenticity and philosophy that made people love The Gourmet Jar in the first place.
If PowHER STRIKERS is about women who didn’t simply enter the room but changed the room, what is the room you want to change next?
I want more women to build large, enduring businesses, particularly in food and consumer brands. I also want to prove that ambition and empathy can coexist with commercial success.
Google knows the highlights of your career. What doesn’t it know about the choices, risks, setbacks and defining moments that made you who you are today?
It doesn’t know about the lost deals, mistakes, sleepless nights or moments when I doubted myself. Building the business also built me, teaching me to negotiate, take risks, trust my instincts and keep going.