When frozen-food culture started to peak in the 1950s, convenience was the buzzword of the era, as the shiny new technology liberated housewives from the burdens of cooking. It was a golden age of fish sticks and frozen pizzas, and today, much to the horror of the rapidly growing organic, slow food movement—not much has changed. Aisles across America’s grocery stores remain largely stuffed with complete dinners that often offer no explanation of where the ingredients come from or how they are processed. Or worse, the plethora of ingredients conventional frozen entrees contain are dosed with unhealthy levels of salt, sugar, calories, artificial ingredients, additives, or hydrogenated oils.
Enter Adnan Durrani, a serial entrepreneur responsible for investing in and elevating small, niche natural food and beverage brands into major household names. Durrani entered into the natural food sector almost thirty years ago, armed with the goal of creating and bolstering brands that make environmentally friendly and all-natural, organic products. He is now making waves with his newest brand—Saffron Road—and its line of global halal cuisines.
When Durrani started his journey into natural foods several decades ago via the venture capital firm Condor Ventures, the organic-food business wasn’t quite at the capacity that it is today, cultivating less than 10 million dollars in sales in the early nineties, he says (today, it has surged to $35 billion). Durrani quickly latched on to the growing national interest and felt compelled to contribute to a food industry that was increasingly transparent about where food was sourced and how things were made.