A North Yorkshire entrepreneur has announced the opening of a new expanded production facility to meet growing national demand for her latest business venture.
Monalisa Fathima, an award-winning businesswoman, has launched the site at Sycamore Business Park in Copt Hewick, Ripon, for Monalisa’s Kitchen, a handcrafted Indian food brand offering ready-to-cook products.
The idea for the brand was born during a period of personal challenge for Ms Fathima, who was diagnosed with congenital cataracts six years ago while completing a PhD in education.
She said: "My mission is to help people discover that the rich, complex flavours of Indian food can be recreated in their own kitchen with very little effort.
"After the success of Saffron Tree and my own personal health journey, moving into this new facility in Ripon, surrounded by like-minded entrepreneurs, feels like a homecoming."
During her recovery, Ms Fathima relied on supermarket-ready meals and noticed a gap in the market for authentic, homemade Indian flavours.
This sparked her journey to create Monalisa’s Kitchen, a range of handcrafted products designed to deliver restaurant-quality results at home in under 30 minutes.
She is already well known in the Yorkshire food scene as the founder of Saffron Tree, a multi-award-winning brand of premium chilled ready meals that received national acclaim and listings with Waitrose.
Monalisa’s Kitchen builds on that legacy but is focused on empowering home cooks.
The new Ripon premises feature a purpose-built production kitchen, storage, and office space to support rising national demand.
Ms Fathima said: "The new business unit allows for controlled, compliant production and measured growth as we reach more kitchens across the UK.
"My range is rooted in traditional flavours made with premium ingredients, presented in a way that fits naturally into modern British kitchens."
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The brand’s masala pastes are raw and uncooked, prepared in the same way they would be at home, allowing the flavours to develop naturally during the cooking process.
The current range includes tikka, makhani, korma, rogan josh, and vindaloo pastes, as well as a signature spice blend, pakora masala, tadka dal, and pulao rice.
Products are available through the Monalisa’s Kitchen online store and selected independent farm shops.
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