Love making and eating chapattis, but hate the clearing up after making them? Well, now a Pakistani Muslim female entrepreneur’s innovative invention could potentially revolutionise your roti-making duties.
Sophia Choudry’s clever kitchen gadget, the rotibox, has become an essential kitchen for making the traditional flatbread roti, by containing all the floury mess inside the box, which means one less chore of cleaning!
Sophia may have brought her mess-free chapati making solution to life, but it all started in 1976 with her mother, Shanaz; who upon moving to the UK from Pakistan found herself adapting to the challenge of running a household of 12 people.
All the household responsibilities were mum Shanaz’s “duty” which included making roti up to three-times a day! The continuous mess drove her crazy, she would clean up the flour only to recreate the same mess a few hours later.
Sophia’s father, a dab hand at DIY, came to the rescue and took some pressure away, he made her a wooden box to help his wife eliminate the chore of cleaning up the mess that comes after making roti.
Fast forward 20 years, Sophia wondered if there were others out there like her mother – who couldn’t bear the mess that came with making roti.
Creating a brand new product was a risk, but she could see an opportunity, and discovered a mission – to make life easier for roti-makers and keep the beautiful South Asian culture alive.
Encouraging people is part of the fibre of the rotibox experience. Sophia’s dedication to helping women everywhere to achieve their dreams is another example of her desire to give back. This lead her to receive the prestigious “Highly Commended Inspirational Role Model” award at the She Awards in 2022.
Since launching her successful invention, in January 2020, Sophia hopes to put an end to food poverty and ensure no child ever goes hungry. Sophia has adopted a policy of, “You buy, We Donate” to help achieve this goal by donating £1 from the sale of each rotibox to various charities across this impoverished land. Recently, rotibox funded a bakery in Lebanon and fed over 11,000 families in refugee camps.
Sophia says: “I am are passionate about bringing out the best in people. By helping others and encouraging people to follow their dreams and ambitions, we support our ethos to share and care. Let’s make a difference in this world together.”
Find out more at rotibox.co.uk
