UMAIMAH SHARWANI OF PARO

“I'm excited to bring South Asian food to homes everywhere and show how easy and delicious it can be to cook Paro at home.” — Umaimah Sharwani

Umaimah Sharwani is the founder of Paro, the new South Asian comfort food brand. A first-generation Pakistani American who launched and scaled digitally native brands (including Glossier, Bravo Sierra, Jet.com, and Fab.com) from pre- to $100M+ in revenue, Umaimah is now creating a next-generation pantry staples brand with South Asian comfort foods that are flavorful, nourishing, and easy to cook.

What is your inspiration behind Paro?

As a first-generation Pakistani American, I've always been homesick for my mom's food. When I moved to New York, I asked her to help me recreate her food in my apartment. We created ziploc bags with the exact amount of spices needed to make any specific dish. My biggest barrier to entry was not having the spices and not knowing where to buy them. With my mom’s Ziploc bags of spices, I only had to add the protein, grain, or lentils. Over time, I started sharing that concept with friends and my community in New York. I realized there's a larger need for both access to South Asian food and an approachable way to create it at home. That begins my journey with Paro! 

Over the past three years of working on Paro, I have gone through many iterations of the product before arriving at the one now. I wanted to make sure that the product is extremely accessible to folks. After working at companies like Glossier, Bravo Sierra, and Jet.com, I knew that I was ready to start something on my own. I felt such a pull towards South Asian foods, and I knew that Paro was a product that should exist. I wanted to be the one to make it happen.

Who do you see as the target customer for Paro? Where do you see Paro in five years?

I want Paro to be enjoyed by everyone, as I truly think our products are pantry staples. The mission of Paro is to introduce South Asian food to a broader audience, and to communicate how accessible South Asian food is. In five years, I think our items will be a go-to for anyone. Taco night and pasta night are well-established, but I think in five years, we’ll also have Paro night – we’ll be a staple in your routine.

What has it been like to launch a start-up in stealth mode, and why did you choose to build Paro in stealth mode?

Most founders build in stealth mode because they’re constantly iterating – they’re doing research before their startups goes out into the world. I’ve been working on Paro for a couple of years now, and the company’s gone through so many different iterations. Everything from “Should Paro only be a spice plan?” to “Should Paro be a mini meal kit?” has crossed my mind. I landed on the current version of Paro after spending a month in Pakistan last January – Paro should be centered around simple, nutritious, and flavorful Pakistani comfort food. 

You were one of Glossier's earliest employees! What was it like helping Glossier launch and helping create Glossier from the ground up? What aspects of your experience with Glossier did you find particularly useful when launching Paro?

Oh my gosh, all of it! Working at Glossier was incredible. I met Emily and Henry at Into the Gloss, before Glossier had launched. Joining the team as the third employee meant working alongside them on everything—not only on operations, supply chain, and customer experience, but also product development, team, and culture. In addition, I launched Glossier internationally in Canada, the U.K., and France. It was an incredible four year experience of understanding three things: the foundations of building a business, deciding on what to focus on post-launch, and prioritizing customer experience at the forefront. 

My experience at Glossier and other Consumer Packaged Goods brands like Bravo Sierra and and Jet.com prepared me for building a business and being a solo entrepreneur; such experiences taught me how to spend my time, how to raise money, how to really work out my brand and messaging, and what people you need to build a successful brand. 

In terms of CPG brands, how have the current consumer market and macro climate affected your outlook in founding Paro?

Now more than ever, it's important to evaluate the unit economics and focus on building a product that can scale. In the past, venture backed startups were looking at growth at all costs. Now, it's about being smart with your dollars – how is every single dollar I’m spending going to help me acquire a customer? 

In terms of the current macro climate for CPG brands: the appetite is still there for newness, the food and beverage industry is still growing, and we still have so much work to do in making grocery aisles more diverse in terms of the flavor, culture, and identity. Keeping our unit economics in mind will allow us to focus on keeping these current trends at the forefront of our brand.

You’ve had experience with a very diverse set of companies in different industries, from Google to Jet to Glossier. What advice do you have for college aged women who are exploring roles that fit them and figuring out where to work? What advice do you have for navigating career progression? 

My main recommendation to college students, particularly those living in New York, is to learn as much as you can, both from other professionals and from your work experiences. My first job out of college was in private wealth management, but I realized that that industry wasn’t the right fit. To learn more about other fields, I cold emailed and LinkedIn messaged professionals in the city, asking to grab coffee to learn more about their experiences. During those conversations, I was like a sponge – I learned as much as I could about a myriad of industries and roles. 

Since working in wealth management, I've been so lucky to have worked at incredible brands and across different company sizes, from Google, to pre-launch Glossier, to Walmart ecommerce/Jet.com. My learning continued in my professional experiences at those firms: for example, I learned about what operations and supply chain management looked like at Glossier versus Walmart. 

In short, I encourage everyone, not just college undergrads—peers of my age right now who are looking for new roles—to meet with people and to learn as much as you can. Build that community. It’s so incredible to have access to the ecosystem of people, companies, and ideas that we do in New York.

Quick Take 1: What is your favorite dish? 

Paro Daal! It’s so versatile and the main inspiration behind the brand. It can be used as your main dish, side, or as a base.

Quick Take 2: What is one spice or ingredient that you cannot live without? 

Cumin seeds. They're rich, hearty, warm, with an incredible smell that adds depth. I've been making a lot of jeera rice, which combines toasted cumin seeds and basmati rice. 

Quick Take 3: Who is one woman you look up to? 

Mindy Kaling. She does an incredible job of including South Asians in mainstream media.  Never Have I Ever brings up so many childhood memories for me!