Anila's Authentic Sauces gains first distribution order to Switzerland

Anila’s Authentic Sauces will be warming up meals in snowy Switzerland after the firm received its first export order from the country.

Earlier this year the award-winning curry sauce and accompaniments producer won an export order to Germany after exhibiting at the world’s most important food and drink sector trade fair, Anuga.

Anila’s travelled with UK Trade & Investment to exhibit as part of the British Pavilion at Anuga in Cologne in October 2009.

Now the company run by Anila Vaghela has secured a second order as a result of contacts made at the trade fair and has started exporting to Switzerland for the first time.

A Swiss distributor has ordered more than 1,100 jars of curry sauces, chutneys and pickles from the firm, which is based in Walton-on-Thames with a unit in Hounslow, and is run by Anila and her husband Dan.

“This is great news for Anila’s Authentic Sauces,” said Anila Vaghela. “Exhibiting at Anuga marked the start of our push into exporting to Continental Europe, and I am delighted that this is now bearing fruit for us.”

The distributor has taken the whole of Anila’s range, which features eight premium curry sauces, handmade in small batches, and 16 chutneys, pickles and dips made with single fruits and vegetables.

Anila’s now exports to Germany, Ireland, Dubai and Switzerland, and hopes to continue expanding to other countries.

The news of the Switzerland order comes as Anila’s celebrates scooping a two ** Gold Great Taste Award for its popular Goan Green Curry Sauce.

The accolade marked the 11th Great Taste Award presented to Anila’s range of premium curry sauces, chutneys, pickles and dips by The Guild of Fine Food.

To win such a high rating, up to 20 judges unanimously agreed that the Goan Green Curry Sauce had achieved ‘absolute perfection’.

“The Goan Green Curry Sauce is one of our most popular sauces, and we are thoroughly delighted that the judges of the Great Taste Awards 2010 agree that it’s something very special,” said Anila, who founded Anila’s Authentic Sauces in 1997.

The Great Taste Awards are the national benchmark in speciality food and drink, and have been running since 1993.

Made with mint, coriander, spinach and coconut, Anila’s Goan Green Curry Sauce is sold in a range of speciality retailers, delis and farm shops.

Anila’s cooking has always been popular with friends and family, and in the early 1990s she began selling jars of curry sauce on a very small scale in her local community in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey. She sold all 80 jars at her first fair at Weybridge in 1992. Phone calls from very satisfied customers followed, and Anila began fulfilling small orders.

In 1997 she was made redundant from a job as a PA and decided to seize the opportunity to form her own company to develop Anila’s Authentic Sauces.

She carried out extensive research, took expert business advice, and felt there was a gap in the market for high-quality, premium curry sauces. She soon gained a listing in the food hall of her local department store, and before long Anila’s curry sauces were on the shelves of a range of health stores, delicatessens and independent specialist shops.

Anila outgrew her kitchen at home and moved to a catering kitchen in Surbiton in 2002. A year later the business needed larger premises once more, and Anila’s re-located to a 1400 sq ft unit in Hounslow. In 2006, husband Dan also joined the team.

Anila’s products are now sold at John Lewis Oxford Street and John Lewis Bluewater, and top quality gourmet stores, such as Harrods, Wholefoods and Planet Organic, plus hundreds of other outlets that include health food stores, garden centres and gift shops, as well as smaller independent stores such as Budgens at Ascot, Shepperton and Crouch End. Anila’s also sells direct to the public at 28 farmers’ markets across Surrey, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire, including Guildford, Walton, Windsor, Maidenhead, Ascot, Cobham, Beaconsfield and Farnham, and online via http://www.anilassauces.com/

Anila’s starts exporting to Germany

Award-winning curry sauce and accompaniments producer Anila’s has gained its first export order to Germany.

Three of the firm’s chutneys have been snapped up by a quality retailer, with a further ten of Anila’s products due to become available to the German market shortly.

The contract comes after the firm exhibited for the first time at the world’s most important food and drink sector trade fair at Anuga in Germany in October, which marked a push by Anila’s onto the global stage.

“I am delighted that we have secured a first order for Anila’s in Germany,” said Anila Vaghela, who founded the family-run business in 1997. “We have been looking at exports for the past five years, and already have outlets in Ireland and Dubai, but we have been keen to move onto the Continent. This order in Germany represents what I hope will be the first of a number.”

The firm, which is based in Walton-on-Thames with a unit in Hounslow, also has interest in its products from France and Switzerland, added Anila.

“Exhibiting at Anuga was a great opportunity for us to showcase Anila’s curry sauces and accompaniments to the world,” she said. “I believe there is huge potential for export. We are very pleased to now be on sale in Germany, which is another step forward as we build our export portfolio.”

A pallet containing jars of Sweet Mango Chutney, Chilli Chutney and Tamarind and Date Chutney has now left the UK bound for a German online retailer – a Lakeland-style outlet which sells gourmet products and kitchen equipment.

The German distributor handling Anila’s products is also taking an order of seven of Anila’s curry sauces – Fruity Mild, Goan Green, Mild Korma, Spicy Korma, Spicy Mild, Spicy Medium and Hot Methi – as well as Anila’s Aubergine Pickle, Sweet Mango Pickle and Tindori Pickle.

Labels have been translated into German to cater for the export market.

Anila’s range features eight varieties of authentic curry sauces and 16 varieties of pickles, chutneys and dips. Anila’s sauces are based on traditional Indian recipes, and are gluten-free and dairy-free. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans, they are also free from onions and garlic, which suits people who are intolerant to alliums.

Anila’s sauces have won ten Great Taste Awards, and last year her Spicy Korma Curry Sauce scooped a Free From Food Award.

Anila’s distinctive and delicious range of mouth-watering ‘handmade’ chutneys, pickles and dips are made with single fruits and vegetables, and team up perfectly with a variety of dishes, snacks and cheeses.

Her products are sold at John Lewis Oxford Street and John Lewis Bluewater, and top quality gourmet stores, such as Harrods and Selfridges, plus hundreds of other outlets that include Wholefoods, Planet Organic, delis, health food stores, garden centres and gift shops. Anila’s also sells direct to the public at 28 farmers’ markets across Surrey, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire, including Guildford, Walton, Windsor, Maidenhead, Ascot, Cobham, Beaconsfield and Farnham, and online via www.anilassauces.com

Anila’s travelled with UK Trade & Investment to exhibit as part of the British Pavilion at Anuga in Cologne in October 2009.

Anila's entire range goes on the world stage at Anuga in October

Award-winning Anila’s is making a push onto the global stage by exhibiting at the world’s most important food and drink sector trade fair, Anuga, in October.


The authentic curry sauce, pickles, chutneys and dips producer will be showcasing its entire range of 24 products at the event in Germany for the first time.

Anila’s will also be introducing slight changes to its branding and launching a new eight-page brochure.

Anila Vaghela, who founded the family-run business in 1997, believes there is huge potential for export for her products and hopes to double sales by building on the recent export orders to Dubai and Ireland that she has secured.

“There’s been a big demand for authentic, gourmet curry sauces and accompaniments in the UK for quite some time now, as the popularity of Indian food has increased, and I believe there’s an untapped market in Europe and beyond,” said Anila.

“I know that my products are taken abroad to friends and family when people travel from the UK. They’ve also gone down very well in Dubai and Ireland where I now export to. I’m hoping that the interest in premium, high-end curry sauces and accompaniments in Europe, America and the Middle East will continue, and that attending Anuga will give me the opportunity to promote my range to distributors and buyers and target these areas.

“I’m looking forward to presenting my products on the world stage, and exhibiting at Anuga for the first time.”

Anila’s range features eight varieties of authentic curry sauces and 16 varieties of pickles, chutneys and dips. Anila’s sauces are based on traditional Indian recipes, and are gluten-free and dairy-free. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans, they are also free from onions and garlic, which suits people who are intolerant to alliums.

Anila’s sauces have won ten Great Taste Awards, and earlier this year her Spicy Korma Curry Sauce scooped a Free From Food Award.

Anila’s distinctive and delicious range of mouth-watering ‘handmade’ chutneys, pickles and dips are made with single fruits and vegetables, and team up perfectly with a variety of dishes, snacks and cheeses.

Recent tweaks to Anila’s branding and labels, which will be unveiled at Anuga for the first time, highlight the USPs of the products, including the benefits to those who have intolerances to certain ingredients.

Anila bases her recipes on the dishes she creates for her family, and it’s more than a happy coincidence that her products are suitable for so many people with different intolerances and allergies.

“The ‘free from’ market is becoming an increasingly important side of the business,” said Anila. “Anila’s curry sauces aren’t specifically designed to be ‘free from’ foods – it’s just the way they are. However, it’s more than a happy coincidence, because it’s the way I like to cook and the sort of food I like to eat. One of the things that appeals to Anila’s customers with food allergies or intolerances is that they can eat sit down and share the same food as the rest of their families.

“My curry sauces also illustrate the fact that ‘free from’ foods don’t have to be bland or tasteless in any way. Anila’s Spicy Korma Curry Sauce won a three star gold Great Taste Award in 2007, and earlier this year was crowned the winner in the Free From Food Awards in the pies, flans, sausages and sauces category. It’s won a gourmet award and a ‘free from’ award, which says a lot.”

Anila’s, which recently launched its entire range at John Lewis Oxford Street and John Lewis Bluewater, are sold in top quality gourmet stores, such as Harrods and Selfridges, plus hundreds of other outlets that include Wholefoods, Planet Organic, delis, health food stores, garden centres and gift shops. Anila’s also sells direct to the public at 28 farmers’ markets and online via www.anilassauces.com

Based in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, and with a unit in West London, Anila’s will be at Anuga in Cologne, Germany, from October 10th to 14th with UKTI in the British Pavilion.

See Anila’s at Anuga in hall number 10.2 (Fine Food). Block number is F058/G059.

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