Meet Gita Vellanki, the founder of Neeshi, a women’s wellness brand rooted in the belief that food is the most powerful form of medicine. The conversation delves into how Gita’s personal experiences, as a mother, daughter, and entrepreneur, shaped Neeshi’s mission to help women feel balanced, energized, and empowered through real, functional foods. Readers will discover how Gita turned a deeply personal health challenge into a brand that’s redefining how we approach hormonal health, nourishment, and self-care.
From her grandmother’s kitchen in India to her own home experiments in California, Gita’s journey is one of rediscovering ancestral wisdom and bringing it into the modern wellness landscape. She shares how traditional food-based remedies transformed both her daughter’s menstrual health and her own perimenopausal symptoms, ultimately inspiring her to create Neeshi’s line of delicious, nutrient-rich products. Through stories that blend science, tradition, and heartfelt purpose, Gita reveals how Neeshi honors women’s unique hormonal needs at every life stage, from menstruation to menopause.
Gita also opens up about her evolution from a high-tech operations and M&A executive to a purpose-driven founder. She discusses the challenges of building a women-led brand without traditional advertising, the discipline she carried from her corporate background, and the power of authenticity in creating community.
Read our full interview with Gita below.
Gita Vellanki, Founder of Neeshi
What inspired you to start Neeshi, and how does your personal background influence the brand’s mission?
Gita Vellanki: I created Neeshi out of necessity and love. My daughter was struggling with severe cramps, heavy flow, acne, and low iron — and the only solution doctors offered was birth control. Having gone through terrible side effects from birth control myself as a teenager, I knew I didn’t want that to be her only option.
So, I turned to the same wisdom my grandmother had passed down about food as medicine and began experimenting in my kitchen. Within months, her cramps were completely gone. Her periods became short and light, her skin cleared up, and she finally felt like herself again. What surprised me most was that my own perimenopause symptoms — from fatigue to hot flashes — also began to ease.
That experience changed everything for us. Neeshi was born to help women feel better in their own bodies — through real food, not prescriptions.
Can you share an example of how your grandmother’s wisdom of food as medicine has shaped Neeshi’s product offerings?
Gita Vellanki: When we were kids, we’d spend summers with my grandmother in her village in India. Whenever something was wrong with us — a headache, stomach ache, anything — she would always head to the kitchen before the pharmacy. And nine times out of ten, she’d reappear with something delicious that somehow made us feel better.
That experience stayed with me. It taught me that food isn’t just nourishment — it’s care, comfort, and medicine in its most natural form. Neeshi is really a continuation of that legacy, reimagined for women today.
How did your experiences in high-tech operations and M&A prepare you for the entrepreneurial journey with Neeshi?
Gita Vellanki: Working in high-tech and M&A taught me discipline, problem-solving, and how to navigate chaos — all skills I lean on daily as a founder. I learned how to analyze, execute, and move fast under pressure.
But it also taught me what was missing. I spent years helping big companies grow, yet felt disconnected from anything truly meaningful. When I started Neeshi, it felt like everything I’d learned finally found its purpose. I was still solving complex problems — but this time, it was for women like my daughter and me.
Building Neeshi has been one of the most challenging things I have ever done, but it’s also been the most rewarding — because every step of it feels human.
What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced while growing Neeshi, and how have you overcome them?
Gita Vellanki: Like many small, women-led brands, we’ve faced everything from manufacturing delays to losing our Meta ad account for almost two years. Growing without ads forced us to build Neeshi the hard way — through trust, word-of-mouth, and genuine connection.
But it also became our superpower. Our customers didn’t just “buy” Neeshi — they believed in it. Their stories, referrals, and reviews helped us sell out multiple times on Amazon, proving that authenticity wins every time.
How does Neeshi address the different stages of hormonal health from menstruation through menopause?
Gita Vellanki: Women’s hormonal needs shift constantly, but the root cause — nutritional depletion — is often the same. Neeshi was formulated to fill those gaps at every stage.
For teens and menstruating women, our blends support iron, magnesium, and B-vitamin replenishment. For women in perimenopause and menopause, they help balance blood sugar, mood, and energy levels — all through functional ingredients like flax, maca, cacao, and seeds that work synergistically with the body. It’s nourishment that evolves with you.
Can you talk about the importance of real-food solutions in hormone health and what sets Neeshi apart from other wellness brands?
Gita Vellanki: Most “hormone support” products are pills or powders filled with synthetic isolates. But our bodies recognize food, not chemicals. Real food carries fiber, protein, and phytonutrients that work together in ways no supplement can replicate.
What sets Neeshi apart is our commitment to delicious functionality — we make foods that taste fantastic but are built to heal from within. We’re not asking women to add another pill to their day — we’re giving them something they’ll actually look forward to eating.
How does your personal experience with hormonal health influence the product development process at Neeshi?
Gita Vellanki: Everything we make starts with a real-life problem I’ve lived through — cramps, fatigue, hot flashes, mood swings — or that our customers share. I test every formula myself, and we partner with doctors who believe in a food-first approach to women’s health.
Each product has to meet one rule: it must make women feel better in days, not months. That’s what keeps us honest and connected to the women we serve.
Could you describe a typical day in your life as the founder of Neeshi?
Gita Vellanki: No two days are the same, but they all start with my own rituals — a spoon of Neeshi cacao spread on toast, in a smoothie, and time with my kids before diving into emails, production calls, or creative work.
I still handle a lot personally — from supply chain to social content — so my days mix strategy with scrappiness. I end most evenings with a walk and dinner with family; it helps me reset and remember why I started this.
How do you stay informed about the latest research and trends in women’s wellness and hormonal health?
Gita Vellanki: I stay connected with doctors, dietitians, and researchers who specialize in women’s hormonal health. I read journals and clinical studies, but just as importantly, I listen to women — through our community, reviews, and daily conversations. Science gives us data, but women’s stories show us the truth of what’s working in real life.
Early on, one of the doctors we partner with said something that really stuck with me — that the quality-of-life impact Neeshi is making is far more meaningful to her patients than a purely lab-driven approach. That perspective keeps me grounded. Research matters, but how women feel is the ultimate measure of success.
How has your vision for Neeshi evolved since its inception?
Gita Vellanki: We started with things my daughters liked to eat. Our first product was gooey mini cakes and muffins — made with the same nutrient-dense ingredients we use today. They were delicious but incredibly hard to scale. Each batch took hours to make and hand-fill, and shipping frozen items added another layer of complexity.
Over time, through kitchen testing, customer feedback, and even the girls’ own changing tastes, Neeshi evolved from those cold-ship treats into something more practical and versatile — our dark cacao spread and a line of protein powders.
The vision has stayed the same: to make real food that supports women’s hormones. But the form has become something every woman can enjoy daily, wherever she is.
What role do you see Neeshi playing in the broader conversation about women’s health and wellness?
Gita Vellanki: For too long, women’s hormonal health has been minimized, dismissed, or treated like a mystery. We’ve been taught to “push through” symptoms that are actually signals from our bodies asking for support.
Neeshi is here to change that narrative. We’re helping women understand that nourishment is a form of medicine — that balancing hormones isn’t about fixing something broken, but giving your body what it truly needs.
Beyond our products, I want Neeshi to be a voice in the movement to normalize these conversations — about periods, perimenopause, and everything in between. The more we talk about them openly, the more women will realize they’re not alone — and that relief can be as simple as what’s on their spoon.
What are your future plans for Neeshi, and how do you envision its growth in the coming years?
Gita Vellanki: The next chapter of Neeshi is about scale — but without losing the care and integrity that got us here. We’re focusing on deepening our partnerships with healthcare professionals who believe in a food-first approach.
We’re also exploring the right time for broader retail availability, so women can discover Neeshi wherever they shop, not just online. My hope is that one day, every woman will have something in her kitchen that helps her feel nourished and balanced — and that Neeshi becomes that trusted brand she reaches for daily.
We started in my home kitchen, and now we’re growing into homes across the country — one spoon at a time.
How do you balance the demands of running a business with your personal life, and what advice do you have for other women entrepreneurs?
Gita Vellanki: Balance is a daily negotiation. Some days I’m the CEO; others, I’m just a mom trying to get dinner on the table. I’ve learned that balance isn’t about doing everything at once — it’s about giving yourself permission to do what matters most in that moment.
My advice: build your business like you build your health — with patience, nourishment, and boundaries. You can’t pour from an empty cup.
Lastly, is there a specific mantra, quote, or affirmation that you hold close to your heart?
Gita Vellanki: “Feed your body what it’s asking for — and watch it thank you.”
It’s simple, but it’s been true in every chapter of my life and my business.
Emily Sprinkle, also known as Emma Loggins, is a designer, marketer, blogger, and speaker. She is the Editor-In-Chief for Women's Business Daily where she pulls from her experience as the CEO and Director of Strategy for Excite Creative Studios, where she specializes in web development, UI/UX design, social media marketing, and overall strategy for her clients.
Emily has also written for CNN, Autotrader, The Guardian, and is also the Editor-In-Chief for the geek lifestyle site FanBolt.com
