About The Company
Anila’s sauces are based on a traditional family recipe, made from the freshest ingredients in small batches. They are free from artificial colours, additives and preservatives, and are sugar, dairy and gluten free and contain no onion or garlic. Using twenty-three different spices, the sauces have a homemade quality just like “Mum makes” and there are certainly no imitations. Anila said: “I believe I can bring delicious tastes and flavours to people looking for authentic Indian cooking.”
In 1997, five years after the initial sauces were made Anila was made redundant from her PA position in a company which was relocating. Anila seized the opportunity and formed her own company called Anila’s Authentic Sauces.
The company started trading in March 1998 and introducing their 4 curry sauces to independent stores, farm shops and Food Halls. Their first customer was Bentalls Food Hall where Anila regularly carried out tastings in-store.
In October 1999 Anila and her family attended their first Farmers Market in Wallington, Surrey which was a great success and are still attending the market. Anila and her team of helpers have since been attending many other Farmers Markets and Food Fairs selling to a wider audience and meeting specialist producers on their travels. Due to constant requests by customers at farmers markets for chutney’s and pickles the company responded by introducing the popular sweet mango chutney and hot lime pickle. People liked the choice offered of curries, chutneys and pickles as Anila’s produced a variety of distinct, authentic flavours unlike any other in the market place
In 2000 all four of their curry sauces were winners in the Great Taste Awards.
Sales grew over the years and Anila’s soon outgrew the kitchen at home but it was difficult to find a suitable unit. For a couple of years the company rented a production unit 30 miles away to cook the sauces. In 2002 they moved into their first unit but soon outgrew the premises relocating into a larger unit. Anila ran the business with 3 staff and in 2006 her husband Dan joined the company. They have since invested in an automatic cooking vessel, a filing machine and an automatic labelling machine. The company extended their range to include a variety of pickles and chutneys and today they provide a choice of 12 to tantalise the taste buds and 8 delicious curry sauces.
Anila’s products are stocked at delicatessens and farm shops throughout the UK. Besides supplying Food Halls of Harrods, Wholefoods, and Selfridges they also supply health stores, garden centres and gift and gourmet shops.
January 2005 – Anila’s appointed a distributor in the UK who supplies specialist outlets.
October 2006 – Anila’s appointed a distributor in Ireland who supplies the products into specialist outlets throughout Ireland.
March 2007 – Anila’s exported the range to supply a large food store in Bahrain.
Great Taste Awards
- Three Star Gold Award 2007 – Spicy Mild Curry Sauce
- Three Star Gold Award 2007 – Spicy Korma Curry Sauce
- Reserve – Best Speciality from the South East 2007 – Spicy Mild Curry Sauce
- Silver Award 2006 – Goan Green Curry Sauce
- Gold Award 2005 – Chilli Chutney
- Gold Award 2005 – Tindori Pickle
- Best Speciality from the South East 2005 Award for the Tindori Pickle
Their hard work and dedication has been recognised and rewarded by being awarded 10 Great Taste Awards over the years. Now in their 11th year Anila’s has grown to become a truly authentic premium curry sauce company in the UK. Introducing chutneys and pickles to their range of sauces was a significant aspect to the business, not only enhancing the range but complementing the products on the shop shelves and establishing them as a premium company with added value in this niche market.