How to sell homemade products on Amazon

About this episode

In this episode, host Shan A Salam sits down with Naseef Neeruttichali, founder of the snack brand Flavors of Kerala. Naseef shares his personal journey, beginning with dropping out of college in Bengaluru, feeling like a failure, and moving to Saudi Arabia to work in the car rental industry. During his years abroad, he developed hands-on skills in corporate client management, sales negotiation, and high-pressure operations. After returning to Kerala, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted his career plans, prompting him to rethink his livelihood. Inspired by personal development books and an ecommerce training course, he decided to launch an online business selling traditional Kerala banana chips. Starting with a modest government micro-loan and sourcing products from a local manufacturer friend, he mastered Amazon seller logistics, optimised product listings, and secured a landmark institutional supply order. The discussion covers scaling through Amazon FBA, managing Shopify store economics, the power of personal branding on social media, and leveraging AI tools to build an efficient consumer brand.

Key takeaways

1. 1Mastering a major marketplace like Amazon provides immediate validation and broad reach before investing heavily in standalone website ads.
2. 2Testing market demand with small, focused product batches minimises financial risk for first-time entrepreneurs.
3. 3Building genuine trust through founder-led social media content dramatically lowers customer acquisition costs over the long run.
4. 4Fast fulfillment through programs like Amazon FBA is essential to meet modern customer expectations for quick delivery.
5. 5High customer acquisition costs on independent websites require brands to rely on strong brand recall or organic traffic rather than paid ads alone.
6. 6Entrepreneurs should proactively seek out high-volume business-to-business opportunities to build initial working capital and runway.

Chapters

1. 00:00Highlights
2. 02:48Introduction
3. 03:53College life in Bengaluru
4. 05:20Feeling like a failure
5. 07:43Studying in a parallel college
6. 09:09Gig work and a life-changing accident
7. 11:27Journey to the Saudi
8. 16:4090s Gulf exposure and mindset
9. 22:36First job as a receptionist
10. 25:56Car craze and early ambitions
11. 29:50Landing the dream job
12. 37:29The big mistake
13. 44:20Choosing growth over money
14. 48:36The downfall of Naseef
15. 52:13Moving to Dubai
16. 54:51Naseef 2.0: A New Beginning
17. 57:37Motivational Friend
18. 01:02:07The power of books
19. 01:05:55Low salary & Insulting From Employer
20. 01:11:04Plan to Start a Business
21. 01:12:39Amazon course
22. 01:15:06Finding the right product
23. 01:17:40Entrepreneurship is a challenge
24. 01:22:32The struggle for capital
25. 01:23:16Entry barriers in Amazon
26. 01:24:06Design & product photography
27. 01:26:01First Order
28. 01:30:43The biggest order from Kerala Govt
29. 01:34:24Mastery in Amazon
30. 01:37:00Daily orders on Amazon & Flipkart vs Amazon
31. 01:38:46Launching own website
32. 01:40:40Why Shopify?
33. 01:43:30Shan’s impact on Naseef’s journey
34. 01:50:10Quick commerce of FOK
35. 01:53:08Dark Store as a Service for Shopify brands
36. 01:54:24Future plans
37. 01:57:28Bulk Sales
38. 01:57:57How competition fueled business growth
39. 02:00:48FOK Academy
40. 02:04:23AI, lessons & conclusion