Indian Immigrant Entrepreneurs Find Success in Kent County

When Sonal and Ramesh Patel built a house in the town of Cascade in 2011, they quickly noticed something missing: an Asian grocer on the southeast side of Grand Rapids. 

The Patels are from a small town in Gujarat, a state in western India. They moved to West Michigan in 2004, when Ramesh was hired by a rural clinic unable to find a physical therapist in the United States. Sonal, an electrical engineer in India, followed a few months later. When her engineering credits didn’t transfer, she earned an associate degree in nuclear medicine technology—while raising three young children and managing a hotel.  

In 2015, the couple found a space on 28th Street Southeast and opened India Market. About 40 percent of its customers are non-Asian. “They want to learn Indian cooking, but they don’t know what to buy,” Sonal says. Interest surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, when more Americans were experimenting in the kitchen.  

As the popularity of Indian cuisine grew in the United States, the Patels noticed increasing demand for Indian groceries in mainstream supermarkets. So last year they launched Rani Foods, a supplier of Indian staples, such as basmati rice, chicken tandoori spice mixes, and pickled mangos. Sonal is the face of Rani Foods, and her profile graces the company’s logo. Rani Foods are now carried in 260 Meijer stores, a Grand Rapids grocery chain that serves the Midwest. Although the company imports its products from India, it depends on local labor to thrive. “Our business pumps money back into Grand Rapids,” Ramesh says. That includes hiring warehouse workers to package the items and contracting trucking companies for shipping 

Both the Patels continue to work other jobs while they grow their business, Sonal at Spectrum Hospital, and Ramesh at Mary Free Bed at Home as a physical therapist. Ramesh says their success is proof that anyone can succeed in Grand Rapids. For example, the city supports immigrant businesses by hosting local ethnic festivals that celebrate diversity. “It educates the community about different cultures’ foods and communities,” he says. “The city sends a message that people might look different, but everyone is still part of Grand Rapids.”