m+ life: Mother+ Meets… Anshu Ahuja and Renée Williams, founders of dabbadrop
Welcome to Mother+ Meets… our new interview series spotlighting women who are building brilliant things while also building a family. These are the stories behind the headlines from the late nights and bold pivots, to the quiet decisions that rarely make it to Instagram, but shape everything.
This week, we meet Renée and Anshu, neighbours turned founders of DabbaDrop - the UK’s first zero-waste, zero-emissions takeaway.
Frustrated by plastic-laden Friday night curries, they imagined something simple yet radical: real food, cooked slowly, delivered in reusable tins inspired by Mumbai’s century-old dabbawalla tradition.
What began as a local experiment has grown into a movement redefining takeaway culture, with appearances on Dragon’s Den, collaborations with chef Anna Jones, and, most recently, a partnership with London’s celebrated South Asian restaurant The Tamil Prince.
We spoke to Renée and Anshu about building a business rooted in sustainability, raising families while scaling a company, and creating a business that works around life rather than the other way around.
Tell us a little about you and how DabbaDrop came to life.
We’re Renée and Anshu, neighbours turned friends who bonded over food, sustainability, and the chaos of family life. DabbaDrop was born from a simple frustration - Friday night takeaways that came in piles of plastic and left us feeling heavy.
We wanted something better: real curries, cooked slow, delivered in reusable tins with zero waste, borrowing from the 100 year old dabbawala tradition in Mumbai, Anshu’s home town.
What started as a local experiment has now grown into the UK’s first zero-waste, zero-emissions takeaway.
What does a typical day look like for you both, if there is such a thing?
There’s really no “typical” - one day we’re in the kitchen with our chefs, the next we’re deep in spreadsheets or brainstorming new menus.
The mornings are school runs and strong coffees, then we split between creative, operational, and customer work.
Evenings are family-first, though often peppered with DabbaDrop calls or email catch ups once the kids are in bed.
You’ve built the UK’s first zero waste, zero emissions takeaway. How has your sustainability mission shaped the way you run the business and design your menus?
It’s the thread through everything - from reusable dabbas and bike deliveries to how we design our menus for minimal food waste.
It forces creativity: in the menus, clever use of ingredients, and cooking like our grandmothers did - with respect for every scrap of food.
What’s been your proudest moment so far and the biggest “what now?” moment?
Honestly, it’s the small moments that hit hardest. Like the first time a customer told us their child looks forward to our dal every week, or when people say opening a dabba feels like a hug from home. Those comments remind us why we started.
On a bigger scale, raising investment from our own community - people who already loved what we were doing - was huge.
Knowing they believed in us enough to back us financially was one of the proudest, most humbling moments.
“What now?”: The flipside of growth is that every new milestone comes with its own mountain.
Just when you think you’ve cracked it, another challenge lands - like building tech from scratch when you’re not from a tech world, or figuring out how to keep zero-emissions delivery viable as you scale.
There’s a constant sense of leaping without a net. But that “what now?” energy is also what keeps us moving forward.
How has motherhood shaped how you work, or how you define success?
Motherhood has made us fiercely protective of our time and energy. Success for us has never been just about numbers - it’s about creating a business that fits life, not the other way around.
It’s about showing our kids that you can build something meaningful without burning out.
What do you wish people understood about building a business from scratch?
That it’s not glamorous. Behind the shiny branding are late nights, financial risk, and a constant juggle of self-doubt and grit.
But there’s also immense joy in building something real, with impact, and if you have a wonderful community who believes in what you do, then that’s the drive behind it all.
Where do you find your energy and what drains it?
Energy: The food(!) our customers, our brilliant team and the small wins - like a handwritten note from a happy family.
Drains: firefighting tech issues at 11pm, or moments when the juggle between business and family feels impossible.
What’s one decision that changed everything for DabbaDrop?
Leaning into our values from day one - no plastic, no compromises. It was harder, slower, and often more expensive, but it’s what makes us different and what people come back for.
With such busy lives, what does balance mean to you right now?
Balance is fluid. Some weeks we get it wrong, but we try to honour mealtimes at home - phones down, food on the table, time to connect. Those rituals anchor us.
Balance isn’t about having it all - it’s about knowing what matters most in the moment.
One piece of advice you’d give to women trying to do both: raise a family and build a business. Find your support network - whether that’s family, friends, or childcare - and don’t be afraid to lean on them.
You can’t do it all alone. And remember: guilt comes with the territory, but so does pride.
Quick Fire Round
Current bedside book? Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Go-to podcast or playlist? Brave New Girl / How I Built This / Happy Place. Bollywood throwbacks while we cook
Favourite place to eat? With kids: Saravanaa Bhavan for dosas. Without: Farang in Highbury - banging Thai.
A mantra, quote or reminder? “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are”
No cooking, no waste, no thinking. That’s the promise of DabbaDrop, and it’s exactly what makes it a lifesaver for busy weeks. Chef-made, plant-packed curries arrive at your door in reusable dabbas, and the menu changes every week , all you have to do is heat and eat.
We recently tried the Goa menu — Aubergine Xacuti, No Prawn Curry (squash in place of seafood), Amti Dal, and nutty Red Rice and it was a proper midweek treat. The food arrived during the day, ready to heat straight in the oven (microwave works too), which meant no hanging around or scrambling for dinner after work.
Midweek magic
A friend E who is a vegetarian mum of three popped over, and we both loved the bold, satisfying flavours. The sides were great, though we’d have happily had a few extra naan and samosas (currently one of each). It was filling, interesting flavours , and felt like a step up from the usual takeaway.
How it works
DabbaDrop runs on a simple subscription: choose weekly, fortnightly, or four-weekly deliveries, and add extras like breads, chutneys, and pickles. You get an email preview of the next week’s menu, and can easily pause, skip, or cancel. Perfect if you’re regularly hosting, planning a slightly elevated midweek supper, or just want an effortless way to make home feel a little celebratory.
E and I both agreed a fortnightly or monthly plan would fit our routines perfectly rather than weekly.
City convenience
Deliveries are currently available in London Zones 1–3, which makes it a super-easy option for city homes — no fuss, no queues, and no compromise on flavour, but worth noting if you are further afield.
Flavours to love
As a South Asian woman, it’s heartening to see these authentic, plant based flavours becoming more widely enjoyed. From the rich, fragrant Xacuti to the tangy Amti Dal, every dish was well-balanced, well-spiced, and thoughtfully composed.
DabbaDrop really does what it promises: chef-made food that tastes home made with minimal effort and feels like an elevated midweek meal.
For busy homes or anyone wanting to host without stress, it’s a delicious, clever solution.
For more information visit www.dabbadrop.co.uk