Finalist: Melissa Muganzo

Finalist: Melissa Muganzo

Founder
Mindy’s Kitchen

 

About Melissa's Entrepreneurial Journey

Mindy’s Kitchen was founded in January 2023 in Rancho Cordova, Sacramento County, California by Melissa Muganzo. Mindy’s Kitchen is a dairy-free, gluten-free, and nut-free salad food line in honor of the CEO’s mother Mindy and the plant-based journey that aided the CEO in surviving her fibroid journey and her mother “Mindy” losing 110 lbs. Mindy’s Kitchen provides fresh and full meal shakable salads for customers on the go seeking healthy, plant based options with minimal preparation.

As a business owner and entrepreneur on the go, maintaining a healthy lifestyle is vital to my success. It allows me to show up fully and sustain the long nights and creative meetings that allow both me and my business to make a difference in society. I am excited to share my uterine health success story with Minority Women Lead at the pitch competition in August and look forward to joining a community of forward-thinking, like-minded women

About Melissa's Pitch

Mindy’s Kitchen of California is both a love letter to my mother, Melinda “Mindy” Muganzo and a celebration of health and wellness to me the owner. In 2012, I was diagnosed with fibroids (uterine tumors) and was turned down for surgery from medical providers due to my age, sexual orientation, and race. 

I turned to veganism and holistic medicine to heal my body from fibroids and restore my health and my menstruation. Accessing fresh vegan food or options at work, school, and while traveling was challenging. Items were either vegetarian (dairy infused) or gluten free, which has nothing to do with being meat or dairy free at all. Once realizing that access to affordable vegan foods was a challenge, I decided to use both my story of healing and my experience accessing resources and turn my pain into power. My mother went on to loose 120 pounds through veganism also.