Meet Dina, the Persian innovator who's on a mission to put the nutrients back into our preserved foods.
So, you’re eating what you think is a healthy, balanced diet, yet your vitamin levels tell a different story. For Dina, this personal frustration became the spark that ignited a groundbreaking business idea that could transform how we think about processed foods forever.
A Problem Born from Personal Experience
Growing up in Iran, Dina always struggled with vitamin deficiencies, particularly vitamin D despite maintaining what seemed like a perfectly healthy diet. "I kept asking myself: why am I still experiencing insufficiency when I'm eating all the right foods?" she recalls. That nagging question wouldn't leave her alone, and it eventually led to a revelation that would change her career path entirely.
The answer lay hidden in plain sight: the manufacturing processes used to preserve our foods – the high-heat pasteurisation and sterilisation that keeps our canned tomatoes and preserved goods safe – also strips away precious nutrients that our bodies desperately need, such as vitamin D.
Let’s jump to the business name - DKH Enriched Foods Ltd. Sounds very professional! But mysterious? Dina explains: “I chose the letters DK and H from my family names. Mine and my brother’s. I knew I wanted the name of my business to do well but also link back to my family. Without them I wouldn’t be where I am right now. Enrichment was key because the innovation I have chosen to harness and work with is ensuring those missing elements from food such as tomato paste is being put back in."
A Leap of faith
Taking the leap was scary. “It is so scary. I am constantly comparing myself to others - those working for bigger, better businesses with a secure wage hitting their bank each month. For me it’s all about survival, which helps me take a little longer with the decisions I make because it’s so important I get it all right. I have absolutely risked everything for this business. I’ve moved somewhere new, I’ve gone away from the comforting bosom of my family.
I could have played things safe, taken a graduate job like many of my friends but I knew it was now or never. Proving myself every day. I really think that if you put all your effort into something at the end you WILL achieve it. Maybe it will fail, but every moment is an experience that we learn many lessons from.”
From Family Business to Food Innovation
Dina's journey into food innovation wasn't planned, but it was perfectly timed. While pursuing her bachelor's degree, she found herself managing her family's tomato paste manufacturing plant back home in Iran – a role she took on in 2021 that would prove to be the perfect laboratory for her emerging ideas.
"We own factories in various fields," Dina explains, "but it was working in the tomato paste plant that opened my eyes to the possibilities." Rather than accepting the status quo of nutrient loss during processing, she saw an opportunity to innovate.
Juggling both her studies and writing the business plan for DKH wasn’t easy. In fact it was almost the undoing for poor Dina. “I really struggled mentally throughout that time. I lived in London because I knew I needed to be there for various reasons to do with the business, however I was studying at Oxford Brookes University. I used the time spent travelling between the two cities on the bus or trains working on every detail of my business plan.
Because that was extremely important to me - there was no way we would rush this. I had heard and seen too many people trying to speed through their application, missing details or getting things wrong. For me it was too much of a risk, both financially and mentally to fail at the first hurdle. Once I had researched the Innovator Founder Visa I knew this was my one chance to start my very own business and prove not only to myself, but all my family and friends that I could start and run a company successfully - in the UK but also scale and grow it globally.”
For Dina family really does mean a huge amount. The main family business spans 60 years, her Grandfather started the factories and she is keen to help continue his legacy.
A Vision for the Future of Food
Now based in London, Dina is thinking bigger. Her current project focuses on vitamin D enrichment in tomato paste products, a strategic starting point that allows her to perfect the process before expanding into other preserved and canned foods. But she is working on a plan to be able to sell the formula to existing food brands who would benefit from adding back in Vitamin D or other missing elements. In an ever transforming world we are all getting better at giving more thought about the food we consume and reading into what it does or doesn’t contain.
"The future of food is heading towards innovation and a healthier diet," she says with conviction. "I see incredible potential in food enrichment technologies that can provide a more nutritious foundation for human nutrition. At the moment that begins with tomato paste - because why not! There’s a huge market for it, and as long as I can get the production correct* the more successful my business can be.
*A real priority for Dina is the certification and high standards of the factories producing the tomato paste products. She has spent so long ensuring her own factory ticks all the boxes and has been signed off correctly that she isn’t going to allow that to be missed when growing and scaling through other countries and distribution channels.
Why London? Why Now?
For Dina, London represents more than just a new city – it's a launchpad for global impact. "The multinational nature of London, especially, creates so many opportunities for newly established businesses," she explains. "I see it as a key to opening doors for international expansion."
But it's not just about business opportunities. Dina is energised by the UK's appetite for healthy innovation: "The willingness of people here to try new, healthy products gives us the courage and hope to take risks with our ideas. London is absolutely full of people willing to learn about and encourage new, exciting ideas. I haven’t met anybody who has anything negative to say about my business or who doesn’t think it’s a good idea. However, I know that in other countries it would be a very hard sell. That’s going to be a struggle for me and a barrier I will have to face and overcome.”
Innovator Visa challenges
“I found out pretty early on that the Innovator Founder Visa was the right route for me to take. I spent ages reading through the criteria and mapping out what I needed to do. I then spent almost an entire year on my business plan, because there was no way I was taking any chances or rushing the process. So, my advice is simple - you need to spend more time to get it right. You MUST be patient with the process. Our passion for the business and my own passion for the part I’m focusing on means I am willing to do whatever it takes to make it work.
It would have been easy to get excited and try adding other products to my roster. To start researching the possibilities ahead of time, but luckily I worked closely with Karen who kept me straight and encouraged my strict focus on the single product and innovation. This was vital and I thank her for doing this with me!”
Striking the right balance…
To ensure Dina gets a bit more of a work life balance she’s more strict with herself than I hear others to be. “I make time to go to the gym, to walk my poodle Peanuts, to go for a run. If I didn’t I know I wouldn’t be able to focus. I also take a break from screens where possible, diving into many different books, my favourite being psychological ones. Whatever it is I am doing, that’s when my best ideas come to me or I work out those niggling issues I have had during my working hours.
Fun facts?
Dina wasn’t hugely forthcoming with any fun facts, but right at the end of our chat she suddenly remembered to mention that her all time favourite snack growing up was fresh tomatoes cut up and sprinkled with pepper by her Mother. In fact, working with tomato paste isn’t wasted on Dina who absolutely loves the taste and admits that most of her meals contain some sort of tomato!
Looking Ahead: The Next Five Years
Dina's vision extends far beyond enriched tomato paste. She's working toward a future where nutrient loss during food processing becomes a problem of the past – in fact, dreaming big she wonders if she could help move society to where every jar, can, and package on the shelf delivers not just convenience and safety, but optimal nutrition too.
Her story is a perfect example of how personal challenges can fuel professional innovation, how family business experience can provide unexpected expertise, and how the right environment like the UK's diverse, health-conscious market can turn a local solution into a global opportunity.
As Dina continues to develop her nutrient enrichment technologies, she's not just building a business – she's working to ensure that healthy eating truly means healthy living, one enriched product at a time.
Keep an eye on this innovator – something tells us we'll all have Dina’s tomato paste in our fridges sooner than we think…
