One of the big differences between the non-achiever and the achiever is that the latter masters the art of applying the obvious. And Perween Warsi, Founder and CEO of S&A Foods has certainly sold the most obvious, most ubiquitous Indian snack like hot cakes in the UK. No wonder, she is today called the 'Samosa Queen'. And doing so, she has become the richest Asian woman in Britain and the 29th richest Asian entrepreneur in the list of either sex in Britain. Founder of S&A Foods, which has a turnover of around £100 million, Warsi always had a desire to run her own business.

With culinary skills running in her blood, which she inherited from her mother and her grandmother, Warsi began making samosas, chapatis and other finger foods for a takeaway. She eventually launched S&A Foods - named after her sons Sadiq and Abid - in 1986, which today employs more than 1,300 people and makes 1,500,000 meals a week. Born in Muzaffarpur, the daughter of a civil engineer, Perween married Talib Warsi when she was just 17 in a traditional, arranged match. In 1975, they migrated to Britain, lived first in Wales and then Yorkshire, before moving to Derby, to the house in which they still live. "From day one, my aim was to have products on supermarket shelves nationally," she told BBC in an interview once.

She won her first major contract to supply chilled and frozen dishes to Asda and Safeway stores, having secured the contract via blind tasting and much perseverance. In 1987, with the aim of finding more money to invest in the business, S&A Foods joined the Hughes Food Group. Three years later saw the Warsi family fighting to regain control after Hughes Food went bust. In 1991, the Warsis regained control of S&A Foods. The speed at which S&A Foods grew made Warsi set up £8-million industrial unit at Shaftsbury Street South.

The success of S&A Foods made her husband, a doctor to quit his profession and join her. He manages the sales and marketing of the company. Today, besides Indian food, S&A Foods makes Mexican, Thai, Chinese and traditional English meals and has contracts with British Airways, Shell garages, pub chains and supermarkets. Its client list also includes Asda, Safeway, Waitrose and Sainsbury's. No doubt, Warsi, who is a Member of the British Empire (MBE) and a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) has come a long way. Known for her passion for food and her diligence to work, there is simply no stopping for Warsi to achieve newer heights of success and glory.