STARTUP SPECIAL ................Startups Taste Success in Health Food Business 

Startups Taste Success in Health Food Business





Companies earn big bucks by delivering calorie-defined food, cold-pressed fresh juices to health-conscious Indians

As more and more Indians realise that they are what they eat, startups are earning big bucks by making it convenient and affordable to consume healthy food that is delivered to the client's doorstep.

Take the case of 29-year-old Tharun Aggarwal, for instance. Aggarwal, a media professional, had very little time for lunch and used to eat whatever was available readily, which more often than not was junk. These not only made him sick, but also pile on the calories. “I used to have regular tummy problems,“ said Aggarwal who has since opted for a calorie-defined lunch `dabba' offered by Bangalore-based startup iTiffin. “I don't have such issues anymore.“

The vegetarian lunch, packed in a sealed leak-proof tray and delivered to his office every day, balances carbohydrates and protein in the form of brown rice, rotis, dal and vegetables, all cooked in olive oil.
Further, the meal is just 550 kilocalories, which will allow him to stay well within the 2,220 kcal recommended for men each day if he has similar quantities during breakfast and lunch. “I don't feel hungry , nor do I feel sleepy after lunch,“ said Aggarwal.

It is consumers like Aggarwal who are becoming the ideal customer base for a host of young startups offering different types of healthy foods and beverages.
These startups, whose business models range from healthy snacks to cold-pressed fresh juices, are banking on the change in eating habits among a growing segment of Indian consumers.

“It has become cool to be healthy,“ said Anuj Rakyan, 34, founder of Rakyan Beverages that operates cold-pressed juice brand Raw Pressery in Mumbai. “We can see this happening all around us.
People want to eat healthy.“

The juices, made from a combination of fruits, vegetables, nuts, spices and super foods without any heat or air ensuring longer-duration freshness, were launched in Mumbai this January . About 2,500 customers have opted for the monthly subscription model. The company , which manages the procurement, production and packaging in-house, uses Mumbai's famed dabbawallah service to distribute the juices, which are priced at about ` . 150 per 250 ml bottle.

The firm, which has 65 employees, also distributes the juices through corporate offices. “There are two groups of people -those who are health conscious and put in effort on their own to stay healthy and those who want to be healthy but will not make the effort,“ said Rakyan, whose startup is targeting revenue of $1 million (about `. 6 crore) this fiscal. “We want to cater to the latter as well.“

iTiffin's Tapan Kumar Das and Ryan Fernando were running a nutrition clinic in Bangalore when one of their clients, cricketer Robin Uthappa asked them to provide the food based on the nutrition plan. Das and Fernando, with Uthappa's backing, launched iTiffin in 2013. “This is for `aam admi'. We have designed recipes that are as tasty as they are healthy,“ said Das, 39, whose firm is set to launch meals for diabetics and heart patients.

The company, which is in talks to raise `. 10 crore from a food export house, has 10,000 orders a month and has started offering school lunches too. The vegetarian lunches are priced from ` . 1,750 a month, while non-vegetarian ones are priced from ` . 2,500. The company, which is targeting revenue of about ` . 2 crore this fiscal, offers dinner plans too.

While the entrepreneurs are convinced about the potential, experts demur. “It is still a small market.
Indians still want their sugars and starch,“ said Arvind Singhal, chairman of retail advisory Technopak. The food industry in India is estimated to reach almost ` . 18 lakh crore in 2016, but industry estimates put the health food segment at ` . 1,000 crore.

However, entrepreneurs like Avni Garg, who runs health snacks firm SmartEats, are out to prove the naysayers wrong. Garg, 37, said availability of healthier options is among the bigger challenges. “People want to eat healthy snacks but the awareness, trust and availability prevents this from happening,“ said Garg, a health enthusiast and mother of two young daughters. The taste is another factor.

SmartEats, which is targeting ` .6 crore revenue next fiscal, sells more than 40 varieties of snacks including almond plum cookies, tangy rosemary sticks and parsley pepper crackers all over India on a subscription model. Garg is targeting to reach the 10,000 subscriber mark in 12 months.

Rahul Chowdhri, a director at investment firm Helion Venture Partners, said at the consumer level, there is a desire to eat healthy, but not for regular everyday eating. “Fresh and convenience eating as a concept appeals to me more than just healthy food,“ said Chowdhri, whose fund is an investor in vegetarian restaurant chain Mast Kalandar.

But the startups are unperturbed. iTiffin is finalising plans to launch kiosks in Bangalore to offer healthy evening snacks to corporate executives.

RADHIKA P NAIR & ADITI SHRIVASTAVA ET 140606