Entrepreneur India – July 2019

24 l ENTREPRENEUR l JULY 2019

A

fter being

diagnosed

with an

autoimmune

disease- lupus, Pallavi

Gupta was in a bad

phase of health as

multiple visits to

doctor, steroids and

the modern medicine

weren’t helping her.

At the suggestion of a

friend, she went gluten

free and turned vegan.

Soon after, at the age

of 42, she decided to

go full board with the

concept of Nutty Yogi

and fill the gap between

medicinal food and

snacking with healthy

munchies. She digged

her grandmother’s old

‘nuskhe’ and made

them relevant in today’s

world by using organic

certified ingredients.

She realized it was

difficult and expensive

to find organic products

such as cold-pressed

oils or Himalayan pink

salt. Thus, she spent

nine months travelling

across the country

to build a network of

organic food suppliers

and made Nutty Yogi

a successful venture

in 2017. She received

initial funding from

friends and family and

then an undisclosed

amount from angel

investor, Sudhir

Nagaraj, ex-CEO,

Vodafone.

From sourcing

raw products such

as amaranth and

buckwheat from

Rajasthan, cold-pressed

coconut oil from Kerala,

pink salt from Amritsar,

oats from Sri Lanka,

Going nuts with nutrition and breaking the monotony from healthy eating, Nutty Yogi

finds a sweet spot amidst leading ‘nutty lives but with yogic food’By Shivangi Asthana

A Yogic Affair

PACKAGING - 90

per cent of products

are packed in glass

bottles, rest in bio-

degradable plastics.

Colours used on the

packaged product are

earthly, highlighting the

connect with farms and

farmers.

LOGO - Stands true

to the spirit of the

product – a contempo-

rary yogi with twisted

legs jumping on a halo

light with energy. It is a

quirky way of telling “I

will get what I want”.

PRODUCT

KNOWLEDGE -

Connected with holistic

wellness expert, Luke

Coutinho, who uses and

recommends Nutty Yogi

products.

PRODUCT

RANGE – 250+

products ranging from

diabetic-friendly bars to

ayurvedic spices. The

best selling products

are gluten-free flour,

fitness protein muesli,

caramel makhana,

antioxidant berry mix

and digestive drinks.

PRICING – Products

range from Rs 69 for

roasted chana jor to Rs

389 for vanila espresso

almond butter. The af-

fordable products cater

to a wide segment of

customers.

5 THINGS SHE FOCUSED ON

and the pickles and

apples from Shimla

• the company made
  healthy nutty bars. The
  message was clear: one
  can beat snack cravings
  with fibrous munchies.
  The manufacturing
  and packaging unit in
  Bengaluru helped with
  autopacking of the
  finished goods. The
  company has 40 retail
  stores in Bengaluru
  and Mumbai,
  with its products
  made available on
  e-commerce platforms
  such as Big Basket,
  Flipkart and Amazon.
  The company reports
  a healthy 40 per cent
  growth every quarter.
  Along the way,
  Gupta discovered
  traditional roasting
  methods from Thar
  desert region and rolled
  in roasted channa,
  peas, mung beans. She
  says, “In the initial
  days of business, I
  realized consumers
  like handcrafted and
  natural products.”
  Gupta, who used
  to run a restaurant
  with her husband
  before launching Nutty
  Yogi, adds, “For food
  start-ups, the biggest
  challenge is retaining
  the consumer’s
  attention and reach.
  Most retail chains
  do not extend shelf
  space for new brands.
  Thus, the struggle
  is to ensure product
  visibility and garner
  revenues efficiently.”
  Nutty Yogi has
  plans to expand to
  metro cities and fill
  its products in retail
  outlets of Nature’s
  Basket and Big
  Bazaar.

StartupBUSINESS BY DESIGN

Pallavi Gupta,

Founder, Nutty Yogi