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  • ITC Limited Success Story | How does this Indian Conglomerate Company Make Money?

    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by ITC.

    What comes to your mind when you read conglomerate company? To put it in simple sentences, a conglomerate is a grouping of various companies operating in distinct industries under one corporate umbrella; typically consists of a parent firm and numerous subsidiaries. They often have a big global presence.

    The concept of conglomerate companies is not something from a recent era but began some 200 years ago. You will be surprised to know that it was during the First World War when it actually started.

    Weimar, a city in Germany, experienced a temporary economic crisis as a result of the First World War, which allowed business owners to purchase companies for dirt cheap. Hugo Stinnes, founded Stinnes Enterprises, the most significant private economic conglomerate in 1920s Europe, which included businesses in a variety of industries, including manufacturing, mining, shipbuilding, hotels, and newspapers.

    India is no less when it comes to conglomerate companies it has formed. One such company is known to be one of the biggest conglomerate companies in India. ITC Limited, the name nobody is unfamiliar with, was founded in 1910 as a British-owned company registered in Kolkata.

    Today, ITC is India’s leading FMCG marketer. Not only FMCG, but ITC has diverse businesses in sectors such as Hotels, Paperboards and Packaging, Agri Business, and Information Technology.

    In this article, we have curated all the important information regarding ITC’s startup growth, it’s business and revenue model, challenges, key products and services, shareholders, and future plans.

    ITC – Company Highlights

    Startup Name ITC
    Headquarters Kolkata, India
    Sector Conglomerate
    Founded 1910
    Areas served Indian subcontinents, and Gulf countries
    Valuation –
    Revenue ₹48,151 crores (2021)
    Website www.itcportal.com

    ITC – About
    ITC – Industry
    ITC – Key People
    ITC – Mission and Vision
    ITC – Name, Logo, and Tagline
    ITC – Startup Story
    ITC – Business Model
    ITC – Revenue Model
    ITC – Investments
    ITC – Mergers and Acquisitions
    ITC – Challenges Faced
    ITC – Online and Social Media Presence
    ITC – Awards and Achievements
    ITC – Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns
    ITC – Competitors

    ITC – About

    The Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited, under W.D. & H.O. Wills, which is a British-based Tobacco manufacturer was founded in 1910. The company later changed its name to India Tobacco Company Limited in 1970, and then to I.T.C. Limited in 1974. The business is now known as ITC Limited, with “ITC” no longer serving as an abbreviation.

    ITC is present in a variety of industries, including FMCG, hotels, packaging, paperboards & specialty papers, and agribusiness.

    ITC is the only corporation in the world of its size and diversity to be carbon, water, and solid waste recycling positive, demonstrating its desire to be an example of sustainability practices.

    Furthermore, over 5.5 million individuals, the bulk of whom are among the poorest in rural India, have sustainable means of subsistence thanks to ITC’s enterprises and value chains.

    As of today, ITC has a market capitalization of US$35 billion and had an annual turnover of US$10.74 billion during 2019-20.  It has more than 60 facilities across India and 36,500 employees.

    ITC – Industry

    According to a survey, the industrial sector, which consists of businesses in manufacturing, power, gas, and water, established more than 47,800 new businesses in FY22.

    The conglomerate industry in India is picking up fast and changing the economics of the country.

    ITC – Key People

    ITC Limited is headed by Sanjiv Puri, who is the Chairman and MD of the company.

    Sanjiv Puri

    Sanjiv Puri is the Chairman and Managing Director of ITC Limited. With effect from December 6, 2015, he was appointed as a Wholetime Director on the ITC Board. He later assumed the positions of Chief Executive Officer in February 2017 and Managing Director again in May 2018. He was chosen to serve as Chairman, and that date is May 13, 2019.

    Sanjiv Puri holds degrees from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur and the Wharton School of Business in the United States. Most recently, the XIM University in Bhubaneshwar awarded him an honorary doctorate.

    Sanjiv Puri has held the position of Chairman of the Expert Group established by the Fifteenth Finance Commission of the Government of India to promote agri-exports, and he has also participated in the NITI Aayog’s Farm to a Table discussion group on technology.

    He received the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur’s “Distinguished Alumnus Award of the Year 2018” for his achievements. Another honour bestowed upon him was the “IMPACT Person of the Year, 2020” Award from exchange4media, a prestigious online news source.

    ITC – Mission and Vision

    ITC Limited vision is to maintain its ranking as one of India’s most valuable companies by performing at an international level and generating growth for the Indian economy and the company’s stakeholders.

    ITC’s mission is, “To enhance the wealth generating capability of the enterprise in a globalising environment, delivering superior and sustainable stakeholder value”

    ITC – Name, Logo, and Tagline

    ITC Logo
    ITC Logo

    ITC’s name has been changed a few times. The company was originally known as ‘Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited’ when it was under British ownership. Later, the company ventured into partnerships and was renamed the Indian Tobacco Development Company Limited.

    After Independence, the company was changed to I.T.C Limited. In present times, the company is popularly known as ITC, not as a short-form of anything.

    ITC goes by the tagline, “Enduring Values”

    ITC – Startup Story

    ITC traces back to 1910 as a British-owned company located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. The company used to call Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited. Soon after a year, to source leaf tobacco, the company entered into partnerships with farmers from the southern region of India.

    The “Indian Leaf Tobacco Development Company Limited” was established under the company’s aegis in the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh in 1912. The company had its first cigarette factory in Bangalore in 1913.

    The company had its headquarters in the ‘Virginia House’ at Calcutta. After years of development and strategies, ITC decided to expand its footprint and purchased the Kidderpore factory of Carreras Tobacco Company in 1935. To drastically lower import prices, ITC assisted in the establishment of an indigenous industry to produce cigarette tissue paper in 1946.

    Within three years, a printing and packaging facility was established by ITC in Madras. The company also purchased the manufacturing operations of Tobacco Manufacturers (India) Limited as well as Printers (India) Limited’s related lithographic printing operations in 1953.

    Right after the purchase of Printers (India) Limited, ITC was converted into a Public Limited Company. With 6% of the company’s Indian shareholders, the first step toward Indianization was made in the same year. During this period, ITC also entered the consumer research market for the first time in India.

    In order to achieve self-sufficiency in the production of cigarettes, technology was more heavily focused on throughout the 1960s when establishing cigarette machines and filter-rod manufacturing facilities. In a few years, the Indian shareholding grew further to 40%.

    ITC started to enter the hospitality industry in 1975 and bought and renamed the ITC Welcomgroup Hotel Chola in Madras. The company selected the hospitality industry due to its potential to produce significant amounts of foreign exchange, develop tourism infrastructure, and produce a significant amount of direct and indirect employment.

    As the shareholders kept growing, the company started to create more hotels in the following years. It was in 1979, the company entered the paperboards business by promoting ITC Bhadrachalam Paperboards Limited.

    As the company kept growing, two more ventures were established by ITC – the ITC Classic Finance Limited and ITC Agro Tech Limited under its umbrella during the 1986s.

    The Wills Sport line of casual clothing was introduced by ITC in the 2000s, and the company also entered the stationery and gifting industries by producing the Expressions line of greeting cards and Classmate notebooks.

    ITC – Business Model

    ITC business is a multi-industry company, and as a multinational company, it has different products and different target markets accordingly. The business model of ITC is to create products that benefit its target audience by giving them a vast range of products.

    ITC sets its benchmark in various other sectors like FMCG, Agri-Business, Hotels, Paperboards and Specialty Boards, Packaging, and Information Technology.

    Here let’s take the look at the key products that covers in the business model of ITC

    FMCG

    ITC houses around 25 brands under its FMCG market, thus making them one of India’s leading marketers in Fast Moving Consumer Goods Business(FMCG). It could be seen that the company’s strategic goal is to ensure long-term success by combining and using the varied set of competencies present across all of its businesses to take advantage of new opportunities in the FMCG industry.

    Some of the brands that help us with our bare necessities in today’s age, are majorly by ITC, these are:

    ITC Foods Brands  – To name a few:

    • Sunfeast
    • Aashirvaad
    • Bingo
    • Yippee
    • B natural
    • Sunfeast Milkshake
    • Mint-o
    • Candyman
    • Sunbean

    ITC Personal Care Brands;

    • Salvon
    • Vivel
    • Engage
    • Fiama
    • Nim Wash
    • EDW ESSENZA
    • Charmis

    ITC Stationery Brands;

    • Classmates
    • Paperkraft

    ITC Incense Brands;

    • Mangaldeep

    ITC Safety Matches Brands;

    • Homelites
    • Aim

    ITC Cigarettes Brands;

    • Insignia
    • India Kings
    • Classic
    • Gold Flake
    • American Club
    • Wills Navy Cut
    • Players
    • Scissors
    • Capstan
    • Berkeley
    • Bristol
    • Flake
    • Silk Cut
    • Duke & Royal.

    Hotels

    ITC business is also expanded in the hotel sector. The company launched its first hotel in 1975 by building on the assets of its excellent sustainability standards and pioneered the idea of “Responsible Luxury” in the hospitality industry. Presently, the company owns around 100+ hotels in various locations.

    Some of the luxury and distinguished hotel brands by ITC are:

    • ITC Hotels
    • Mementos by ITC Hotels
    • Welcome Hotel
    • Storii by ITC Hotels
    • Fortune Hotels
    • WelcomHeritage Hotels

    Paperboards and Packaging materials

    The company is proud in meeting the needs of a broad range of industries, including those for FMCG cartons, electrical insulation papers, bio-based barrier coated boards, decorative laminate bases, writing and printing papers, and much more. ITC’s paperboard products range in Virgin Boards, Recyclable Barriers Boards, Recycled Boards, Barrier Boards, and Graphic Boards.

    ITC has also been a prominent contributor to paperboard packaging in South Asia. Some of the packaging services provided by ITC are cartons packaging, flexible packaging, tobacco packaging, innovation, and new product development.

    Agribusiness

    Due to its involvement in reforming and reinventing the rural agricultural area, ITC, which also operates in the agriculture sector, has solidified its place as a prominent corporate in the agricultural industry in India. ITC also started a farmer empowerment plan known as the e-Choupal to help farmers build a strong community.

    Today, e-Choupal is the world’s largest rural digital infrastructure. Some of the agri-products, that the company focuses on export and domestic trading are; Feed ingredients, Coffee, Marine Products, Food Grains, and Processed Fruits.

    IT services

    ITC Info Tech by ITC provides services in business and technology consulting. It offers its IT solutions to sectors like Banking & Financial, Services,  Consumer Goods, Manufacturing, Healthcare Travel, and Hospitality.

    Apparel business

    ITC has diversified its business in apparel and fashion as well. Fashion brands that are owned by ITC are John Players and Wills Lifestyle. However, the company had been shutting the stores of Wills Lifestyle due to losses.

    Marketing and Media Centres

    To build its brand and advertise its companies, goods, and services, ITC engages in a variety of marketing and promotional initiatives. The brand uses a variety of promotional techniques, including print, digital, and electronic media, in its advertising campaigns. It has launched several advertising campaigns that are broadcasted across various media, including radio, television, billboards, etc.

    ITC has roped in many celebrities to endorse their brands like Shah Rukh Khan for its food brand ‘Sunfeast’, Alia Bhatt for its ‘Sunfeast Dark Fantasy’ biscuits, famous cricket player like Yuvraj Singh, and Bollywood actress, Soha Ali Khan for ‘Classmate’, Kiara Advani for ‘Charmis’, and Tara Sutaria for ‘Savlon’.

    R&D Activities

    ITC has its own research and development centres. The R&D centre come under the brand name ITC Life Sciences and Technology Centre (LSTC). The centre is situated in Bengaluru, where it is involved in creating many innovative products and technology solutions to offer to its Indian customers.

    CSR Activities

    ITC has its own CSR policy where it aims to contribute as much as possible to building economic, social, and environmental capital towards the betterment of society in general. Women empowerment, Afforestation programme, Sustainable agriculture, Livestock Development, Watershed Development programme, Primary Education, Skilling & Vocational Training, Health & Sanitation, and Solid Waste Management are some of the CSR initiatives by ITC Limited.

    ITC – Revenue Model

    ITC mostly generates its revenue from the cigarette industry. Despite, the third wave of Covid, the cigarette sector’s revenue is up 10.2%.

    For FY2021-22, the company’s overall Gross Revenue at Rs. 59101.09 crores increased by 22.7%, while EBITDA increased by 22.0% to Rs. 18933.66 crores. Profit Before Tax at Rs. 19829.53 crores grew by 15.5% over the previous year and Profit After Tax stood at Rs. 15057.83 crores (previous year Rs. 13031.68 crores). Total Comprehensive Income for the year stood at Rs. 15631.68 crores (previous year Rs. 13277.93 crores). Earnings Per Share for the year stood at Rs. 12.22 (the previous year Rs. 10.59).

    ITC – Investments

    ITC has made four investments till now. Their most recent investment was on 20 April 2022, when Mylo raised ₹1.3B. Other companies in which ITC has invested are Mother Sparsh Baby Care and Azgo.

    ITC has invested around $1 million at Azgo in 2019 in corporate round funding.

    ITC – Mergers and Acquisitions

    ITC has bought two businesses. Sunrise Foods was their most recent acquisition as of May 25, 2020. They paid $21.5 billion to buy Sunrise Foods.

    Century Textiles – Nainital paper unit is another company they acquired on 16 June 2011 at an undisclosed amount.

    ITC – Shareholders

    The equity shares of ITC are traded on the Calcutta Stock Exchange, the National Stock Exchange of India, and the Bombay Stock Exchange (CSE).  Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) issued by the corporation are traded on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. ITC is a component of the BSE SENSEX and NIFTY 50 of the NSE, two of the most important stock market indices in India.

    ITC – Challenges Faced

    In 2021, ITC was facing issues in operating outlets because of lockdowns imposed during the second wave of Covid-19. The company thinks that because of the second wave lockdown, it had severe economic and social disruptions. The limited time hours given during the lockdowns posed a big challenge for the company as there was no material supply and limited customers at its various stores.

    ITC Hotels suffered a lot during the second wave as there were restrictions imposed by the Government to curb the spread of the pandemic.

    ITC – Online and Social Media Presence

    Since ITC plays a key role in marketing and promotional activities, it knows how to keep its audience engaged and keep them updated through its various brand awareness strategies and methods, it surely has a very strong social media presence. The LinkedIn page of ITC has 2,438,418 followers, Instagram has 12.3K followers, and the Twitter page has 40.2K followers.

    ITC – Awards and Achievements

    As one of the leading Multinational Companies in India, ITC has received many awards and achievements. Take a look at the below list of some major awards won by ITC:

    • Pulp & Paper International (PPI) Awards by Fastmarkets RISI
    • First Prize At National Water Awards, 2022
    • EFI CII National Award for Excellence in Employee Relations, 2021
    • ICSI CSR Excellence Award, 2021
    • ITC’s Savlon wins big at Cannes 2017
    • Excellence in Corporate Governance and Integration’ – Porter Prize, 2017
    • World Business Development Award 2012, RIO

    ITC – Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns

    ITC knows its game when it comes to marketing itself. In 2020, ITC launched a social media campaign to voice out the different products it makes and reflects the essence of the ‘Made In India’ initiative.

    With the #ProudlyIndian Campaign, ITC wanted to grasp the Indian audience for being an important contributor to the nation with its myriad options of products, which are manufactured on Indian soil with cutting-edge technology centres and Indian farmers.

    In 2021, ITC Vivel launched a campaign on Women’s Equality day to salute all the homemaker women. With ‘Ab Samjhauta Nahin’ philosophy, the campaign highlights the gap between working professionals’ and homemakers’ expectations.

    With its #RespectWorkForHome campaign, the brand celebrates the dedicated, persistent, and selfless work of housewives. The brand demonstrates the long-standing problem of discrimination based not only on a person’s gender but also on the sort of labour performed.

    ITC – Competitors

    ITC competes with the following companies:

    In the FMCG sector

    • Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL)
    • P&G
    • Coca-Cola
    • Dabur
    • Danone
    • L’Oreal
    • Colgate
    • Nestle
    • Godrej Consumer Products

    In Cigarettes Sector

    • Raghunath
    • Godfrey Phillips India
    • Vazir Sultan Tobacco
    • Golden Tobacco
    • Philip Morris International

    In Hotels Sector,

    • Taj Group of Hotels
    • Oberoi
    • Leela Hotels

    FAQs

    Is ITC private or government?

    ITC is a private sector company that has its presence in Cigarettes, Hotels, Paperboards & Specialty Papers Packaging, Agri-Business, Packaged Foods, Branded Apparel, Personal Care, Stationery, Safety Matches and much more.

    Who is the biggest shareholder of ITC?

    Tobacco Manufacturers India Ltd is the biggest shareholder of ITC.

    Is ITC an Indian company?

    Yes ITC is an Indian conglomerate headquartered in Kolkata.

  • Lo! Foods: Don’t Compromise On Taste For Health!

    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by Lo! Foods.

    Taste and health never seem to go hand in hand. The Indian diet, especially snacks, is full of carbs and fat. Despite being conscious about the possible harm these snacks can cause to our health, it’s hard to resist that innate temptation to grab a bite of our favorite snack for something to munch on. So, what’s the other option?

    Do you choose health over your favorite mathri or murukku? Or do you let go of your diet to feast on those tasty snacks? Nah, there’s no need to be selective. The option is to choose Lo! Foods.

    Lo! Foods brings serves your favorite snacks in a healthy avatar so that there’s no longer the need to compromise between taste and health.

    Lo! Foods – Company Highlights

    Startup Name Lo! Foods
    Headquarters Bangalore
    Founder Sudarshan Gangrade
    Sector FMCG
    Founded 2019
    Total Funding $1.8 mn (March 2022)
    Parent Organization Bajo Foods Private Limited
    Website lofoods.fit

    Lo! Foods – About
    Lo! Foods – Industry Details
    Lo! Foods – Founder
    Lo! Foods – Startup Story | How It Began?
    Lo! Foods – Name And Logo
    Lo! Foods – Products
    Lo! Foods – Revenue Model
    Lo! Foods – Funding And Investors
    Lo! Foods – User Acquisition
    Lo! Foods – Startup Challenges
    Lo! Foods – Competitors
    Lo! Foods – Growth
    Lo! Foods – Future Plans

    Lo! Foods – About

    Lo! Foods is an FMCG startup founded in 2019, whose headquarters are situated in Bangalore. It manufactures a wide range of healthy Indian snacks. The company provides the widest range of low-carb and keto-friendly packaged foods in India. This includes namkeens, mixtures, biscuits, and desserts—many of these being the only of their kind i.e. a low carb/keto-friendly version in India. Lo! Foods also offer low-carb atta.

    We have unique, technically superior formulations that have been developed after months of R&D. This makes our products the tastiest Low Carb Health products in the market. No other product comes close. Our range is also unique and Indian. Also, due to the nature of our formulations, we are also 35-40% cheaper than equivalent products in the market.

    Lo! Foods – Industry Details

    The healthy food and beverage sector in India is blooming and is poised to register significant growth in the years to come. In 2010, the health and wellness food market was worth INR 9,000 crore which reached to INR 10,352 crore in 2016; it continues to witness rapid growth.

    Lo! Foods with its healthy range of food products want to make a positive difference in the lives of the Indian diabetic population. India currently has around 77 million diabetics, and the number is expected to cross 100 million in the next few years.

    Lo! Foods – Founder

    Sudarshan Gangrade

    Sudarshan Gangrade, Founder of Lo! Foods | Lo! Foods Startup story

    Sudarshan Gangrade is the founder of Lo! Foods. He was formerly the Head of Marketing at Ola. Sudarshan is a seasoned serial entrepreneur with vast experience in successfully running companies with expertise in growth, marketing, and analytics. An alumnus of IIT Kharagpur and IIM Bangalore, Sudarshan has been part of India’s e-commerce ecosystem right from its early days. An active sportsperson, he co-founded LeanScience—a boutique Diet and Fat Loss Consulting organization—in his most recent stint. A few years back, he quit his job and joined as a full-time volunteer in Nandan Nilekani’s team that was building the Aadhaar project. At Ola, Sudarshan helped build a viable transportation system for the Indian public.  

    Lo! Foods – Startup Story | How It Began?

    Lo! Foods was conceived in response to the genuine concern Sudarshan had for people struggling to lose weight and be fit. Before starting Lo! Foods, Sudarshan had co-founded a boutique health and fat loss nutrition consulting firm called LeanScience. During that time, he got a chance to see up-close the struggles of people trying to lose weight and the problem of obesity in general.

    Sudarshan observed that it was quite challenging for people to stop eating their favorite food and resort to bland and tasteless stuff in the name of fitness. Thus, the idea of providing consumers with a range of products that is healthy and yet tasty came to his mind and he was confident about the success of the same.  

    “Our thesis has been proved right. In the beta phase, we have seen our products flying off the digital shelves. Top Health platforms have joined hands with us to launch Lo! Foods. The response is really encouraging. Our repeat customer ratio already stands at 35% and we are yet to launch at a large scale” says Sudarshan.

    Lo! Foods’ logo | Lo! Foods Startup Story

    The name Lo! is a play on the words Low Carb.  

    The “!” (exclamation mark) in the brand name was planned from the day the idea to start Lo! Foods was conceptualized. The ! was added to the name so as to give a pleasant surprise to consumers when they pronounced it.

    Lo! Foods is indeed giving a pleasant surprise to consumers through its unique range of healthy Indian snacks!

    Lo! Foods – Products

    Lo! Foods offers a wide range of Indian snacks which not only taste good but are good for the health too. This food startup offers a healthy variety of namkeens, desserts, and bakery products.

    We are already seeing customers across the spectrum actively cutting down carb consumption by reducing intake of ingredients like sugar, maida, rice and potatoes. We want to present them with a range of options where they don’t have to compromise on taste and their love for Indian snacks.    

    Lo! Foods – Revenue Model

    Lo! Food’s products start at INR 35. The price differs depending on the product and quantity. The company makes a profit from the sales.

    Lo! Foods – Funding And Investors

    Lo! Foods raised seed funding worth $500k on August 22, 2019 from various angel investors. Some of the angel investors who took part in the funding round are Anuj Golecha (co-founder, Venture Catalyst), Raveen Sastry (co-founder, Myntra), Rashmi Daga (founder, Freshmenu), Sunil Chhabra (advisor and founding team member), Jumbotail, and Mitesh Shah (CFO, BookMyShow).

    Before that, it had raised close to $300K in a Seed round led by Venture Catalysts on February 1, 2019. The last round that Lo! Foods saw, came from another Seed round dated April 16, 2021, with the help of which the company successfully raised $1 mn.

    Date Stage Amount Investors
    April 16, 2021 Seed Round $1 mn –
    August 22, 2019 Seed Round $500k Anuj Golecha, Co-founder, Venture Catalyst; Rashmi Daga, Founder, Freshmenu; Raveen Sastry, Co-founder, Myntra; Mitesh Shah, CFO, BookMyShow; Sunil Chhabra, Advisor & Founding team member, Jumbotail; and Gaurav Arora, Chief Investment Officer, ASK Wealth
    February 1, 2019 Seed Round $300K Venture Catalysts

    As said by Lo! Foods owner Sudarshan Gangrade, the funds raised will be used for expanding product portfolio and scaling up the brand’s distribution.

    Lo! Foods – User Acquisition

    Lo! Foods is not operating on a large scale yet. The company did a beta launch on its website and a very basic announcement on social media. Most of the customers the company has gained till now are purely through word of mouth publicity.

    Lo! Foods is now live on Swiggy and other key e-commerce platforms. It has also tied up with the top health platforms in India to expand its customer base. In July 2019, Hyatt Place (Hyderabad) tied up with Lo! Foods to launch its low carb and keto friendly menu. This launch was executed on the Hyatt Place Hyderabad/Banjara Hills, a property of the renowned restaurant chain, Hyatt. The menu consists of Low Carb & Keto-friendly dishes, which include pastas, burgers, paninis, and desserts, which have been made with the help of Lo! Foods Atta. This specially curated menu is made available from July 10th, 2019 onwards and will include a range of all-day eating items like Paneer Kathi Roll, Grilled vegetable Panini, Carb friendly pasta, and desserts like Go Low Brownie.

    Lo! Foods – Startup Challenges

    Product development was the most challenging part of establishing the venture. The Lo! Foods team wanted to create healthy options while retaining the look and taste of traditional Indian snacks. It took almost 6 months of R&D and an intensive collaboration between a team of food technologists and nutritionists to come up with the right products.

    Lo! Foods – Competitors

    Though many companies are selling healthy snacks, Lo! Foods is differentiated from its competitors through its wide range of healthy Indian snacks. Britannia and Nilgiris are the director competitors of Lo!Foods.

    There are many health-focused products available in the market. But we believe since none of the current options are catering to Indian taste palate, we are the only one in the space with one of its kind line of products – Sudarshan says emphasizing on Lo! Foods’ USP.  

    Lo! Foods – Growth

    Within a short time, Lo! Foods have been able to attract a loyal fan base. It has various tie-ups in place and caters to more than 35% of repeat customers every month.

    “We are ready for our next phase of growth. FMCG products are all about Product and Distribution. We have built a great product. We are in the phase where we now need to reach a large market, very quickly”

    Lo! Foods – Future Plans

    Lo! Foods’ mission is to reduce the incidence of diabetes and cardiac-related diseases in India by 5 million before 2023. The company plans to do this by reducing the overall consumption of carbs, an approach proven to help in weight loss and prevention of lifestyle-oriented diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure.  

    FAQs

    Who is the Founder of Lo! Foods?

    Sudarshan Gangrade is the founder of Lo! Foods. It was founded in the year 2019.

    What does Lo! Foods specialize in?

    Lo! Foods sells snacks that are low in carbs and diabetes-friendly.

    Is Lo! Foods an Indian Company?

    Lo! Food is an Indian Company, founded in 2019.

    Who is Sudarshan Gangrade?

    Sudarshan Gangrade is the founder of the low carb and keto-friendly food products brand, Lo! Foods, which has been founded in 2019 and is headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.

  • Kapiva: India’s 1st Modern Ayurvedic Nutrition Brand

    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by Kapiva.

    Ayurveda is regarded as the oldest of the sciences, which focuses on healing our bodies and minds. The healing science, Ayurveda translates to “The Science of Life” in Sanskrit, the knowledge of which originated in India dating back to around 5000 years ago.

    Also known as the “Mother of All Healing”, Ayurveda stems from the ancient Vedic culture when it was taught in the oral form in a Gurukul tradition by accomplished masters to their disciples who lived at their residence. In fact, many of the alternative medicinal sciences and therapies like homeopathy and polarity therapy are believed to have their roots in the ancient Ayurvedic principles.

    Ayurveda is a complex form of alternative medicine that includes “panchakarma” or five actions, yoga, massage, acupuncture, and herbal medicine for the health and well-being of the body and mind.

    Though much of the Ayurvedic knowledge of the past has been buried with it, some of them managed to be scripted and percolated to the present generation. Kapiva is one such brand that holds on to the ancient principles of Ayurveda and tweaks them to fit modern lives. The Modern Ayurvedic Nutrition Brand is based on the holistic approach to wellness and not just a curative science.

    Read on to know the full story of about Kapiva, its Founders, How was Kapiva Started, Name, Logo and Tagline, Vision and Mission, Products and Services, Target Market Size, Business and Revenue Model, Startup Launch, Customers/Clients, Challenges, Investors and Funding and more.

    Kapiva: Company Highlights

    Company Name Kapiva
    Founders Ameve Sharma & Shrey Badhani
    Sector FMCG
    Founded 2016
    Registered Entity Name Adret Retail Pvt Ltd.
    Website kapiva.in

    Kapiva: Latest News

    October 27, 2021 – Malaika Arora backs Kapiva. The Bollywood actress will be joining as a strategic investor, brand ambassador, and ‘wellness mentor’ at the Kapiva Academy of Ayurveda.

    Kapiva: About
    Kapiva: Founders
    How Was Kapiva Started?
    Kapiva: Name, Logo and Tagline
    Kapiva: Vision and Mission
    Kapiva: Products and Services
    Kapiva: Target Market Size
    Kapiva: Growth
    Kapiva: Business and Revenue Model
    Kapiva: Startup Launch
    Kapiva: Customers/ Clients
    Kapiva: Challenges
    Kapiva: Investors & Funding
    Kapiva: Advisors and Mentors
    Kapiva: Competitors
    Kapiva: Recognition and Achievements
    Kapiva: Future Plans

    Kapiva: About

    Kapiva can be regarded as the “India’s 1st Modern Ayurvedic Nutrition Brand” that offers food-based innovations to help build healthier lifestyles for the Indians. With the rich legacy of Baidyanath, Kapiva acquired the knowledge and the authority to amalgamate traditional Ayurveda with the modern forms of nutrition.

    Kapiva is derived from the three doshas in the Ayurvedic universe – Kapha, Pitta, Vata, which when balanced in a body, bring overall wellness. As mentioned earlier, the brand is established on the belief that Ayurveda is a holistic approach to wellness and not just a curative science.

    The Ayurveda-inspired nutrition brand brings a range of organic fruits, vegetables, and other food products to improve the lifestyle of the present generation. The company also brings diversified solutions including daily wellness, men’s health, weight loss, digestion, diabetes, skincare, blood pressure, strength, destress and memory boosting, artho care, kidney stone, and more. In addition, Kapiva never fails to innovate its products to bring this traditional ayurvedic wisdom to consumers in modern, easy-to-use formats, along with delivering them with good nutritional value.

    Kapiva Ayurveda
    Kapiva Ayurveda

    Kapiva: Founders

    Kapiva is founded by Ameve Sharma and Shrey Badhani.

    Kapiva Founders | Shrey Badhani and Ameve Sharma (L-R)
    Kapiva Founders | Shrey Badhani and Ameve Sharma (L-R)

    They joined hands in January 2016 to build the world of modern Ayurvedic brand, Kapiva.

    Ameve Sharma grew up in Kolkata and belongs to the family, which founded the famous Baidyanath Group. His grandfather was the founder of Baidyanath and his father still stands as the current Managing Director of the ayurvedic pharmaceutical company. Ameve is the Chairman of the Western region at the Indian Chamber of Commerce and the President of the Baidyanath Group. He has also worked as a Consultant with McKinsey & Company after completing his MBA. He completed his Bachelors in Economics from New York University and went ahead to pursue MBA from INSEAD.

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    Shrey Badhani is an adept and experienced sales and marketing professional. He has been instrumental in driving growth and implementing strategic management at Kapiva. Shrey looks after the e-commerce platform, offline sales, marketing and operations for Kapiva. He started his career in Consulting with Bain & Co and Parthenon. Most recently, he worked as a PE investor with Bain Capital in their India office. Shrey pursued Bachelors in Economics and History from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai and Masters in Economics from the University of Cambridge.

    Kapiva has a talented team that bring a varied sense of experience to the table. From reputed business school graduates and experienced senior professionals to college freshers and hardworking amateurs, employees at Kapiva come from various walks of life and add value to the overall success of the company. This eclectic bunch brings the much-needed diversity in perception, having a positive impact on major business decisions.

    Kapiva Apprenticeship Programme, where the seniors and experienced staff mentor juniors and help them gain valuable business insights. This has helped the employees gain a cohesive professional experience at a very young age.

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    How Was Kapiva Started?

    Ayurveda has always been at the heart of the Indian tradition. However, somewhere along the way the true essence of it had been lost. People approached Ayurveda with a curative lens but it is in fact, a way of life! It relies on the principle of ‘food is medicine’ and ‘you are what you eat’. Western countries have begun understanding the true value of ayurvedic sciences and the industry is booming rapidly overseas. With the advent of turmeric lattes, moringa cereals, and more, other countries seem to appreciate our traditions more than we do!

    One of the major reasons why Ayurveda does not fare well in India is due to the lack of awareness about its benefits and values among the millennial population. Considering that India has one of the largest Gen Y population of the world, we are actually not catering to almost 34% of the total Indian population. To combat this, Kapiva has anchored on creating this awareness among the millennials and securing a modern ayurvedic nutrition stance to educate that section of consumers.

    All products of Kapiva are created keeping the busy and on-the-go lifestyle of modern-day Indians, who seek to maintain an upkeep of their health in easy to use and convenient options without having to compromise on taste.

    For instance, Kapiva Gummies are designed for on-the-go nutrition with the power of Ayurvedic herbs in a yummy-gummy format, which is convenient as well as a joy to consume!

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    Kapiva: Name, Logo and Tagline

    Kapiva’s logo is interestingly designed in black and white where the starting letter of the brand, “K” stands in an enlarged version with the brand name “Kapiva” written inside it.

    Kapiva | Name, Logo and Tagline
    Kapiva | Name, Logo and Tagline

    Kapiva rests on a core philosophy, “Your simple guide to everyday Ayurveda”. The name Kapiva is derived from the three doshas in the Ayurvedic universe – Kapha, Pitta, Vata, which when balanced in a body, bring overall wellness.

    The founders believed in this balanced approach to health using Ayurveda, and the company is well poised to achieve its growth objective as consumers begin to adopt this philosophy by proactively seeking better nutrition. In addition to core Ayurveda, the various product innovations add further value to consumers, making Kapiva a preferred brand for modern wellness.

    Kapiva: Vision and Mission

    Kapiva’s mission is to provide a new-age Ayurveda for the new-age customers. Furthermore, the company wants to free Ayurveda of its complexities and enable millenials to make it a part of their everyday life, live a holistic lifestyle.

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    Kapiva’s vision is to not only provide Ayurveda-based nutrition products, but also bring balance into the lives of the customers through these products.

    Kapiva: Products and Services

    Kapiva stands for modern ayurvedic nutrition. They have been able to disrupt the traditional ayurvedic industry, by presenting the benefits of Ayurveda to the modern lives of the Indians in easily accessible and convenient forms. With the backing of an Ayurveda-inspired innovation, Kapiva has access to the best suppliers of natural ingredients in the country and has built a very strong sourcing story for all its natural products. In addition, the founders’ exposure to various markets during their earlier experiences, has helped them understand the modern consumer’s needs very well.

    Kapiva is designed for a fast-paced 21st-century lifestyle, especially where the lack of the right nutrition and inadequate immunity can pose serious health risks. The company has created a new category of modern ayurvedic nutrition, which never existed before, addressing the core consumer needs of health and taste.

    For example, Kapiva Wild Amla Juice is made from ripe, yellow Amlas as they are more nutritious compared to the commonly used raw, green amlas. Furthermore, the juices are cold-pressed to retain all their nutritional content. All the products share such unique sourcing stories. The company’s fast growth trajectory is a result of the innovation in product development by bringing better quality, more convenient products to the consumer.

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    Kapiva invests in R&D and innovates on sourcing better ingredients, convenient product formats, and consumer-friendly packaging, to deliver more value to the consumer. The company has developed a top-of-the-line and robust R&D setup in-house, while working with top food technology experts of the country, such as the former heads of R&D at companies like Britannia and HUL, to build best-in-class products ranges. Kapiva remains focused on innovating on more accessible nutrition, under the realm of Ayurveda. The purity and quality in the sourcing of ingredients have been given center stage.

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    Kapiva: Target Market Size

    Ayurveda is a ₹30,000-crore industry in India. As per 2020’s estimates, Kapiva is expected to cross ₹300 crores in revenue by 2025 and capture a significant part of this market. Kapiva’s market largely revolves around the Indian subcontinent, with a wide reach. Indians are believers in the power of Ayurveda and the modern Indian consumer is looking for a more accessible and convenient format of Ayurveda to consume its benefits. Kapiva has witnessed expansion abroad and is currently operating in the US, planning to expand to Canada and the European markets in the coming months.

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    Today, Kapiva has a portfolio of 50+ products and is present across the top online marketplaces (Amazon, Flipkart, Big Basket, PharmEasy, to name a few) as well as its own website (direct-to-consumer business model). The products are also available in 6000+ General Trade and Modern Trade outlets in the top cities of India.

    Kapiva: Growth

    Pre-COVID, the ayurvedic market typically witnessed 15-20% growth annually. Contrary to this, in the last quarter, many companies, large and small, witnessed growth between 50-90%. The adoption of Ayurveda as holistic, natural healthcare will have a positive impact on the market. Not just in India, the developing economic conditions of various nations are elevating the demand for Ayurvedic products globally. Ayurveda was considered a pharmaceutical approach earlier and was only used as a solution to specific problems. However, Ayurveda is actually about proactive, holistic health, and consumers are embracing it as such, now.

    People around the world today, are focusing more on herbal products and leveraging herbal remedies to enhance their mental and physical health and wellbeing. The global Ayurvedic market was valued at Rs 300 billion in 2018 and is estimated to reach Rs 710.87 billion by 2024, as per Global Newswire. All of these are directly helping Kapiva to scale greater heights.

    • The company has grown to be a Rs 50 crore brand in just 3 years. Yes, Kapiva has witnessed a growth of Rs 0 – Rs 50 crore in revenue in less than 3 years. Some other growth highlights of Kapiva are as follows:
    • Kapiva currently boasts of having over 6,000 general trade outlets across 12 Indian cities and has been looking to expand it to 10,000+ outlets.
    • It has witnessed around 10x growth in the span of the last 30 months
    • It has launched 50+ products in 5 categories in 2020.

    Kapiva: Business and Revenue Model

    Kapiva follows a D2C strategy of business to deliver a true omni-channel experience of FMCG sales. The consumers of Kapiva’s products are typically in their mid-20’s to late 40’s, residing in Metros, Tier 1, and Tier 2 cities.

    Kapiva has enjoyed a natural product-market fit, especially leading in certain categories such as Herbal Juices. The current strategy is to expand the footprint across channels, especially through marketing and new product development, both of which are being undertaken with a keen eye on consumer preferences. Customer focus determines the way forward for Kapiva.

    Having its genesis as an offline brand, Kapiva had already enjoyed quite a success in the offline markets, which helped the company earn a turnover of about Rs. 3 crore a month in the first eighteen months or so.
    The company started focusing on online distribution from 2019 onwards. Therefore, it is the offline success that helped the company rapidly scale the online markets.

    Today, along with its own D2C platform, Kapiva retails on all the prominent online marketplaces, from Amazon and Flipkart to Big Basket and Nykaa.

    A major chunk of the company’s revenues comes from its digital channels. Furthermore, the products of Kapiva are also available across General Trade and Modern Trade outlets in the top cities of India, which also helps the company earn a considerable amount of revenue.

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    Kapiva: Startup Launch

    The company began by making its mark on online marketplaces such as Amazon. The herbal juices category was underrepresented on these platforms then, but the need was definitely present, as was the natural product-market fit. Kapiva capitalized on it and thus acquired the first batch of loyal users.

    Kapiva: Customers/ Clients

    Kapiva focuses very heavily on the right product positioning within a category, by taking great efforts to carve out compelling differentiators of the product before its launch. In addition, their strong go-to-market strategy helps with accelerated results as soon as they enter a category. However, above all, the company believes that it is the quality of their products which customers appreciate and call out the most, leading to better retention and word-of-mouth marketing.

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    Kapiva: Challenges

    Though the popularity of Baidyanath, which runs through the veins of Kapiva, helped the brand initially but standing as an Ayurvedic brand in a country dominated by allopathy is itself a laudable feat.

    Kapiva initially started off as a chain of Ayurvedic clinics, through which high-quality products were sold as well. Pivoting from that clinic/retail model to the current FMCG model was also a challenge.

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    Kapiva: Investors & Funding

    Date Stage Amount Investors Name
    January 2019 Series A USD 2.5 Million Fireside Ventures, Mohandas Pai Family Office, Marico Family Office (Sharrp Ventures)
    April 2020 Series A1 INR 13.5 Crores Jetty Ventures, Fireside Ventures, Marico Family Office (Sharrp Ventures)

    Kapiva: Advisors and Mentors

    Kapiva enjoys the mentorship of various experienced investors. The Baidyanath connection forms a valuable advisory channel as well.

    Kapiva: Competitors

    Kapiva competed with Patanjali, Dabur, Himalaya.

    Kapiva: Recognition and Achievements

    Kapiva has been awarded The Economic Times Emerging Consumer Brand of the Year 2020. Apart from that, the co-founders of Kapiva, Ameve Sharma and Shrey Badhani have been awarded Emerging Entrepreneurs of Year Awards in the Product or Manufacturing- Healthcare category.

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    Kapiva: Future Plans

    Kapiva has grown from 0 to 50 crores in less than 3 years. It has scaled rapidly with over 3x increase in monthly revenue from March 2019 to March 2020. The company is expected to close FY21 with revenue run-rate of Rs 70 Crores per annum. Given the strong growth trajectory, Kapiva is all set for profitability within the next 2 years. Since launch, Kapiva has served more than a million consumers and is seeing good traction in, both, Indian and international markets.

    The future plans for Kapiva are as follows:

    1) Innovation through new product development. Kapiva’s range of immunity products is expected to expand soon, followed by products such as ayurvedic breakfast and ayurvedic effervescent drinks, which will cater to customers’ taste preferences, while being healthy.

    2) Expanding the distribution network offline and scaling up the direct-to-consumer channel. Kapiva is currently present in 6,000+ general trade outlets across 12 cities. This is set to expand 10,000+ outlets and cover more cities by the end of this financial year. The direct-to-consumer channel has had a great growth story too – it grew about 20x in revenue in less than a year. It is expected that this strategic channel will grow another 5x this year.

    3) Building their brand communication to share their story of modern ayurvedic nutrition. They are focussing on digital channels at the moment, since their customer base is largely present here.

  • Zilli’s – Zero Preservative Dehydrated Vegetable Powders

    India is the world’s largest producer of fruits and vegetables, with barely 10% penetration into the food processing industry. Thus, resulting in a lot of wastage of the fresh produce every single year. Besides, the farmers also struggle to get reasonable prices for their produce. Many times, due to lack of visibility and access to the right market, they either have to sell their produce at throwaway prices or simply just let it rot in the open. Hence, there is need for more and more startups venturing into the food processing sector.

    Hyderabad based Zilli’s (formerly Kitchen D’lite)  is a startup that has made a move in this direction. The startup is manufacturing dehydrated vegetable powders, thus not only reducing waste of vegetables by increasing its shelf life, but also making cooking easy and dishes interesting.

    Startup Name Zilli’s(formerly Kitchen D’lite)
    Headquarter Hyderabad
    Sector FMCG
    Founders Anubhav Bhatnagar
    Founded May 2018
    Parent Organization M/S BNB Foods

    About Kitchen D’lite and How it Works
    Dehydrated Vegetables Market
    Founders of Kitchen D’lite and team
    How was Kitchen D’lite Started
    Kitchen D’lite – Name, Tagline and Logo
    Kitchen D’lite – Business Model and Revenue Model
    Kitchen D’lite – User Acquisition
    Kitchen D’lite – Startup Challenges
    Kitchen D’lite – Funding and Investors
    Kitchen D’lite – Future Plans

    About Kitchen D’lite and How it Works

    Zilli’s (formerly Kitchen D’lite)  is a Hyderabad based startup that is into the food processing sector. The company deals in dehydrated vegetable powders and blends. Their products are made using fresh vegetables while ensuring that all the goodness of fresh vegetables remains intact. These products can be used in everyday cooking as a direct replacement for fresh vegetables.

    Onion and garlic are staple ingredients in almost every recipe. But, peeling and chopping of onion and garlic could be a tiresome and time-consuming process. Lest, the onion tears, and the smelly hands. Similar is the case for all other vegetables. In addition, with the change in lifestyle and the busy schedules, there is a dire need for solutions that make cooking faster while also taking care of the health requirements. Zilli’s dehydrated powders attempt to make cooking easier and faster for the Indian homes. These products are especially very useful when making curries, gravies, soups, dips, frying batters, in baking, smoothies, and juices.

    Zilli’s has collaborated with manufacturers who get their supply of raw materials directly from the farmers, thus eliminating the middlemen in the supply chain. This in turn empowers the farmers to get access to the end market and demand competitive prices for their produce.

    Zilli’s vegetable powders can be used in varied ways–

    • Bake into loaves of bread and vegetables
    • Blend into sauces, green juices and smoothies
    • Shake them into vegetable juices, and salad dressings
    • Sprinkle onto salads, eggs, roasted vegetables, pasta etc
    • Stir into dips, soups, sauces, curries, gravies, casseroles, and stews

    The products Zilli’s Offers are-

    • Garlic Powder
    • Red onion Powder
    • Tomato Powder
    • Ginger Powder
    • Green Chilly Powder
    • Tamarind Powder

    Zilli’s also has two blends in its product catalog –

    1. Kolkata Jhal Muri (Murmura/Puffed Rice) Masala– Jhal Muri is a staple snack in the eastern part of the country, specifically in West Bengal. It’s murmura/puffed rice with chopped onions, green chilies, coriander leaves, coconut, peanuts mixed in a very small quantity of mustard oil, and blended with the goodness of spices which makes it a very tasty and healthy snack.

    2. Lemon Tea Masala– This Blend was launched with the idea to give that instant energy boost and freshness to ones’ body and mind. All you have to do is add a teaspoon of this masala to your freshly brewed tea (sugar/honey optional), and the tangy, salty lemon tea is ready to give that instant dose of energy.

    The USPs of Zilli’s are:

    • 100% Natural
    • 100% Pure
    • Vegan
    • No Preservatives
    • No added flavors
    • Gluten-Free
    • Shelf life of 12 to 18 months
    • Premium Export Quality
    • Ready-to-use

    We have never compromised on the quality of our products and our packaging, and that showed in the positive feedback that we were receiving from our customers.

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    Dehydrated Vegetables Market

    The global market for dehydrated vegetables registered the revenue worth US$ 54,241.9M in 2017, which is likely to exceed US$ 90,636.0M by the end of 2028.

    Future Market Insights expects the dehydrated vegetable market to observe stable growth at a promising CAGR of 4.8% over the 10-year assessment period, 2018-2028. While dehydrated vegetables within developed regions such as North America and Europe have been consistently registering significant consumption volumes, those within the emerging economies have moderate growth. However, the forecast period is expected to experience attractive growth rates in the case of developing countries due to growing awareness among consumers and increasing demand for dehydrated vegetables from households.

    There has been a drastic change in lifestyle, and people are becoming busier than ever. They are consistently looking for options that save their time and makes their life easier while not compromising on their health. In a scenario like this, there is immense potential for Zilli’s products. We want to tap on this opportunity and make our brand a household name – says Anubhav

    Founders of Kitchen D’lite and team

    Anubhav Bhatnagar is the Founder of Kitchen D’lite. He is an XLRI alumnus and a first-generation entrepreneur with 6+ years of experience in Business Development. Like every other freshly graduated IT engineer, he started his career as a Software Engineer with Virtusa Consultancy Services Pvt Ltd. But that never gave him any satisfaction; hence, he started selling Lassi part-time. With learnings from his lassi shop, he started his new venture Sweetfrost.in with his friend that dealt in online delivery of cakes and gifts in Hyderabad and in 6 months of time, expanded his venture to cities of Bhopal, Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, and Indore.

    Realizing that scalability and profitability was an issue and both the partners being involved only part-time, he moved out of this to start something full-time. Being the experimental entrepreneur that he was, he ventured into SMSGrid.com that provided Bulk SMS and Digital Marketing services to customers. The start-up was growing aggressively, but the fall-out between the partners caused his exit. With little savings that he was left with, he started Kitchen D’lite in the summer of May 2018, and there has been no looking back ever since.

    How was Kitchen D’lite Started

    The idea for Kitchen D’lite got initiated right from Anubhav’s kitchen. While Anubhav loved cooking,  he found the process of chopping onions and peeling garlic quite boring and time consuming.

    I love cooking and often cook at home. One such day I was making lunch for my wife and me, I was preparing a curry which required a good quantity of onions and garlic. Now while onions and garlic add a lot of flavor to the curries and like a lot of homes, these are the two staple ingredients in my kitchen; but the process of chopping onions and peeling garlic is not a very pleasant experience.

    Anubhav  got curious to understand if such an experience is unique to his own self or if its an everyone’s problem. Initially, Anubhav spoke to people immediately next to him- his wife, mother, mother-in-law, and a couple of his friends to understand their experiences in the kitchen. As he realized that all of them had a similar experience, Anubhav started researching over the internet on possible solutions. One of the alternatives available in the market is garlic and onion paste by numerous brands. However, there is extensive use of preservatives in these products to increase their shelf life. This adulteration makes these products an unsustainable idea in the increasingly health-conscious society.

    Anubhav further delved into the research, and finally, he came across food processing that keeps the natural essence of the products intact with no use of preservatives. With further studies, he acquainted himself with the concept of dehydration of food products and its innumerable benefits.

    Anubhav to better understand the concept of dehydration of food, started experimenting at home using a microwave oven. Though he had multiple failed attempts, finally, he was able to successfully dehydrate garlic and onion and powder them. On trying them on his home cooked curries, Anubhav found that the results were amazing and the curries tasted even better with the powdered garlic and onion.

    The first persons to validate the product were Anubhav’s own family members. Anubhav sent home-made samples to his parents, in-laws, and friends, and the feedback was positive! This made Anubhav to formally initiate the journey of Kitchen D’lite. The initial products offered by Kitchen D’lite were red onion powder and garlic powder.

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    The company has kept the name simple and easy to remember. As Anubhav narrates,

    With our product category of dehydrated vegetable powders being relatively new in the market, we were sure that we did not want any fancy name or tagline for our brand. We wanted a simple name and tagline that would be easy to read and spell would immediately connect with the customers and would talk about the usability of our products.

    Kitchen D'lite Logo
    Kitchen D’lite Logo

    Zilli’s(formerly Kitchen D’lite) tagline is ‘Makes Cooking Easier’

    Having such a simple name and tagline has helped Kitchen D’lite immensely as the customers could immediately connect the brand name with their own lives.

    Kitchen D’lite – Business Model and Revenue Model

    Zilli’s follows a simple B2C model of business. Initially, when Kitchen D’lite launched its products in the month of August 2018 on Amazon India with a minimal investment of Rs. 30,000, they sold barely 20 units in the first month of launch. But they scaled up gradually and steadily to selling 1500 units within six months of launch. Kitchen D’lite’s products have been ranked as Best Sellers in their category ever since. In addition to Amazon India, its products are also sold on Flipkart.com, Qtrove.com, and Kitchendlite.com

    Currently, 70 percent of Kitchen D’lite revenue comes from selling its products on the e-commerce platforms. Twenty-five percent of the revenue comes from export, where they provide services like bulk export and private labeling. The remaining 5 percent comes from bulk purchases in national B2B like food startups, hotels, and restaurants. Moreover, the startup also displays its products in B2C exhibitions across India, which gives them a platform to interact and sell its products directly to the customers.

    Kitchen D’lite – User Acquisition

    As Kitchen D’lite is a startup venturing into a relatively new market of dehydrated vegetable powders, it was essential for the company to educate the customers of the benefits of using such products; besides popularizing its product in the market.

    For intense and influential marketing Kitchen D’lite has used platforms like Facebook and Instagram Ads, Digital Marketing and Google Adwords. Influential marketing worked best for Kitchen D’lite. The company has associated with food bloggers and home chefs who would try various recipes using its products and provide feedback to their followers. This route provided the required credibility to Kitchen D’lite products in the market and increased its reach among the customers.

    Prior to launching the services on Amazon India, Kitchen D’lite started by selling its products on its Facebook page, WhatsApp, and its website. The company has got its first order through their Facebook page. Once the company moved onto e-commerce websites like Amazon India, there has been looking back ever since. Kitchen D’lite acquired its initial customers within two months of launch. The company is operating on a lean model and its focus is to acquire customers organically.

    Since we started our venture on a lean model, we were more focused on growing our customer base organically. We started receiving some 10 percent of our orders organically. We spend around Rs. 10,000 – Rs. 12,000 to acquire the first 100 customers as we were targeting low cost but effective marketing tools. It gives me immense pride to mention that today, almost 30 percent of our orders come from repeat customers. – quoted Anubhav

    Kitchen D’lite – Startup Challenges

    As Kitchen D’lite is venturing into a relatively new concept of dehydrated vegetable powders, the major challenge was to educate the prospective customers about the benefits of its products. Quite often company came across customers queries like, “Why would I go for these powders when I can buy fresh vegetables from the market,” “I prefer using fresh rather than these powders,” “My cook will not be interested in using such products.” Most of them would not understand how to use these products; some would find it difficult to believe that in spite of not having any preservatives, it has a long shelf life of 12 to 18 months.

    However, influencer marketing helped the startup overcome this challenge to a large extent.

    We did not want any paid feedback. We were looking for food bloggers and home chefs who would try our products in their everyday recipes and give us genuine feedback, whether good or bad. We wanted to take that risk, also because we were confident about the quality of our products and we use them in our kitchen. A lot of research went in picking the right influencers. We were not looking for the number of followers they had, rather we were more focused on the quality of their content and that they would be willing to do this without any commercials involved.

    Kitchen D’lite – Funding and Investors

    The company is currently bootstrapped.

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    Kitchen D’lite – Future Plans

    Shortly, Kitchen D’lite aims to introduce an entire range of dehydrated vegetable and fruit powders so that its customers get a more extensive range of catalog to choose from. Moreover, they are also consistently working towards introducing many more exciting blends that will promote a much healthier lifestyle. Over the long term, Kitchen D’lite aims to make a household name not just in India but also globally.

    We are extremely inspired by the success story of the brand ID, that started with the simple idea of selling idli and dosa batter so that they could save the women from the trouble of making the batter at home. This simple idea of theirs brought convenience and change in the life of millions of women. This was their innovation! We believe that it’s not always the big things that count, we can bring innovation in very small and simple things as well. It’s about solving the problems nearer to home and bringing a change. Success will automatically fall in place.

    Zilli’s(formerly Kitchen D’lite) is a step towards making cooking easy and saving your time. We bring to you onion and garlic powder for your daily kitchen recipes. It is 100% natural with no preservatives. We work very closely with our partners and manufacturers to ensure that every product is genuinely natural ans is of highest quality, with no loss of major nutrients.