Mukesh Bansal's CureFit launches cheese-less lasagna, butter-less butter chicken

The Health Department's decision to prohibit artificial coloring while permitting the serving of dishes like gobhi manchurian has sparked dissatisfaction among Bengaluru restaurant owners, who argue that the move lacked consultation.

PC Rao, the president of the Bruhat Bengaluru Hotels Association, expressed concerns regarding the Health Minister's recent statement on the use of colors in gobhi manchurian.

According to the statement, food additives adhering to FSSAI Regulations/ISI Standards can incorporate red, blue, green, and yellow colors within specified limits.

Rao criticized the government's directives for lacking rationality and emphasized the need for consultations with manufacturers and users before implementing such scientific determinations.

He pledged to offer comprehensive feedback to the government and engage in discussions to address the issue in the days ahead.

In response, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao stated that among the 171 samples of gobhi manchurian collected, 107 were found to contain unsafe artificial colors such as tartrazine, sunset yellow, and carmoisine.

He emphasized that a circular has been issued, along with plans for awareness programs.

Strict legal measures will be taken against offenders, supported by further sample collection for legal proceedings. The use of artificial colors in food products is prohibited under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and its regulations.

Any infringement will lead to legal consequences, including imprisonment ranging from five years to a life sentence and a fine of Rs 10 lakh.

Physicians also highlighted the dangers associated with the utilization of artificial colors.

Dr. Muralidhar S Kathalagiri from Sparsh Hospital cautioned against the use of artificial food colors, highlighting the potential dangers they pose. While these colorants may enhance the visual appeal of our meals, their use, particularly when employing non-approved agents, can have adverse effects on health.

Synthetic additives, often present in popular snacks and dishes, have the potential to disrupt bodily functions. For instance, the food coloring agent Rhodamine B, commonly utilized, is harmful.

Studies indicate that these additives could induce allergic reactions, hyperactivity in children, and may even contribute to serious health issues such as cancer and organ damage.

Despite their innocuous appearance on our plates, these colors conceal harmful substances that can disrupt our body's equilibrium and lead to illness.

Dr. Kathalagiri advises avoiding such chemicals and opting for natural colors or those approved by FSSAI to maintain a healthy diet.
 

Superfood brand, Nourish You has recently appointed Divya Gursahani as its inaugural Chief Marketing and Communications Officer.

After the appointment, Nourish You will enhance its marketing and communication efforts with a specific focus on raising awareness about superfoods and their advantages.

"We welcome Divya as the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer to our growing team at Nourish You. We are certain that with her deep understanding of new age consumer insights and innovative approach to building digital and physical brand experiences, Nourish You will lead India's superfood growth story through interesting and relevant storytelling.” said,  Krishna Reddy, Co-Founder, Nourish You.

Additionally, the company aims to establish itself as the pioneering startup that introduced the concept of superfoods to Indian consumers.

Brand  has gained success in India by offering high-quality and innovative products such as Millet Milk, Breakfast and Meal Mixes, Specialty Flours, and Superseeds, which have disrupted the category.

Before joining Nourish You, Divya gained experience at By the Gram, a content studio, as well as prominent media organizations such as ELLE and DNA.

Throughout her career, she played a vital role in creating campaigns for notable brands like Netflix, Amazon, Apollo, Bumble, Tata CLiQ, and Nykaa in various capacities.

“I am honoured to contribute to a brand that embodies such strong values and has established itself as a frontrunner in the superfood industry, with an exceptional growth trajectory. I look forward to working closely with the founding team as we march towards creating a positive impact for consumers, stakeholders including farmers and the industry at large.” said, Divya Gursahani, Chief Marketing and Communication Officer, Nourish You.

In her role as Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Divya will lead the development and execution of comprehensive marketing strategies for all of Nourish You's product categories and consumer communication channels.

Under her guidance, Brand will prioritize the creation of a distinctive consumer experience, reinforce creative communication and design, and drive strategic market expansion.

Plant based meat brand, GoodDot has recently launched "Pro Chaap," a substitute for traditional chaaps.

This product, known as the 'Zero Maida Soya Chaap,' marks a significant advancement in the food industry.

With its nutritional composition, flavor, texture, adaptability, and convenience, this protein-rich is poised to change the protein consumption habits.

Soya chaap has gained immense popularity in northern regions of the country and is now expanding its reach nationwide.

While many available soya chaaps contain a significant amount of maida (refined flour), Pro Chaap stands out as a zero maida and zero cholesterol product, enriched with dietary fibre.

From tikkas and fillings to curries, keemas, biryanis, and even beloved Chinese Chilli dishes and Asian-style stir-fries, Pro Chaap offers endless possibilities with just one product.

With an impressive protein content of 64%, Pro Chaap provides an alternative to both paneer and chicken, making it suitable for positioning as either Chaap or plant-based meat.

Additionally, its extended one-year shelf life and ambient stability make it a convenient choice for people in the food service industry.

It is priced around 30-50% lower than chicken or paneer, Pro Chaap introduces a new protein source for chefs and food service providers, enabling them to offer fresh and innovative choices to their customers while reducing food costs.

This product combines a delightful fusion of protein and nutrient-rich ingredients, elevating vegetarian and plant-based dishes to different levels.

"The plant-based meat and alt-protein industry is at an inflection point, and it is poised for explosive growth. With the advent of Pro Chaap our team has met all the vital benchmarks of taste, price, and nutrition. Now consumers can enjoy tasty and high-quality plant-based proteins at a price of almost 40-50% lower than chicken and paneer.” said, Abhishek Sinha, Co-Founder & CEO, GoodDot.

Pro Chaap is gaining traction in luxury hotels such as Marriott, Novotel, Radisson, Raffles, and others, as well as popular restaurants like Global Grill, Bodhi Tree, and Grillophilia.

Additionally, leading Dhaabas across West and North India have also embraced the product, further solidifying its market presence.

GoodDot remains at the forefront of the plant-based meat sector,  offers an inventive and eco-conscious substitutes for conventional animal-derived products.

By introducing Pro Chaap, GoodDot is commited to transform the food industry by providing cost-effective and highly adaptable choices for food service providers at every stage of the value chain.

Salad Days, a leading brand in the healthy food industry in India, is making entry into Bangalore.

The company intending to establish three cloud kitchens initially and expand further in the coming months.

Capitalizing on its product-market alignment, the brand envisions expanding to other major metro cities in the near future.

Salad Days aims to attract over 500,000 new customers within the next two years.

"Our aim is to meticulously test and refine our standard operating procedures for national expansion over the next few years. Moreover, we anticipate substantial B2B revenue opportunities in Bangalore, which will not only bolster our market presence but also pave the way for our future growth." said Varun Madan, Founder & CEO, Salad Days.

Brand ultimate goal is to make salads and other nutritious choices a regular part of Indian households' dining habits. With a strong network of 10 strategically positioned cloud kitchens across the Delhi-NCR region, the brand emphasizes quality and sustainability.

Their cutting-edge central kitchen, located in the prime area of Udyog Vihar Phase 1 near DLF Cyber City, exemplifies their commitment.

Additionally, Salad Days maintains an organic farm in the prestigious Vasant Kunj area, where they cultivate a variety of fresh ingredients for their menu.

Salad Days provides a wide-ranging menu of nutritious options, encompassing salads, grain bowls, baguette sandwiches, pita pockets, overnight oatmeal bowls, soups, cold-pressed juices, smoothies, and desserts.

They cater to diverse dietary preferences, including Keto-friendly, vegan, detoxifying, gluten-free, and lactose-free choices.

Presently, customers can access their offerings through popular food delivery platforms like Swiggy and Zomato, which ensures affordability and accessibility of their healthy and delectable food options to a broader customer base throughout India.

The Continental Burger Patty is the newest product by Wakao Foods, featuring a jackfruit-based vegan patty that's rich in essential nutrients such as protein, fiber, and spices.

The Patty has an impressive 53% jackfruit content, which is complemented by pea protein and delicious spices to enhance its taste.

This unique blend of ingredients gives the burger patty a nutritional boost, making it a wholesome and flavorful choice for health-conscious individuals.

"Our ardent mission is to offer our valued patrons healthy and nutritious culinary options that are both sustainable and ethically sourced. We are proud to launch the Continental Burger Patty, an innovative addition to our line of vegan products that will appeal not only to our loyal customer base but also to meat enthusiasts searching for healthy and plant-based options." said Sairaj Dhond, Founder and CEO of Wakao Foods

Wakao Foods operates cutting-edge facilities in Goa that adhere to the highest quality standards. This commitment to quality ensures that their products, including the Continental Burger Patty, are not only delicious but also free from any compromise in terms of quality.

With only 113 Kcal per 100 grams, the Continental Burger Patty is a nutritional powerhouse that packs in 10.1 grams of protein, 11.6 grams of carbohydrates, and 7.2 grams of dietary fiber.

The Continental Burger Patty has a shelf life of one year at ambient temperature, and it comes in a 400-gram pack that is priced at an affordable INR 450. This makes it an accessible and appealing option for all consumers, providing a convenient and budget-friendly way to enjoy a flavorful vegan burger.

Healthy food platform EatFit has announced its partnership with ICC for the upcoming Men’s T20 World Cup this year.

EatFit will be ICC’s official online food partner. Through this collaboration, EatFit aims to convey its ethos and the message of healthy food eating to a larger global audience and continues its efforts to help the world lead a clean, better, and health-conscious lifestyle.

For the next few months, EatFit will celebrate the joy of cricket through its cricket mania and will be designing a menu, especially for the World Cup.

This menu will include healthy and tasty food options across cuisines while keeping in mind the nutrition and calorie intake and will be available for users online on Eatfit.

“The love for cricket, its celebrations and food come collectively to millions of people. This partnership between EatFit and ICC marks the happiness of enjoying the highs and lows of cricket with nourishing food, among all its audience,” said Ankit Nagori of Eatfit.

As part of the partnership and the Cricket Mania, 100 EatFit customers will have the opportunity to win tickets to the Men’s T20 World Cup.

EatFit will be launching a large TV, an on-ground and social media campaign to reach millions of people through the platforms of Hotstar & Star Network. The campaign will include EatFit brand ambassadors Varun Dhawan and Mithila Palkar to further convey their belief in sustainable eating and inculcate the habit of nutritious food ordering in users.

This campaign will promote the love for cricket and food, and the need for people to follow a tasty but conscious diet while raising attention towards the health of people.

Anurag Dahiya, Chief Commercial Officer, ICC said, “We are pleased to have EatFit as our official online food partner for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to take place in Australia, later this year. We look forward to working this partnership with EatFit on this cricketing extravaganza.”

The menu has been launched in 6 cities across India, namely Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi and Gurgaon

Healthy food platform EatFit has joined hands with Hrithik Roshan’s HRX to introduce HRX’s premium functional foods to its users.

Directing the users of both brands with similar ethos of a functional lifestyle, the newly launched menu on EatFit is a combination of the EatFit food philosophy and HRX's function utility that will provide healthy food options to its consumers.

“The brand values that are followed at EatFit and HRX, both have a very strong connection where we want to make people’s lifestyles healthier. Having our visions aligned makes for a compelling partnership. With this collaboration, the range of healthy & high-performance food that we are launching at EatFit will appeal to the everyday athlete in all of us who are looking to energise, recover and build themselves,” shared Gokul Kandhi, Chief Business Officer of EatFit.

HRX by Hrithik Roshan is India’s first homegrown wellness and fitness service that believes in nurturing its users with the best version of themselves, through its products that range across fitness, sports equipment, home gym equipment, bicycles, smart wearables, etc. The brand also offers a premium set of foods to its consumers which has been added to the EatFit menu, following the collaboration.

“At HRX, we believe in providing the best of all there is to aid the journey of every individual who wishes to live a wholesome and healthy life. By having fresh, healthy, hot-cooked food to this range with CureFoods, EatFit- HRX just strengthened its position deeper into the health ecosphere. We are excited to announce this partnership in the form of HRX EatFit meals to all our followers, patrons and valuable customers who have been with us and appreciated us,” added Pallavi Barman, Brand Head and Spokesperson, HRX.

The menu is designed primarily to meet the nutrition needs of one’s body, and offers tasty food choices that include pizzas, juices, cold brews, Indian cuisine, salads, desserts, etc., making healthy eating interesting. Every food option is carefully categorised according to the requirements of fitness enthusiasts, based on their body’s needs of consuming the food at the time of pre-workout, post-workout, endurance, indulgence, and recovery throughout the period of their workout.

This menu is launched in 6 cities across India, namely Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi and Gurgaon.

EatFit is one of India’s largest healthy food platforms housed under Curefoods - a leading Indian cloud kitchen player. It currently operates 50 cloud kitchens.

Homegrown consumer foods brand Yu has crafted a range of delicious instant meal bowls that contain ZERO preservatives, additives, artificial flavourings or colours.

Developed using advanced lyophilization technology, chef-curated artisan recipes and natural ingredients, Yu’s meal bowls retain their original taste and aroma while offeringa non-refrigerated shelf life of 12 months.

“We are delighted to transform our vision to reality, especially in the difficult backdrop of the pandemic. We fully recognize the current sentiment of consumers being conscious about their health, dietary intake and nutrition in the foods they consume. Our aim is to bring Yu – our consumer, healthy packaged foods that are wholesome, delicious, full of nutrition, preservative-free and made using recognizable, natural ingredients only,” said Bharat Bhalla and VarunKapur, Co-Founders at Yu who are aiming a large cross-section of consumers by introducing a wide range of meal bowl options appealing to the palette and needs of one and all.

Yu provides all day meal options including breakfast, lunch/ dinner and dessert bowls.

Yu’s products can be enjoyed guilt-free with zero cooking and hassle free preparation by simply adding hot water and allowing the product to rest for 3-4 minutes thereafter. The use of innovative and advanced culinary processes has enabled the brand to launch its products at an attractive price range of INR 75 to 95 per bowl. The ‘clean-label’ consumer foods brand is also adopting sustainable practices by using eco-friendly paper packaging for all its products.

Instant meal bowls by Yu are available across major retailers in Delhi NCR including Reliance Smart, Modern Bazaar, Needs Supermarket, Big Basket and several other general retailers in Gurgaon and South Delhi.

Consumers from pan-India can also easily order Yu meal bowls through the brand's website (www.yufoodlabs.com) and other e-commerce platforms including Amazon, Flipkart and Cora Health.

Founded by Bharat Bhalla and VarunKapur, two serial investment professionals who share a common passion for discovering delicious, wholesome food and making it easily accessible.

Leader in plant-based meat Beyond Meat has announced that following multiple successful launches of its best-in-class plant-based chicken items in foodservice, it is debuting its Beyond Chicken® Tenders at select retailers in the US in response to consumer demand.

In addition to the retail rollout of the delicious plant-based chicken tenders, Beyond Meat is also increasing its retail product distribution of other Beyond Meat products at Walmart stores in which Beyond Meat products are currently sold, making this the third such expansion this year alone.

With crunchy, golden breading and a juicy, tender bite, Beyond Chicken Tenders are designed to offer the same great taste as traditional chicken tenders but with 50% less saturated fat. Like all Beyond Meat products, Beyond Chicken Tenders contain no GMOs, antibiotics, hormones or cholesterol.

The protein in Beyond Chicken Tenders is derived from the faba bean, a nutrient-packed legume crop. Its unique qualities make it the optimal ingredient for replicating the taste and texture of traditional chicken tenders. After popularizing pea protein with the iconic Beyond Burger®, Beyond Meat continues to unlock the potential of new plant protein sources.

“Following the success of our plant-based chicken in restaurants, fans were eager to get their hands on a retail product that’s readily accessible and can be cooked at home anytime,” said Deanna Jurgens, Chief Growth Officer, Beyond Meat.

Beyond Chicken Tenders come pre-cooked, ready-to-heat in the air fryer, oven or microwave for a crowd-pleasing meal that’s ready in under 10 minutes. Starting in October, shoppers can find Beyond Chicken Tenders in the frozen food aisle in select Walmart, Jewel-Osco, Safeway NorCal, Harris Teeter, Giant Food and ShopRite stores across the country with additional availability expected to be added later this year.

Committed to building a sustainable and environment friendly food ecosystem, Pune based food ingredient start-up Proeon announced that it has raised USD 2.4 million as seed capital.

The funding round, led by entrepreneur Shaival Desai, also saw participation from Flowstate Ventures, Peak Sustainability Venture Fund I (executed by Samir Shah on behalf of the Fund), Waoo Partners (Pratul Shroff family office), and other angel investors.

Also Read: Plant-based egg startup Evo Foods bags Rs 6.2 cr in pre-seed round

Existing investor Sanjaya Mariwala, MD of OmniActive Health Technologies Limited also participated in this round.

Speaking on the funding, founders Kevin Parekh and Ashish Korde said, “We are at the centre of creating next-gen plant protein ingredients and are delighted with the trust shown by our investors. By relentlessly focusing on innovation and partnering with large global brands as well as startups, we are working towards creating food products that are hassle-free to formulate, and are loved by consumers.”

The funds will be utilized to enhance growth and set up a research lab in the Netherlands, Europe, filing IP, scaling up production and expanding the team.

“We're really happy to have partnered with Proeon in their journey to innovate in the alternative proteins space. Kevin and Ashish, bring deep industry experience and thorough technical understanding of the proteins space and are the perfect team to cater to this industry that thrives on innovation,” added Desai who has also invested in Licious.

Founded by Ashish Korde and Kevin Parekh in 2018, it specialises in high quality plant protein ingredient innovation to promote clean and healthy food for “people, planet, and conscience”.

With the plant-based proteins sector projected to reach nearly USD 200 Bn by 2027, the founders have struck a chord in the global food industry as food manufacturers are aiming to capture the new market being created. Global consumers are increasingly becoming aware of the impact of their food choices, leading them to opt more and more for plant based diets.

Research from the Good Food Institute India indicates that $3.1B was invested in the broader smart protein sector globally in 2020, up 3x from the year prior as enthusiasm for sustainable and secure protein supply chains deepened during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Replacing meat with plant based alternatives is a critical part of the planet’s journey towards sustainable survival over the next few decades . Proeon’s plant-based protein will play an important role in achieving that sustainability,” said Pratul Shroff.

Currently, the company is working with brands from Europe, North America, and Southeast Asia to build more sustainable and healthier plant-based alternatives such as highly functional plant-based egg-replacement products, clean-label burgers, patties, and alternative dairy products.

Must Read: Healthy, plant-based snacking: Emerging snack trends in India

In collaboration with their partners and customers, they are also aiming to save more than 170 billion liters of water and eliminate about 150 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions by replacing wasteful, animal-based foods with plant-based alternatives.

Mobility and Food - two seemingly disparate sectors are undergoing one of the most transformational shifts, with far-reaching implications for the way we live. Leading the way forward, Bangalore-based Living Food Co. is using electric vehicles for their delivery fleet in the city to integrate the future of food with the future of mobility.

Currently, 30% of Living Food Company’s last-mile logistics is powered by a homegrown electric bike company and they aim to increase the use of electric-powered vehicles to 100% over the next year.

Speaking of the current industrial food supply chain, it is extremely complex and is plagued by inefficient supply management and wastage. With extreme weather ramping up globally, farmers are facing the brunt of climate change in agricultural practices around the world. Food loss and wastage contribute up to nearly 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Such inefficiencies are massive contributors to global warming, and merit urgent action and innovations that are climate-positive.

Living Food Company solves these issues by delivering insanely fresh, high-quality food while producing minimal food waste. From freshly baked bread to vegetables harvested the same day of delivery, they are setting the standards for food that is better quality and lower in carbon footprint.

They source locally from world-class food artisans that are equally conscious about the environment, setting off a cascading ripple effect and building a marketplace that is geared extensively towards sustainable and environment-friendly practices.

“Our goal is to fundamentally change the way people think about food. We are always integrating new ideas and building innovative pathways to shape the future of food for India and the World. What Living Food started a few months ago will stay relevant for years to come. That's what 'sustainable' means — it works and it matters for everyone,” shared Akash Sajith, CEO of Living Food Company.

Nashik-based cloud kitchen known for its nutrilicious meals has opened its doors in Mumbai.

Nutridock is all set to expand and launch their new outlets in the Mumbai suburbs, with plans to launch subscription-based meals soon.

They will be ready to serve in Thane & Dahisar from 5th June; and in Ghatkopar & Lower Parel by the end of June. By the end of the year 2021, they will also be launching at Bandra, Andheri, Goregaon and Powai.

"We want everyone to eat healthy sustainable food. We want to make this achievable to everyone. Healthy food makes a lot of difference in every aspect of your life. Which I think is really important,” shared Aditya Bafna, founder at Nutridock.

Bafna is the founder and a fitness enthusiast is eager to make a healthy lifestyle sustainable and achievable for everyone. Being associated with fitness brands like Asics, Speedo, Giant; he realised the importance of nutrition in fitness, which gave birth to Nutridock. While Celebrity Chef Rakesh Talwar showers direction to this place by wisely designing the recipes with the guidance of their in-house nutritionist, only to bring out the best of health kitchens one could ask for.

The team aspires to impart knowledge about the importance of good nutrition in the journey to physical, mental, and emotional well-being. They aim to guide people in their wellness journey by giving them research-based information about food, and highlight the significance of proper nutrition on the progress of their fitness journey.

Nutridock is a mindful eating concept that offers users to create healthy meal plans. They aim to be the catalyst for a nutrition revolution that is centered around embracing food as fuel for one to get information about food and nutrition themselves, which makes healthy living come naturally.

Their unique menu is both scrumptious and health-driven, and will see an introduction of new dishes every three months. It is categorized into - Rice Bowls, Salads, Wraps, Sandwiches, Smoothies, Juices, and desserts.

The order can be placed directly via Website: https://www.nutridock.com/; they are also available on Zomato & Swiggy.

Bengaluru based Lo! Foods, that offers Low-Carb and Keto friendly packaged products along with Cloud Kitchens across 4 cities, has raised $1 Million in pre-series A funding.

The round has been led by the Chona Family Office, erstwhile promoters of Havmor Ice Cream.

The round also saw participation from Ecosystem Ventures, Raveen Sastry (Co-Founder, Multiply Ventures), KRS Jamwal, Pratyush Prasanna (Gojek) among others.

“We are pleased with the further validation of our products and business model from our existing as well as new investors. Our product range has gained tremendous traction, and the response from our customers has been extremely positive.  Through our relentless focus on product innovation, we will continue to offer newer products and expand our footprint,” shared Sudarshan Gangrade, CEO and Founder, Lo! Foods. 

The funds will be used towards accelerating growth, strengthening existing distribution networks and ramping up marketing.

Lo! Foods covers all Food occasions: from Staples (Atta) to Snacks (Namkeen, Cookies) and Desserts.

The startup has also ramped up to 20 cloud kitchens across Bangalore, Delhi, Gurgaon and Hyderabad that offer fresh Low-Carb food like Parathas, Rolls, Sandwiches on demand through food delivery apps. 

Post selling their ice cream division to Lotte, Mr. Ankit Chona, ex-promoter of Havmor Ice Cream group, has been incubating start-ups as well as investing in early stage consumer brands that have a potential to build a viable business.

“What sets Lo! Foods apart are their deep rooted connection with the Indian customer. Their vision in creating a range of healthy and tasty products that's familiar to and loved by generations of Indians has been well received in the market and we are excited to be a part of their growth story,” added Chona. 

Abhishek Sanghvi, Co-Founder, Ecosystem Ventures, who’s been supporting Lo! Foods since its inception, pointed, “The only way to seamlessly switch to a healthier diet is by creating a range of everyday food products that Indians are used to eating, but low-carb, healthier and just as tasty. Lo! Foods has identified this gap in the market and has thoughtfully created a range of products that offer great health benefits without compromising on taste.” 

Lo! Foods has earlier raised $500,000 from a clutch of well-known angel investors, including Anuj Golecha, co-founder of Venture Catalyst, Rashmi Daga, founder of Freshmenu, Raveen Sastry, co-founder of Myntra, and Mitesh Shah, CFO of BookMyShow. PC Musthafa, co-founder and CEO of ID Fresh Food India, Aditya Somani (serial investor) among others are a part of the advisory team. 

Lo! Foods products are available on its website and on ecommerce sites like Amazon, Flipkart and Bigbasket.

In addition to their Low-Carb products and cloud kitchens, Lo! Foods has also tied up with five-star chains like Hyatt and Sheraton to offer Low carb and keto friendly menu to customers. The company has recently expanded into international markets such as the US, Singapore and Middle East. 

Started in 2019 by Sudarshan Gangrade, a serial entrepreneur and Former Head of Marketing at Ola; Lo! Foods offers a range of healthy Low Carbohydrates and Keto friendly packaged products that are quintessentially Indian.

Bengaluru-based food delivery platform Swiggy has launched Health Hub in Chennai.

It is aimed at making eating of healthy food convenient to the public, shared a statement from Swiggy.

"At Swiggy, we are constantly innovating and introducing new offerings that enable us to meet the evolving needs of our consumers and Health Hub is one such endeavour," shared Vivek Sunder, CEOO, Swiggy.

Also Read: Swiggy launches Health Hub in Bengaluru, to make healthy eating convenient

The Health Hub in Chennai would offer over 9,000 healthy dishes from 700 restaurants across the city and nutritional information on the macro nutrients like protein, carbohydrates, fats and fibre would be listed for each dish, added the statement.

At present over one lakh unique healthy dishes offered by 7,000-plus restaurants are now available on Swiggy Health Hub across five cities including; Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, New Delhi and Chennai.

While Health Hub provides healthy alternatives to South Indian cuisines in Chennai, it also offers healthy alternatives across cuisines including continental, pan Asian, North Indian among others.

May Interest: Indians ate more healthy food in Jan 2021, Swiggy report

"We want to dispel the common notion that healthy food is hard to find, lacking in taste and expensive. Through the launch of Health Hub in Chennai, we are not just empowering the consumers with an array of healthy options but also assisting restaurateurs to create differentiated and dedicated healthy food offerings," he added.

Swiggy has worked with the city's popular restaurants including Grow Fit, D.I.E.T Carry, Get Diety, Millet Maagic Meal, Sweetsoul Buddha Bowls among others.

While the pandemic has rendered a lot of our dreams of eating out futile, it has also led to a more conscious food consumption pattern in people across the world.

Out Of The Blue announces the launch of its special delivery kitchen, One Tight Wrap which is ready to dish out tasty wraps, salads, baked nachos, pure chocolate wraps with no added sugar, and more.

Also Read: How Covid-19 pandemic has given a boost to the delivery biz

Recognizing the need for variety in healthy food that is not just limited to salads, Rahul Bajaj came up with the concept of One Tight Wrap, which boasts of over a dozen varieties of healthy wraps, sweet and savoury, co-created with celebrity chef and artist Ananya Banerjee.

“We wanted to create a menu that would be suitable for someone who is just about dipping his/her toes into healthy eating, who is starting with clean, healthy eating, and even someone who has been following it for a while. Wraps seemed like the perfect amalgamation of the two worlds, interesting salads on a roll,” added Bajaj, Founder, Director, and Conceptualizer at One Tight Wrap.

Their wrap bases are specially made of organic, gluten-free, vegan flours with choices of Amaranth-Beetroot, Amaranth Cauliflower, Soybean-Carrot, Soybean-Cauliflower, and even Sourdough varieties.

One Tight Wrap is also offering vegan, keto, pure chocolate, sugar-free varieties, and Jain specialties too.

With the promise of utmost hygiene practices and quality ingredients, customers have the right to deliver one tight wrap if they find their ingredients sub-par.

May Interest: Restaurants Unlock 2020

“We have always been very cautious about hygiene in all our kitchens, be it Out of The Blue or Deli by The Blue and One Tight Wrap will be no different. Our staff has been quarantined in our Le Sutra Hotel since the beginning of the lockdown and undergoes regular temperature checks, hand washing reminders, and all other precautions necessary at this time to maintain the utmost care and cleanliness discipline,” added Bajaj.

They have also partnered with Swiggy and Zomato, and are delivering their offerings across Mumbai from 18th Nov’20. Patrons can also call in/ WhatsApp their orders on 99200 20227.

Amidst all the chaos and surprises that 2020 had in store for restaurants, Ardor 2.1 is coming back in the market and they are bringing with them something super delicious and amazingly healthy.

Since keeping safe and immune from the virus is everyone’s top priority right now, Ardor 2.1 is coming up with their Vedic Thali that is made using natural immunity boosters like Haldi, Amla, Tulsi, Bharangi, Echinacea , Mulethi, Shankhapushpi and so many more.

Natural Ayurvedic Ingredients, are best known to man since the last 5000 years as the best Immunity Boosters and hence this thali is prepared keeping that in mind.

Also Read: Healthy food start-up Salad Days sees huge potential in Delhi-NCR

Not just the ingredients, but this thali has been more safe and healthy by preparing it in clay pots, the traditional method of cooking, which makes the food so digestive that all of it will be digested in not more than 3-4 hours. 

In addition to the food, Ardor 2.1 is keeping a strict check on the overall safety and health precautions. Every guest, along with their belongings is sanitised, and all the tables are cleaned and re-sanitised after the guests leave.

Also, to maintain safe distance between the tables, they have been placed at a considerable distance with transparent acrylic partitions between tables. 

Must Read: FSSAI develops tool kit to promote safe, healthy food

They are also providing contactless ordering and payment options, along with camera access to their kitchen on your phones (optional).

And the best part is that these cuties are giving a complimentary starter and a 100% cash back gift voucher against the bill to their first 1,000 customers and a 100% cash back voucher to their next 9,000 guests. Aren’t they the best?!

Bengaluru-based on-demand delivery platform Swiggy has launched Health Hub, a dedicated healthy food discovery destination on the main Swiggy app.

With heightened health consciousness, increasing awareness around eating right, and a growing demand for food amongst urban Indians, that is nutritionally measured, Swiggy has worked with nutritionists and top restaurants in the country to enable curation of special health menus and dishes by restaurants.  

“There is a visible demand for healthy food choices by consumers and restaurants are seeking opportunities to innovate and stay relevant to these market changes. With Health Hub, we want to boost healthy eating patterns across the country and dismiss commonly held beliefs that healthy food is bland, hard to find and expensive,” said Vivek Sunder, COO, Swiggy.

Health Hub will further assist consumers in deciding what to order by becoming the first food delivery platform in the country where the restaurants will be able to share detailed nutritional information on macronutrients like protein, carbs, fats etc for dishes.

Over 10,000 unique healthy dishes from 1,000+ restaurant outlets are available on the platform at present. Health Hub is currently live for android users in Bangalore and will expand to Mumbai, Hyderabad and Delhi in the next few weeks.

To enable restaurant partners to quickly adapt, Swiggy is providing support in menu design, ingredient sourcing, staff training, branding and marketing. For instance, Swiggy has worked with one of Bangalore’s favourite restaurants - Truffles, to assist in curating a dedicated healthy menu and offer healthier versions of some of their most popular dishes.

“Truffles is excited to launch its curated healthy menu through Swiggy Health Hub. Keeping in mind the growing health consciousness among customers, we have launched a curated healthy menu on Swiggy called "Healthy Twists". We think Swiggy Health Hub will be a single destination for healthy food for all palates and we are excited to serve our patrons with the new healthy menu by Truffles,” added Avinash Bajaj, Director, Truffles Hospitality Pvt Ltd.

Currently, Health Hub is live in 30+ areas in Bangalore and provides healthy options from popular restaurants including Grow Fit, Truffles, Adiga’s, Chai Point, Apsara Ice Creams, Brooklyn Creamery to name a few.

“Health hub is a great platform offering healthy food choices, keeping in mind the current scenario. Along with Chaayos' signature Meri Wali Chai, patrons can enjoy their favourite beverages, nashta and snacks that are not just flavorful but also healthy and nutritious!” says Nitin Saluja, Founder, Chaayos Meri Wali Chai.

Subway has been our go-to restaurant when it comes to a healthy diet. Keeping in mind the customer taste, Subway India has enhanced the quality of its protein flavours and revitalized its menu across its 660-plus restaurants in the country. With this, Subway aims to bring in more wholesome and a flavourful meal experience for its customers. Here is all you need to know about the changes :

• The improved list of protein includes, ChatpataChana (filling), previously known as ChatpataChana Patty, Roasted Chicken Strips has replaced the previously known Roasted Chicken and enhanced Tandoori Chicken Tikkaand Tandoori Tofu flavours.
• The new menu boards are designed to make the complete ordering process simple, while offering guests to choose from wide variety of submarine sandwiches, wraps, salads, combos and value-offers.

Ms ShuchiMonga, Head of Marketing, Subway South Asia said, “It’s very important for us to delight the guests with something new and exciting on a regular basis. What we have done this time is to bring in five new and improved flavours, which we feel would excite them enough to come and try.”

To promote these five different flavours, Subway India has rolled out an integrated campaign conceptualised by Dentsu Impact and produced by Happy Making Films. The campaign aims to highlight the appeal and generate temptation towards the new offerings. It revolves around a young working professional who on a regular day becomes the centre of attraction as he unwraps one of the new sandwiches (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9e9OSTRHBQE).

Ms Anupama Ramaswamy, National Creative Director, Dentsu Impact, states, “The younger lot is on a constant lookout to try newer things before anyone else does and thus seek attention. Learning from the same observation, the film features a young professional who makes heads turn as he unwraps one of the new Subway sandwiches, which tempts others to gravitate towards him.’’

Mr Gaurav Kandpal, Director, Happy Making Films said, “We have kept the narrative very pacey. We have added an interesting twist to the protagonist in the end to show a transformation in his physical personality reflecting the state of his mind from people’s attention around and the sub he’s having.”

The campaign is being promoted on digital platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, HotStar, SonyLiv and InShorts. Considering the popularity of Subway sandwiches and wraps, this new change in the menu is surely going to revive and enhance people’s love for Subway. And the campaign will surely help expand the customer base alongwith rekindling the existing ones.

IraYoga Wellness today announced a partnership with the rapidly expanding Fabcafés across the country to promote wellness and healthy living in the country. Inspired by Indian Bistro, Fabcafe is an all-day dining concept with lush green interiors and regionally inspired healthy traditional Indian cuisine. They have an evolving menu where they  innovate Indian Food using local, organic and nourishing ingredients. The idea  is to serve food that is fresh, simple, healthy, and flavours that are uncomplicated and clean. As a part of this collaboration, IraYoga led by Yoga Acharya – Ira Trivedi will hold special yoga sessions across 28 Fabcafés starting with Delhi NCR.

Commenting on this association Rebekah Blank, Brand Head of Fabcafé said, “We are very excited to announce this association with Ira. Fabcafés are an extension of Fabindia’s brand philosophy of organic, Indian and healthy and this collaboration is a further commitment to this belief. We want to sync our initiatives with Fit India program, and IraYoga is most apt to promote all round wellness and healthy living.  As a company, this is our continued focus into creating a unique and delightful experience for our customers. We will continue to expand with this model in the upcoming quarters.”

Ira Trivedi – Yoga Acharya and Founder of IraYoga stated, “I am thrilled with this partnership with Fabcafé and this augurs well for the promotion of health, wellness through yoga in the stress filled and dynamic work environments of our country. I am infusing new techniques which will cater to everyone – women, men, millennials, GenZ to sample the dynamism of the benefits of yoga in our daily lives. Through the IraYoga app, patrons can also get performance enhancing yoga moves to help maximized productivity and minimize stress and pressure.”

We live in a world where due to our heads sunk into our deskjobs, unhealthy lifestyle has become inevitable. In such a scenario, we need more such partnerships so as to remind ourselves to priortize our health.  

The Date House, a new premium healthy food product line, will soon launch its first outlet in Chandigarh at Elante Mall. The new store will be catering to the new varieties of premium and best dates from across the world.

The healthy food store’s product category consists of premium pitted dates, filled dates, chocolate dates, Azwa and Mejdool dates.

Besides dates, The Date House will also launch date oats cookies, honey oats cookies, coconut cookies and honey almond cookies during the launch of the store in Chandigarh.

Date is the healthiest sweet alternative, satisfying sweet cravings and people’s health needs. Being a great source of energy, vitamin A, calcium and iron, these dates are filled with health benefits. Dates have zero fat, zero cholesterol, and a high percentage of dietary fibre.

The Date House’ product portfolio includes the imported dates from Saudi Arabia and Jordan, almonds and walnuts from the USA and pistachios from Iran.

Ashish Dang, Director, The Date House, said, “The world is moving towards healthy food and natural sweetener. There is a greater emphasis on natural food products than ever, and the market size is growing exponentially.”

“These natural products have a global taste palette, which makes it appealing all across. We are seeing greater demand from Indian customers in this segment, towards a holistic healthy lifestyle. Keeping this in mind, we have bought the best products from all over the world to satisfy our Indian customers’ needs,” he added.

Surging Demand for Healthy Food Segment

We have seen different concepts and trends coming to India over the last two years. With burgers becoming the QSR favorites and pizza capturing the party scenes, the health food segment has also grown eventually in the Indian market.

Nowadays, people do not only want to eat food, but they are much more focused on getting healthy food at a reasonable price with taste in it. With the growing awareness of healthy foods and healthy diets on the menu, the young office goers and the students are more attracted to the healthy food being offered in the market.

Experts say that consumption of healthy food is a part of a broader ‘lifestyle’, and with growing prosperity, the demand prospects do look bright in the years to come. 

In India, the health-conscious segment is catering to around 50 lakh people in the top six cities, including Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad and Chennai. It is growing at 10-15% annually with market size of Rs 12,500 crore at present.

Breakfast is regarded to be a significant meal because it breaks the period of overnight fasting, replenishes your glucose supply and offers other essential nutrients to maintain your energy levels up all day long. Keeping in mind the significance of breakfast, Mother’s Recipe, India’s leading household name in the ethnic food division, has expanded their instant mix category with the launch of traditional Indian breakfast Upma.

The South Indian specialty prepared using the freshest and authentic ingredients like semolina (suji), Black gram dal (Urad dal) Onion, green chilli, cumin, curry leaf, lemon powder and asafetida seasoned for your convenience with mother’s magical touch. Consumers just need to add hot water and it is ready to eat in five minutes.

Sanjana Desai, Chief Strategy Officer, Mother’s Recipe, said, “The instant food is gaining popularity in India because of the comfort and accessibility of products that provide the genuine flavour of Indian food across retail channels. According to a report by Future Market Insights, India’s instant food market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 15.7% and reach a valuation of US$ 284.4 Mn by 2020.”

“The key factors driving instant food are employee affluence and growing millennial customers along with a rise in working women's population which has resulted in altering lifestyles and less time for home cooking. As a result, we continuously innovate in line with the growing consumer expectations while providing our customers with the finest quality & tastier products,” Desai further added.

Mother’s Recipe’s Upma pack is available in 73gm Cup Upma and 170 gm pillow pouch across all hypermarkets, local stores, exclusive brand outlets and Mother’s Recipe e-store in major & mini metro cities. Cup Upma is competitively priced at Rs 50 and pillow pouch at Rs 35, the instant mix Upma has a shelf life of nine months.

The Current Scenario of Mother’s Recipe

Mother’s Recipe was founded in 2001 by Desai Brother’s Ltd and has successfully expanded to all regions across India as well as 42 countries around the world.

What started as a pickle brand has today grown exponentially, consisting of a diverse product range including, Condiments, Pastes, Spices, Papads, Appalams, Cooking Pastes, Curry Powders, Ready to Cook Spice Mixes, Ready to Eat meals (Canned and Retort Packing), Mango Chutneys, Ethnic Chutneys, Chaat-Chutneys, Canned Vegetables, & Mango Pulp.

Desai said, “The FMCG market is ever-evolving, and consumers are always looking for something new and exciting. The Indian FMCG market has been growing steadily at 25% per annum. Even the pickles, where Mother’s Recipe are market leaders have been growing at 10.7% CAGR and RTE/RTC categories at 17% CAGR. With a market that is cluttered with multiple players, Mother’s Recipe as a brand has continued to stand out due to its diverse range of products, and constant focus on reinvention, to meet consumer demands.”

Future plans

With the renewed focus on growing categories like Condiment Pastes, Ready to Cook, instant mixes and other verticals the company predicts an impressive growth of 22% year on year.

On the exports front, the company plans to expand its current global footprint to newer markets like Europe & Africa.

Currently, Mother’s Recipe exports to 42 countries with exports contributing to 40% overall revenue. Apart from this, the company is aggressive looking at expanding its HORECA and food services solution business verticals.

Ripsey, a Mumbai-based health-food tech startup, has opened new outlets in Powai and Chembur adding to its existing outlet in BKC. With this expansion, Ripsey is ready to offer delectable healthy food to the entire Mumbai region.

Ripsey offers a full-stack subscription solution where a top-class team plans, cooks, delivers and tracks the health goal journey for the consumers. In addition to the subscription, one can taste the tantalizing Ripsey flavors through food aggregators like Swiggy, Zomato, Uber Eats.

Ripsey’s current menu of subscription plans helps the consumers with their various health goals such as Fat Loss, Muscle Gain, Stay Fit and Keto. The team tailors the food plan to one’s dietary requisites, cooks the meals, delivers the food as well as tracks the health goal progress.

Alekhya Boora, CFO and Head of Corporate Strategy, Ripsey, said, “We are very attentive to the consumers, and we constantly improvise on our recipe offerings and service based on our customer feedback. Both our product strategy and operational strategy is designed around providing a seamless experience to a consumer that is looking to ‘eat-healthy’.”

 Recently, the company has also raised funding from the Stand-up Government India Fund, which aims to support women entrepreneurs.

Also Read: Is Healthy Food The Next Big Thing

Silky Singh, CEO and CTO, Ripsey, stated, “The new outlets are a natural evolution in the business. We are extremely delighted to launch these outlets and spread the wonderful flavors of Ripsey. We make our own food, everything is made on-site in our kitchens, by a team of top chefs. Every operation is in-house, and thus we ensure the food quality, taste, and safety. We are constantly innovating, and we are looking to launch several new plans in the coming months.”

 “We are excited about our next roll-out and their launch is an answer to numerous feedback and requests that we have received from our customers. We are all geared up to launch Ripsey Athlete, a plan focused on folks with intense activity lifestyle, and Ripsey Cutter, a customized and personalized approach to Fat Loss that ensures the achievement of the health goals in an expeditious manner. The idea behind the new launch is to leverage our data insights and technology and create food that the customer is looking to eat. We have many more exciting plans in the works,” Alekhya further added.

Also Read: How healthy food segment is fuelling demand

Surging Demand for Healthy Food Segment

We have seen different concepts and trends coming to India over the last two years. With burgers becoming the QSR favorites and pizza capturing the party scenes, the health food segment has also grown eventually in the Indian market.

Nowadays, people do not only want to eat food, but they are much more focused on getting healthy food at a reasonable price with taste in it. With the growing awareness of healthy foods and healthy diets on the menu, the young office goers and the students are more attracted to the healthy food being offered in the market.

Experts say that consumption of healthy food is a part of a broader ‘lifestyle’, and with growing prosperity, the demand prospects do look bright in the years to come. 

A new healthy food brand ‘Binge Baefikar’ has been launched in Kolkata, targeting Kolkata foodies who are keen to enhance their health quotient at an affordable price. Anisha Mohta, who has unveiled Binge Baefikar, is looking at serving binge eaters who love to satisfy their hunger pangs with mouthwatering snacks and dishes and at the same time, would like to keep themselves fit and maintain perfect weight.

Binge Baefikar will be operating through a cloud kitchen format. The startup will be available exclusively on platforms such as Swiggy and Zomato to start with.

The new food brand will provide a healthy alternative of popular food items across different cuisines without compromising on the taste. It has created recipes for those following keto, vegan and gluten-free diets as well.

Mohta said, “Workplace stress and hectic lifestyle coupled with binge eating especially among the urban population has led to major lifestyle disorders like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity and depression. These diseases have assumed alarming proportions in India too. This prompted me to come up with a healthy food brand that would keep people active, productive and happy. Our brand caters to working mother, children, youngsters as well as senior citizens who need to maintain a healthy lifestyle with optimum nutrition.”

“As a lactose intolerant and vegetarian foodie, it has been always a challenge for me to choose what to eat when eating out. The lack of mindful healthy eating options made me sad often. I wanted to enjoy yummy restaurant food like others do but couldn't. This motivated me to create my brand. I hope our well-curated food items would help a lot of people who face such problems,” she added.

Significant numbers of people are looking for ways to get healthy and most of them do it by working out. Ripsey is a full-stack solution for those who are looking to eat healthy.

Silky Singh, CEO & CTO, Ripsey, said, “We have interacted with more than 2,000 consumers, who had lots to say about being healthy. Most of them don’t know how to go about it, a good number of people have issues sticking with a diet that’s part of their work-out regime as the food can get boring. Bunch of them are limited by skills to cook the right food, and it almost always lacks variety. And there is a notion that healthy food is bland as it’s mostly soups and salads. We found our product fit right there and Ripsey is born.”

“We think of food as a preventive measure to illness. It helps build immunity. We believe in doing everything in-house, so we have control over the food and we can promise quality, hygiene and safety,” she added.

Ripsey was founded with an aim to be a deep-tech platform with Health Food as A Service.

Singh further stated, “The biggest challenge that I have faced when I was trying to get fit, was my inability to stick to a diet regime as it often gets boring, and most of the diet plans need supplementation via a range of multi-vitamins and protein powders. The idea of Ripsey was born out of the fact that food is our primary source of nutrients, and we should rely on food to achieve fitness. Most people have health goals that they want to achieve and Ripsey is their health goal partner. Ripsey is a character, your nutritionist, your chef, your motivator to be healthy.”

Ripsey offers health plans like Stay Fit, Muscle Gain, Fat Loss as well as Keto through short term subscription options for 5 days or 4 weeks, and provides a multi-cuisine menu.

As the healthy foods market is fast picking up in India, Salad Days is all set to grow its presence. The healthy food start-up has launched its operations in Noida, after leading the market in Gurgaon and South Delhi.

Founded by Varun Madan, Salad Days was started with a vision to provide authentic salads as complete meals, and not just sides.

Madan said, “Back in 2013, we realised that there is a clear white space in the market for genuine healthy food, which is tasty and filling too. The customers didn’t have any clear option that served raw food as full meals. And the commonly-available salads and subs were not healthy because they were loaded with cream and mayonnaise. Hence, we introduced and an array of salads served with extra virgin olive oil-based vinaigrettes, which is the right way to have them.”

The brand has expanded its menu over the years with relevant healthy categories such as cold pressed juices, smoothies, pita pockets, baguette sandwiches and sugarless desserts.

“We are foolishly focussed about our brand positioning, which is healthy food only; and that is not going to change,” Madan stated.

Going further, Salad Days is poised to penetrate further in Delhi NCR and expand in other geographies by way of newer integrated business models.

Kale and Kaffe, a restaurant serving healthy dishes, has launched its second outlet in Bandra.

The restaurant was founded by Abhishek Chhabria, Karan Chhabria and Aditya Wanwari. It promises an unmatched, keto-friendly and satisfying experience. Kale and Kaffe’s offerings include the Superbowl menu, and additional keto dishes, which is designed by nutritionist Dhriti Udeshi.

Abhishek Chhabria said, “We do not want a healthy food to just be a luxury. We want it to be affordable to the masses.”

Aditya Wanwari stated, “Also, with its superbowl menu, we want to promote Kale and Kaffe as a place, that is not just for munch-ins and coffee, but also a place where people can have a hearty guilt-free meal, on the days they are looking for a healthy lunch.”

Designed by Udeshi, the keto menu provides options like Avocado Hummus, Aglio Olio Zoodles, and Butter Garlic Prawns. The breakfast options include Pesto and Roasted Tomato Omelette and Truffle Oil Scrambled Eggs and Mushrooms.

Chocolate maker Mondelez has launched a new variant of its popular Dairy Milk chocolate with 30% less sugar as it seeks to attract health-conscious Indian consumers.

The product will be introduced simultaneously in the UK and India, making it the chocolate maker’s first such effort at reducing sugar in its products in India.

Anil Viswanathan, Director, Marketing (Chocolates), Mondelez India, said, "We believe this could be category-defining. Our main challenge was to get the taste right."

"Staying true to the brand's 'Wahi Swaad, Wahi Mithaas' proposition, the team has been working to find a way to achieve the much-loved original Dairy Milk taste whilst delivering 30 per cent less sugar and no added artificial sweeteners, colours, preservatives or calories. It has been reformulated with ingredients such as fibre," he added.

The new chocolate will be priced at Rs 50 for 43 gms, while the regular Dairy Milk bar of a similar size is available for Rs 40.

Deepak Iyer, President of Mondelez India, stated, "It will be retailed across modern and traditional trade and e-commerce platforms by June 20. The launch will be supported by a high-impact digital-led campaign."

Faraway Foods Pvt. Ltd, a Mumbai-based startup that sells healthful snacks for children under The Mumum Co. brand, has raised angel funds worth Rs 3.4 crore ($500,000) from a clutch of wealthy individuals.

The round was led by Nisa Godrej, executive chairman of Godrej Consumer Products Ltd, and Siddharth Parekh and Sumeet Nindrajog, co-founders of private equity firm Paragon Partners, said a press statement.

The company, which sells snacks such as roasted grain puffs, is going to use the capital mainly for expansion in key metros and Tier-I cities. Currently, the products are available at over 100 stores across Mumbai, Bengaluru and Pune. A part of the capital will be also used to launch more varieties in healthful snacks category.

The company was launched in September last year by Farah Nathani Menzies and Shreya Lamba. “When we became parents, we looked around for healthful, real, yet fun food to feed our children. We soon realised that many parents were in the same boat, but with very few trustworthy options,” Lamba said on the inspiration behind The Mumum Co.

The Mumum Co. snacks are also available on online channels such as Amazon and FirstCry. The brand is set to expand to over eight more cities by the end of the year.

“We strongly believe The Mumum Co. is well-positioned to capture a significant share of the large, untapped healthful snacking market for kids in India,” said Parekh of Paragon Partners.

The Mumum Co. competes with the likes of Timios brand, which raised an undisclosed amount from the seed fund of packaged food company MTR Foods Pvt. Ltd in May this year.

Several deals have been reported in the healthful snacks category in the recent past.

Last month, Wholesome Habits Pvt. Ltd, which sells healthful snack bars under the brand name Eat Anytime, raised $500,000 (Rs 3.43 crore) in seed funds from early-stage investment firm Sprout Venture Partners and a few wealthy individuals.

Homegrown private equity firm Rabo Equity Advisors also invested money in nutrition bar maker Naturell India.

Last year, Mumbai-based LightSaber Food Ventures Pvt. Ltd, which sells healthful snacks through online and offline channels under the Snackible brand, had raised angel funds worth $175,000.

Singapore-based CCube Angels Network has invested Rs 3.5 crore (around $515,000) in health- and nutri-foods maker Inner Being Wellness Pvt. Ltd, which markets its products under the brand ‘Inner Being’.

In a statement, the Hyderabad-headquartered firm said that it plans to use the fresh capital for product development and expansion in tier-1 cities in India and a few other countries.

Launched in 2012 by Pavan Raj Kanungo and headed by CS Jadhav, Inner Being offers items in the wellness, nutricare, and nutrifood categories. It also owns and operates an online store.

“Inner Being is introducing traditional foods like millets, quinoa and other ancient grains in more contemporary formats that appeal to the modern generation such as breakfast mixes, snack mixes, savory snacks, crackers, cookies and energy bars,” said Jadhav.

The company currently offers several millet-based products such as jowar idli, jowar upma, ragi malt, jowar flakes, millet cookies in Hyderabad and is now in the process of expanding to Delhi and Mumbai this year. It plans to spread to 10 cities in couple of years.

Inner Being is also preparing to launch a range of new mixes such as quinoa porridge, millet & nut cake, gluten-free pizza, and millet pancake which will cater to health-conscious consumers.

Inner Being had last year secured funding from Springforth Investment Managers (SIM), a startup accelerator launched by mid-market focused investment banking firm Springforth Capital Advisors Pvt. Ltd.

“We have a strong belief that nutricereals will be the next smart food and specially millet, being a dry land crop, will improve livelihoods at the rural level and at the same time offer nutritious products to the urban consumers,” said Atim Kabra, director of Frontline Strategy, which manages CCube Angels Network.

CCube Angels Network has been structured as a pledge fund. It had earlier backed companies such as Hyperdata.IO, Simbus Technologies, Omnipresent Retail India Pvt. Ltd, Kloneworld, and Cashe.

Seeking to promote safe and healthy food, FSSAI today said it will provide a training tool kit to health workers at the proposed 1.5 lakh wellness centres under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme for raising public awareness on the issue at the grass root levels.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) will tomorrow launch a national campaign -- The Eat Right Movement -- with health and wellness centres to integrate its existing initiatives 'Safe and Nutritious Food' (SNF) at schools, home and workplace as well as food fortification, its CEO Pawan Kumar Agarwal said.

"Under this movement, we have developed a tool kit for health workers as well as citizens. This will be made available and integrated to 1.5 lakh health and wellness centres. We want to scale up our existing initiatives and reach out to masses," he told .

The Eat Right tool kit would serve as a supplementary engagement resource to be mainstreamed in the national nutrition and public health programmes, he said, adding that the focus is on preventive healthcare through social and behavioral change on eating safe and healthy food.

FSSAI's Chief Management Service Officer Madhavi Das said the tool kit has clear and simple message on eating healthy food and avoiding food with high fat, sugar and salt.

It also includes components on eating safe such as maintaining hygiene and sanitation and food adulteration.

"We are also bringing out TV commercial as well as posters to spread awareness about eating safe and healthy food," she said.

The tool kit is designed to provide food safety and nutrition messages for citizens in an interesting and engaging manner.

It aims to train frontline health workers, under the Ayushman Bharat, ASHA and Anganwadi schemes, to deliver these messages effectively to prevent non-communicable diseases like diabetes, obesity and heart ailments, and avoid food borne diseases.

"Healthy diet is one of the key responses to the rising incidence of non-communicable diseases," Das said.

Under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme, the government aims to open 1.5 lakh health and wellness centre by 2022, which would be equipped to treat host of diseases, including blood pressure, diabetes, cancer and old-age illness.

India’s food regulator has asked restaurants to voluntarily print calorie counts on their menus to promote healthy eating habits, as is done in the west, but they say it will be a challenge as recipes are not standardized and ingredient quantities keep changing.

The authority has also asked e-commerce and retail companies to promote healthy options such as fortified foods on their landing pages and checkout counters.

“This is a way to nudge food companies to do something which is in the interest of the health of the nation,” said Pawan Agarwal, chief executive of the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI), adding that it was a part of its Eat Right Movement. This will include commitments from food companies on reformulation of their products with less salt and sugar besides elimination of trans fats in a phased manner.

Restaurants will be required to promote safe and healthy eating practices and help consumers in making informed choices through calorie information labelling.

They will also be required to voluntarily include low fat, salt and sugar variants on the menu. It will be a stiff challenge to assign calories to dishes, said representatives of restaurants and food chains across the country.

“The recipes of dishes on the menu in a restaurant are not standardised, so it will be a huge challenge to mention calorie count of dishes on the menu,” said National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) secretary general Prakul Kumar, adding that the quantity of ingredients in the same dish may vary from day to day.

The authority has also asked packaged food companies to commit to reducing sugar, unhealthy fats and salt in a phased manner.

“Big food companies including Nestle, ITC, Patanjali, big quick service restaurant (QSR) chains (including halwai associations), major organised retailers and ecommerce players including Big-Basket, Amazon Grofers will make a simple commitment and sign a pledge to promote healthy eating,” Agarwal said.

Albinder Dhindsa, co-founder Grofers, said the company will promote FSSAI's eating right initiative through a dedicated collection and store. “we are committed to promoting healthy food on our platforms. We will welcome and support every step taken towards raising public awareness on issues at the grass root level,” he added.

The food regulator has also proposed to limit the maximum trans-fat content in vegetable oils, vegetable fat and hydrogenated vegetable oil to 2% by weight as part of its goal to make India trans-fat-free by 2022.

The regulator has invited the top food companies, QSR chains, oil companies and organised retailers to join the self-regulation exercise.

Parag Milk Foods Ltd., one of the largest private dairy company in India, has collaborated with ColoPlus AB, a Swedish research organization to launch its first 100 percent natural immunity booster called GO Colo Power in India. This strategic collaboration enables Parag Milk Foods to strengthen its offerings in the health and nutrition segment, which further reiterates its leadership in the value added products category.

Made from the first milk of cows just after calving, Colo Power is enriched with immunoglobulins and probiotics and has the same goodness equivalent to that of a mother’s first milk. Go Colo Power, a product in powder form, which can be mixed into porridge, contains high colostrum values which helps fight diseases like AIDS, diarrhea, etc that reduce the body’s immuno-defensive powers. The use of colostrum helps to build long-term immunity and improves and strengthens the digestive system.

Highlighting the need for Colo Power, Conny Hagman, CEO, ColoPlus said, “Colostrum is rich in essential immunoglobulins and nutrients that helps in increasing the resistance to diseases. The health benefits of this milk is not just limited to the new borns but is beneficial for people of all age groups. Earlier you could only get Colostrum in a capsule or pure powder form, which could not be completely absorbed completely by the body; but now with Colo Power, one can get the same benefits of Colostrum in food form, as a porridge, and with our patented technology, it provides much higher absorption. Colo Power is also good in taste, easier to prepare and has a longer shelf life. Swedish Embassy was instrumental in linking us with a high quality and reputed partner like PMFL that aims to provide health benefits to the citizens of India, a key step towards improving public health.”

Elaborating on the association, Devendra Shah, Chairman, Parag Milk Foods said, “The launch Colo Power by Parag Milk Foods is the reflection of responsibility of giving back to the society. We are the first company to create a unique colostrum-based health food, which provides long-term immunity not just to ill people but also helps to build preventive immunity for one’s lifetime with its high immunoglobulin content. We have established an elaborate mechanism to collect colostrum milk from dairy farmers which not only provides an avenue to use the first milk which otherwise would have gone waste, but also provides them much higher returns. This high value colostrum is then converted into Go Colo Power by using the patented technology. It is scientifically proven that the colostrum present in Colo Power helps in increasing the immunity of patients suffering from Cancer, Diarrhea, apart from building one’s long-term immunity.”

Colo Power is available in 200 gms and is priced at Rs 750. The product will be available in e-commerce platforms and all metro cities.

Having occupied a major chunk of Delhi’s healthy food & drinks Market during 8 months period, NutrioBox has recently started its operations to Gurgaon region.

The F&B startup initiated by two young, energetic minds, Satvik Ahuja & Aayush Yadav, NutrioBox is aimed to capitalize the idea of serving Healthy, Fresh and Tasty food.

“These days being healthy and fit is a new rage and need of the hour. Most of the corporates are also opting for healthy food delivering options as most of them have sitting jobs and less of workout time. Due to erratic work schedules, health concerns are increasing at a very high rate. NutrioBox provides an affordable and expansive platform offering healthy, fresh and great tasting dishes with adaptive and flexible ordering options for people to fulfill their daily healthy diet requirements,” says Satvik Ahuja, Co-founder, NutrioBox.

NutrioBox aims to be an umbrella organization in the health and lifestyle sector with complementing fitness assistance and retail services being very carefully ideated and conceptualized by the team. The brand produces everything in-house from bread, bakery products, cold press juices to finger-licking sauces and much more to deliver rightly on the trust, our customers have had in the brand from the very start.

“We are very excited to see how the Gurgaon audience will respond to our products as we believe this market’s needs are totally different from North West Delhi segment. We are very enthralled to serve the millennial city crowd”, says Aayush Yadav, Co-founder, NutrioBox.

Currently, having a setup of a state-of-the-art base kitchen in Gurgaon and an inviting cozy cafe in Rohini, NutrioBox stands as a trendsetter in the health food segment. The team is continuously striving to deliver an expansive menu with delicious food options to find a healthy spot in everyone’s daily lifestyle. NutrioBox procures 100% farm fresh and organic ingredients to pass on the trust to their customers. Also with a strong focus on dietary regime, NutrioBox has great offerings for Gluten Free, Keto, Paleo and other diets.

The brand aims to influence the F&B market in the country by providing healthy lifestyle food as they are ready to capture the Gurgaon market with retail and corporate collaborations.

                                                                                                                      With Inputs From: Shah Mohsin

Amul has reached to yoga guru Baba Ramdev to purchase fodder for its dairy located in gujrat. After bagging order from amul, patanjali has now increade competition in fodder segment.

Yash Pal Arya, head of Patanjali Forage, a division of Patanjali Ayurvedsaid “the company has brought a technology from the US to produce corn silage--green fodder derived from corn crop that is known to increase milk yield in cows. The plan, which entails roping in farmers to grow corn, will also help boost the fortunes of farmers.”

RS Patel, Deputy general manager of Sabarkantha dairy said “The technology will help in increasing productivity, which will eventually improve the quality of the product. Amul will purchase 10,000 metric tonnes of corn silage from Patanjali's plant at Himmatnagar in Gujarat in an "initial order" worth Rs 6 crore. “

The first body which has signed to purchase fodder from dairy is Sabarkantha Dairy. Sabarkantha dairy is the largest milk unions under the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation which sells it’s food product to Amul.

GCMF Chairman Jetha patel said "We will be supplying the silage produced by Patanjali to our farmers. Not only will this improve the quantity and quality of milk but will also help marginal farmers who have two to three cows. Dairy owners in India generally leave cows and buffalos to graze on patchy grass cover and supplement it with dry fodder and a homemade nutrient mix.”

LT Food has partnered with Japan Kameda Seika and will Invest 5 Million dollar to launch rice based snack products. The company will launch its premium rice based snack Kari Kari in India.

LT Food said in a statement "LT Foods has entered into an exclusive 51:49 joint ventures with major Japanese rice based snack maker to manufacture and market rice based snacks in India. Company will invest around USD 5 million in the launch phase and plan to expand its presence across India in coming months. With this launch, LT Foods will enter the premium healthy snacks market which is growing at an exponential rate. The products will be available in four flavours including spice mania, salt and pepper, wasabi and chilli garlic.”

Ashwani Arora, Managing Director and CEO, LT Foods said, "Growing urbanisation, rising disposable incomes, growing working class and increasing health consciousness is creating greater demand for innovative value-added products. The launch of 'Kari Kari' brand is our response to customers looking for healthy premium snacking."

LT Food has already several brands in India which is marking its presence for many years. Brand like Daawat, royal, Ecolife and many more.

Michiyasu Tanaka, Chairman and CEO of Kameda Seika said “After successful launch of our snacks in 4 countries, India is 5^th country outside Japan where we are launching Kameda Seika Products.”  

IKEA, a Swedish multinational group of companies that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture appliances and home accessories, is all set to open its restaurant store in Hyderabad. The store will feature 7,500 furniture and home furnishing products and a 1,000-seater restaurant serving healthy and nutritious Indian and Swedish cuisine.

The company, which received Government approval in 2013 to invest Rs 10,500 crore in India under the 100 per cent foreign direct investment route, plans to open its second store in Mumbai.

And going further, it plans to open 25 stores in nine Indian cities. However, the size of all the stores will be different just like its other 328 stores around the globe.

Henrik Österström, Country Food Manager, IKEA India, said, "We are planning to serve healthy food at affordable prices to attract more people to our store.” He further added, “As the restaurant will open within half an hour of opening of the store, we may give coffee for free and then thereby attract people little bit earlier than the normal time."

Österström said, "We won't be serving the traditional meatballs just like the rest of the world. We will only be serving Chicken and Veg Balls in a traditional way with mashed potato, cream sauce and lingo berries."

He further added, "We will never force anyone to eat Swedish food, there will always be an option of either eating global or local food. The prices of the dishes available at the restaurant will be affordable. We plan to have the lowest prices of the comparable products. Our local range will be open to price comparison whereas the global range is an exclusive range which the consumer won’t be able to find anywhere else."

Globally, the restaurant business accounts for 5.4 per cent of the total revenue of IKEA whereas in India, the furniture giant is expecting the restaurant to contribute 10 per cent of the total revenue.

Life Health Foods (India) Pvt. Ltd., a brand known for health beverages, has launched plant milk extracted from almonds for the first time in India under the brand name ‘Almond Fresh’.

The product high on calcium and vitamin D, Almond Fresh is made from the highest quality Californian Almonds. It is available in natural, chocolate and vanilla flavors in 200 ml and 1l formats. Company has roped in Brett Lee, former Australian speedster, as its brand ambassador. Speaking about his new associations, Aussie cricketer commented that he is passionate about healthy products that taste great and it’s exciting to see almond milk now available in India. He encourages people, young and old, to try this new health drink which is a healthy source of calcium and vitamin D with lower calories than dairy milk.

Rohit Bhagat, Business Head, Life Health Foods (India) Pvt. Ltd., opined that Almond Fresh is an innovative and nutritious health beverage from the stable of Life Health Foods. Traditionally, almonds have always been popular in India’s culture for their richness and nutritive value. Brand is very positive about almond milk and company is confident that it will also earn a deserving spot on the Indian breakfast table”.

The formulation and technology for making almond milk has been designed with the support and careful oversight from the parent company from Australia. Being plant-based, Almond Fresh is naturally Cholesterol Free, low in Sodium and preservative free. 

At a time when Indian food business is growing at the rate of approximately 17 per cent per annum, major players are doing great ventures to eat the bigger pie of the fast evolving market.

Bagrry's India Ltd., which holds 17% of the market in breakfast cereal makers in a market estimated at over Rs 800 crore, is planning to open QSR restaurants with healthy food choices.

Named as Bagrry's On the Go, these stores will serve food and beverages such as oats-based sandwiches, burgers and bagels, muesli and wheat bran-based desserts and multigrain meals for lunch and dinner.

The Rs 77 crore Bagrry's, one of the biggest suppliers of wheat for Nestle India's Maggi noodles, is tying up with third-party kitchens to source cooked food made with its own ingredients.

"The entire focus will be on healthy foods and every food or beverage we serve will have our own ingredients," shared Aditya Bagri.

The sandwiches, pastas, bagels and wraps will be made with multigrain options, with whole wheat and added bran or oats to enhance fibre and nutrition value.

Today, fast food industry or the QSR industry is fast evolving sector witjh forecast to grow to $4.6 billion by 2020, more than doubling from two years ago, according to a report by researcher Technopak Advisors Pvt.  

Mumbai based R&A Foods has acquired Nilgai Foods ‘Pico’ Express in an all-stock deal.

The chain which owns QSR chains like Paninaro and Pronto has however did not disclose the financial details of the deal.

“R&A Foods is valued at Rs 30 crore after the transaction. Also, Nilgai Foods, the parent company of Pico Express, has now become a significant stakeholder in R&A Foods,” shared Aditya Parikh, director of R&A Foods.

The company is also capitalising itself on healthy QSR segment as all the Pico outlet will now be rebranded as Paninaroa health food brand in next few months.

"With the addition of the Pico outlets, Paninaroa will now be in a unique position. Our goal is to provide fresh, healthy food to every commercial district within Mumbai and with our combined footprint; we will be able to do just that,” added Parikh.

At present, Pico Express has 11 outlets across Mumbai. Meanwhile Paninarao food is planning to add 22 more outlets in Mumbai by the end of the year, expanding the brand to Pune, Bengaluru, Delhi and Hyderabad.

Post the rebranding, there will be 13 Paninaro outlets in Mumbai along with a food truck under the same brand, added the statement.

"In some areas of our operation, we saw that there was overlap in business and bringing the two brands together would bring in cost efficiencies," said Abhay Jaiswal, CEO, Nilgai Foods. "Moreover, our ethos and customer segment is identical."

Started in 2011, Nilgai Foods is an integrated foods business which manufactures and sells jams, sauces, dips, dressings and baked goods under the brand name of Pico through a network of third-party retailers across Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore.

"Nilgai will now focus on processed foods and, in a couple of months, expand the retail footprint to more cities," added Jaiswal.

iTiffin, the Bangalore based healthy food supplier has launch ‘Kids Holiday Munch Box’ this holiday season.

The firm is also encouraging adults to eat healthy by introducing low calories menu in their service.

iTiffin which is also invested by cricketer Robin Uthappa has introduced fruits, nuts and fibrous snacks in the kid menu whereas the adult menu will mostly have baked snacks.

The munch boxes can be ordered online from anywhere, but the tiffin services are currently available only in Bengaluru.

iTiffin is also targeting at raising $10 million by end of this may as its planning to expand its services to 20 cities over next three years.

iTiffin has plans also to launch diabetic control ready-to cook chapatti flour and customised salads. And is presently serving only brown rice in its tiffin.

The cities where iTiffin plans to enter next include Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi and Ahmedabad.
It would also set up two kiosks in Bengaluru for walk-in customers.