As India’s health food market continues to evolve, entrepreneurs face the dual challenge of creating nutritious and appealing products for the Indian palate. Understanding this delicate balance and the complexities of building a sustainable food brand in today’s competitive market requires more than just a good product; it demands mindful entrepreneurship. This was the focus of a recent webinar in the iStart Inspire series, where Parthik Patel, Founder of Fit & Flex, revealed how his journey from IT engineering to revolutionising the health food market exemplifies mindful entrepreneurship.

The webinar, presented by iStart Rajasthan—one of India’s largest startup initiatives—in partnership with YourStory, offered valuable insights into building a sustainable health food brand.

Finding the right market gap

Patel’s entrepreneurial journey began unconventionally in the cotton and chemical industries. His passion for fitness and healthy eating, combined with identifying a gap in the Indian market for better-tasting, nutritious cereals and snacks, led him to establish Fit & Flex in 2019.

“Indian consumers are ready to compromise on health, but they are not ready to compromise on taste,” Patel emphasised, highlighting the importance of understanding market dynamics.

The company faced significant hurdles early on, with COVID-19 hitting just months after launch. Despite having to shut down their factory for four months and managing a team of 60-70 people during the pandemic, Fit & Flex demonstrated remarkable resilience. It expanded to 12 cities and 22,000 stores within three months post-lockdown, showing impressive adaptability in crisis.

Innovation at the core

What sets Fit & Flex apart is its commitment to innovation. The company utilises proprietary baking technology that ensures products remain crunchy longer than conventional alternatives. “We are known for innovation,” said Patel, mentioning unique variants like mango and coconut flavours not commonly found in the Indian market.

Despite facing pressure to reduce costs, Patel maintained his commitment to quality ingredients. He shared how the company continues to use premium components like freeze-dried fruits, which cost ten times more than conventional alternatives, to maintain product integrity. This dedication to quality has helped build a loyal customer base, with retention rates of 33% in general trade and modern trade channels.

Appearing on Shark Tank India proved transformative for the brand, resulting in an 11x increase in sales for several weeks. “Being on national television is massive,” said Patel, explaining how the exposure helped increase brand visibility not just in India but internationally.

Keys to success for aspiring entrepreneurs

During the Q&A session, Patel offered valuable advice for aspiring entrepreneurs in the health food space. He emphasised three critical factors: product-market fit, pricing strategy, and patience. “You need to have uniqueness in your product,” he advised, stressing that entrepreneurs should focus on the basics rather than trying to do everything at once. He cautioned against the common mindset of expecting quick success, noting that “branding takes 10-15 years”.

For customer retention, he recommended a multi-channel approach combining WhatsApp marketing, email campaigns, and telemarketing, achieving a 22% retention rate online and 33% in offline channels.

Looking ahead, Patel sees enormous potential in India’s packaged food industry, particularly with the increasing workforce participation of women. Fit & Flex continues to innovate, recently launching ready-to-eat oats and protein puffs, while maintaining monthly growth rates of 20-30%.

This webinar was part of iStart Rajasthan’s comprehensive startup support programme, which has registered over 5,100 startups, including more than 1,700 women-led ventures, and sanctioned over Rs 35 crore in investments since its launch in 2017. Through initiatives like these, iStart continues to provide valuable mentorship, access to market and procurement opportunities up to Rs 25 lakhs to entrepreneurs across India.

Workplace solutions company IndiQube has filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with markets regulator SEBI to raise funds through an initial public offering (IPO).

The company’s IPO consists of a fresh issue of equity shares of up to Rs 750 crore and an offer for sale of equity shares of up to Rs 100 crore by the promoter-selling shareholders, Rishi Das and Meghna Agarwal.

IndiQube intends to use Rs 462.6 crore of the raised proceeds towards funding capital expenditures related to establishing new centres and Rs 100 crore towards the repayment of certain borrowings availed by the company.

Founded in 2015, the company currently manages around 103 centres across 13 cities and has a clientele roster ranging from Indian corporates as well as startups such as NoBroker, Redbus, upGrad.

The company reported a total income of Rs 867.6 crore in FY24 compared to Rs 601.2 crore in FY23.

Interestingly, for the three months ended June 30, 2024, the company derived 91.59% of its revenue from operations from centers in Bengaluru, Pune, and Chennai collectively. This trend was observed in FY24, FY23, and FY22.

IndiQube has become the latest company to file for an IPO after several startups such as EV-maker Ola Electric and food delivery platform Swiggy went public in 2024. Several companies including Ather Energy and omnichannel jewellery brand Bluestone has also filed draft papers to go public.

The company’s DRHP also comes at a time when flexible workspaces are becoming a rising trend in the commercial office market as hybrid working models become more common.

The Book Running Lead Managers to the offer are ICICI Securities Limited and JM Financial Limited and the equity shares are proposed to be listed on BSE and NSE.

Aurionpro Solutions on Tuesday said it has acquired Paris-based consultancy firm Fenixys in an all cash deal of about Rs 90 crore (10 million euros).

Fenixys provides capital markets services to leading banks and financial institutions across Europe and the Middle East.

The acquisition strengthens Mumbai-based Aurionpro’s banking and fintech strategy to expand its footprint in Europe and the Middle East, a company statement said.

“This acquisition is not just about expanding our offering portfolio and reach, but rather it is about synergistically merging our strengths—Fenixys’ extensive and deep domain expertise with Aurionpro’s strong IP-led offering—to offer a unique, global portfolio of solutions for the banking and capital markets industry,” Aurionpro CEO Ashish Rai said.

Headquartered in Paris, Fenixys has offices in the United Kingdom, Denmark, and the Middle East, providing expertise in advisory, project management, enterprise architecture, and MUREX services.

“Aurionpro and Fenixys share a common vision towards becoming a partner of choice for global banks and financial institutions through our focus on innovation, excellence, and client success,” Rai added.

Aurinpro Solutions provides advanced technology solutions, focusing on banking, mobility, payments, insurance, data centre services and government sectors.

Shares of Aurionpro settled at Rs 1,750 apiece on the BSE on Tuesday, 1.06% higher than the previous close.

(With inputs from PTI.)