Haryana-based startup Hungry Foal made revenue worth 3.8 Crore by selling nutritious snacks

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“Where this a will, there is a way” belives Japna Rishi Kaushik who is the co-founder of this Haryana-based startup Hungry Foal. This women Entrepreneur sells nutritious snacks for Rs 5-10 per piece and has clocked revenues worth Rs 3.6 Cr. She started her business in 2016 with her husband Vivek Kaushik in her living room.

Japna was a senior executive in the research and development wing of Gourmet Flavoured Syrups company Ibiza. She has completed her master’s in food technology from Punjabi University in Patiala. She was earlier associated with corporate companies such as Britannia, Nestle, and Coca Cola in various capacities from production to quality assurance and operations.

In 2016, after she worked with various brands, she decided to work for a cause and put further efforts to make it a business for a living. She decided to work for all malnutrition people/kids. according to the 2011 census, 97 million out of 472 million children are undernourished and suffer from anaemia. With as many as one in every three children suffering from malnutrition in India, Child Rights and You (CRY) states that the effects of malnourishment lead to permanent disabilities, if not death.

Malnutrition:

Malnutrition occurs when the body doesn’t get enough nutrients. Causes include a poor diet, digestive conditions or another disease.

Symptoms are fatigue, dizziness and weight loss. Untreated malnutrition can cause physical or mental disability.

Treatment must address any underlying conditions and replace missing nutrients.

Japna says, “Our research showed that the existing players in the market either offer low priced unhealthy products or healthy products that are prohibitively expensive. Therefore, we decided to bridge the gap between health, taste, and affordability.”

Their Business:

Product

They prepare healthy and nutritious snacks uch as classic and choco energy bites, various flavoured muffins, and Nut Lite which is a mix of oats, nuts, raisins, almonds, and puffed rice.

Price

Each piece costs around Rs.5/10 which is quite affordable.

Availability

They are available in kirana stores in the Delhi-NCR region and across Tier II, III, and IV cities in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Himachal Pradesh.

Japna claims no other private company is capable of addressing healthy snacking at a mass scale like Hungry Foal. “In the retail market, there are young startups providing organic and healthy bars and snacks. But they are priced between Rs 45 and Rs 70 and targeted at middle to higher income groups. The high pricing keeps these products out of the reach of the masses,” she adds.

Funding

Japna did not imagine that Hungry Foal would reach its current size and scale in just four years. The entrepreneur shares that the company has gone from earning annual revenue of nearly Rs 2.14 lakh in the beginning to now clocking approximately 3.6 crores.

Team

“From an eight-member team in 2017, we are now a team of more than 55 including FMCG industry veterans, food technologists, and former entrepreneurs. We started from a single kitchen oven and a manual cup sealing machine and now have a fully-equipped manufacturing unit and presence in over 5,000 shops,” Japna added.

Current Situation

With restrictions on movement, the entrepreneur is unable to get some of the raw materials that come from Europe and Malaysia. “We are looking for ways to reopen. There are directives that we can resume operations but it mandates that we keep laborers inside the factory. While the MSME sector has done so much for the country, the government is providing very little help during this difficult time,” she added.