This Startup Has A Saucy Solution For Nutrition Deficiency In Indian Kids

Getting adequate nutrition is a real problem in India and extends beyond impoverished communities, affecting all strata of Indian society. However, what’s alarming is that many wealthy urban individuals face significant nutritional deficiencies and aren’t even aware of it.

The issue lies in the fact that there is little awareness about nutrition among a majority of Indian families, especially when it comes to the specific nutritional needs of children. In addition, the country’s heavy reliance on overly processed foods and highly saturated oils, coupled with sedentary lifestyles, is only bringing shame to India on the global pulpit.

According to the United Nations’ State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report, India had 194.6 Mn (13.7% of the total population) undernourished people between 2021 and 2023.

Recognising this and the significant impact of undernutrition on children’s growth and their future potential, the husband-wife duo of Aditya Mukherjee and Mansi Baranwal founded Troovy in 2021 but launched their first product, tomato ketchup, in May 2023 after extensive research and several iterations and testings.

Today, Troovy claims to be the first in the race to make chemical-free, nutrition-loaded sauces, healthy milk mixes, and healthy high-protein pasta and munchies in the Indian market. Troovy offers clean, nutrition-packed products for children.

Their first offering, tomato ketchup, quickly became a favourite among parents for adding healthy and tasty elements to meals. Later, Troovy recently expanded with a nutritious milk mix, developed over 12 months of R&D.

Troovy has secured INR 10.5 Cr ($1.25 Mn) in its seed funding round, which was led by Sharrp Ventures and Earlyspring and saw participation from existing investor Veltis Capital. The round comprised INR 9 Cr in equity and INR 1.5 Cr in debt, raised from Stride Ventures.

The founders wish to use the funds for new product development and to scale operations to meet the growing demand for healthy packaged foods.

“We’ve been growing incredibly fast since our launch in May 2023. We started with our healthy sauces, which have become a hit in homes, spreading quickly through word of mouth. In fact, the brand has grown bigger in sales in a very short time. We have also launched our milk mix, which is also doing extremely well. Now, we’ve expanded our offerings to include healthy munchies and protein pasta,” Baranwal said.

Troovy’s Early Story

Way before starting their venture, Baranwal and Mukherjee were batchmates at IIM Bangalore and then colleagues at Bain & Company. Having known each other for long, the duo later decided to get married.

At the time, Baranwal was managing projects in areas of growth strategy, market entry, distribution, in-store execution, portfolio optimisation, organisational structuring, and mergers and acquisitions for FMCG majors in India. Her expertise primarily spans the food and personal care sectors within consumer products.

After serving Bain, Mukherjee founded a startup in the kids’ sector. He later served as the head of product and growth at LimeRoad and led Zomato’s venture into nutrition, gaining significant expertise in the space.

The inspiration to start Troovy came from their personal experience as parents. Just like a lot of kids out there, their son, too, was a picky eater, which made the couple deeply concerned about his health and nutrition.

As they delved deeper, they found that many children in India, even in affluent households, were not receiving adequate nutrition. To their surprise, several factors contribute to this, including soil depletion, which reduces the nutritional quality of crops, and the lack of diversity in Indian diets.

“A clear indicator of this nutritional gap is the noticeable difference in the average height of children in India compared to second-generation Indian American children, with a nearly 10 cm disparity. This gap highlights how nutrition plays a critical role in physical development. Research consistently links proper nutrition not only to height but also to cognitive development (IQ) and the prevention of lifestyle diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, thyroid issues, and even cancer,” Baranwal said.

After securing product approval from hundreds of parents, conducting multiple tasting sessions, completing nutritional profiling, and passing shelf-life tests, Troovy finally came to life with all the pieces of the puzzle in place.

Troovy Cashing In On Increased Consciousness For Nutrition

Troovy’s core consumer base remains children, though its primary buyers are parents, particularly mothers, who make up around 90% of the customer base. However, there’s a rising trend of young adults, about 10-15%, purchasing Troovy products.

“This trend is increasing as more young men and women become health-conscious. What sets our products apart is that they are best-in-class when it comes to cleanliness and nutrition, while also being incredibly tasty. There aren’t many options on the market that offer both,” Baranwal added.

Also, Troovy’s early adopters, referred to as ‘conscious moms,’ are no longer limited to urban areas. We were told that the company is witnessing an increasing number of buyers from Tier II and Tier III cities, highlighting broader demand for its health-focussed offerings.

The startup’s product range includes 100% chemical-free, nutrient-rich sauces and spreads. Its milk mix boasts 13 mg of iron, 23 essential vitamins and minerals, and complete plant-based protein, with the lowest sugar content in the market, sweetened with jaggery, the cofounders said.

In addition to these, Troovy has expanded its offerings to include protein pasta and protein munchies, both of which have been well received. While the company doesn’t manufacture in-house, it controls the R&D process and collaborates with manufacturing partners to bring its products to market.

What’s The Way Forward For Troovy

Given the increasing trend for conscious nutrition among Indians, especially mothers, the founders are confident that Troovy will become a leading name among brands trying to solve the country’s nutrition problem with their products.

The cofounders’ larger plan includes expanding Troovy’s product range to cover every category that children consume today, including sauces, breads, munchies, pasta, breakfast cereals, and milk mixes.

“Our promise is to deliver the tastiest healthy food families have ever enjoyed, building on the success we’ve already achieved in our current categories,” the founders said.

In the next year, Troovy plans to ramp up growth to meet the substantial demand it currently can’t fulfil. While the company sells on Amazon and via its website, onboarding quick commerce platforms will also be a key focus in the short term.

Per the founders, even though Troovy’s FY24 revenues have not been impressive, the startup has gained significant traction in the past six months. They aim to reach an annual run rate of over INR 30 Cr by the end of FY25.

All in all, Troovy is a D2C brand, which is focussed on FMCG products such as sauces, milk mixes, pasta, and munchies, among other food items. However, what’s interesting is that it projects and believes itself to be a brand that has set foot in the nutrition market for kids in India.

What’s more surprising is that it considers startups like TruVital and Little Joys, which are trying to address the clean nutrition space, as its competitors and not players like MasterChow that claim to offer no added flavours, handcrafted sauces and high-quality instant noodles and pasta.

Come that as it may, it would be interesting to see how the brand finally pivots to fully embrace the kids’ nutrition market, which was valued at approximately INR 4,000 Cr last year.

[Edited By Shishir Parasher]

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