Companies look out to satiate growing appetite for a healthier bite

Swiggy and Zomato informed they are doubling down on the health food segment while cloud kitchen operators such as Rebel Foods and Freshmenu have introduced new health brands on their platforms.



Even the packaged foods segment has seen the launch of dozens of health brands in recent times, from women’s health brand &Me to baby food brands Slurrp Farm, Mumum Co and Timos, both online and offline.


Industry has witnessed a significant increase in the consumption of healthy food products on including organic foods, cold-pressed oils, millets, baked snacks, and diabetic-friendly foods.

Online grocer BigBasket said its health and organic food category — which includes some of the country’s fastest-growing emerging healthfocused brands including Yoga Bar, &me, Whole.Fit, Raw Pressery, Akshayakalpa, Kapiva and Mojo Brand — grew twice as fast as its overall sales in 2019.



BigBasket serves more than 20 million customers through its two health brands — GoodDiet, an organic fresh foods range, and BBRoyal healthy foods and snacks.


While most of these healthy items are pricey, consumers see it as an investment on personal health, thanks to increasing awareness of the benefits of consuming healthy food.

To exemplify, Akshayakalpa, an organic dairy startup has priced its products at about twice the market rate. Its milk is sold at Rs 40 for 500 ml in Bengaluru while regular milk brand Nandani is sold at about Rs 22. The CEO of Akshayakalpa told ET that it takes significant investments in the supply chain and farmer ecosystem to make high-quality milk.



Trade insiders pointed out that gross margins of healthy brands mostly remain 60-65% which is equivalent to traditional FMCG products.


Bengaluru-based Sproutlife Foods that owns the Yoga Bar range of snack bars and muesli is in talks to raise Rs 50 crore in a round led by SAIF Partners, while plant-based active nutrition brand Oziva has held discussions with Matrix Partners for raising capital.

While packaged food goods brands demand a premium on their products, food delivery apps such as Swiggy and Zomato are working with their partners to improve the variety of homestyle food and make it affordable.



More than 50 kitchen brands, including Eatfit, Healthie, Keto Garden, Nurtibites, Fitchef, Health Nuts, Salad Company, and NutriChef, across top cities are offering healthy meal options.

Zomato has a separate section on its app, Zomato Healthy, that curates health food options for consumers. “The idea is to enable easier discovery and access to information for consumers to make informed choices,” said Mohit Sardana, COO, food delivery, at Zomato.



Similarly, Cloud kitchen company Fresh-Menu has introduced healthy food brand Green Cravings, Ola runs Khichdi Experiment, Swiggy owns Homely, and Rebel Foods has launched healthy food brand 500 Calorie Project.

Investors in the industry say health food listings on food delivery apps see twice as many repeats as other segments, and firmly believe it is the fastest-growing segment.Smaller towns too have joined the health food bandwagon.


Sheta Mittal, cofounder of &Me that primarily sells drinks and chocolates to address women’s health issues such as hormonal disorder, PCOS, said close to 30% of the company’s sales come from beyond the metros. About 70% of the company’s sales come from its Rs 2,400 pack products, which shows that customers are willing to pay a premium for wellness.


But then, taste too matters. Positionings such as ‘no-sugar’, ‘organic gur’ and ‘zero fat’ may attract first-time consumers, but repeats are mainly driven by taste, industry insiders said.