Leaders

An old proverb says, ‘experience is the best teacher’. The professional journey of Apoorva Gururaj, Founder & CEO, Foodio, a premier healthy packaged food brand, is a true testament to the proverb. Before co-founding Foodio along with her friend Suresh Reddy D, Apoorva gained diverse experience of working in big corporations such as Britannia, Apollo, HUL, and so on. Additionally she also worked in a plethora of startups, some of which were successful and some were failures. Having seen both sides of the coin, Apoorva is well armed to build a successful business in the Indian Food and Beverage sector.

Foodio’s genesis came when Apoorva noticed that there was a dearth of healthy snacking options in the Indian market. Brands that claimed to be healthy were actually laden with preservatives and other undesirable ingredients. As a result, healthy ingredients were missing in the products. Since Indians are fond of snacking, there exists a huge market opportunity that Foodio intended to address through its customised snacks. The brand delivers healthy snacks that also take into account various dietary restrictions such as low carb, keto, high protein and multigrain. It is a one-stop solution for one and all.

The Women Entrepreneur Team interacted with Apoorva to know more about her entrepreneurial journey and thoughts on leadership. Here are choice excerpts from the conversation.

Take us through your early educational journey and prior industry experience that you bring to the table. What motivated you to venture into establishing an organisation that specializes in quality based healthy foods?

I have completed a triplemajor in chemistry, zoology and nutrition. I went on to pursue a masters degree in food science. Before I did my masters I wanted to gain knowledge on how the industry functions. That made the idea more concrete that I need to pursue food science. I then went on to explore various work avenues; for instance I worked in the analytical parts of food science, did nutrition with Apollo hospital, working in their oncology nutrition department for some time. That taught me the clinical aspect of food. Then I went on to work with Britannia that helped me in understanding the industrial aspect of food. We launched a couple of biscuits in Dubai and those market reactions across categories opened a window into how automated factories work. From there on, I worked with a series of startups. That’s when I started doing a lot of product development which were more practical.

Throw some light on the various roles and responsibilities that you currently shoulder at Foodio. What are some of the most challenging aspects of leading the organization? How do you overcome them?

Apart from my official designation, my team has bestowed me with a quirky designation, i.e. ‘Chief of all stuff (that nobody else wants to do). I believe when one wears the hat of a CEO, it becomes your prerogative to build a team where each person can function as a ‘mini CEO’ and take your vision forward and execute it well. As the CEO you can only direct them to get the job done. If you try and do everything yourself, then you will not succeed.

“We envision to provide a healthy lifestyle to everyone and provide them with choices that are healthy concerning snacks, drinks, beverages and staples”

The most challenging part of the job is the times when you know you can perform a task, but you have to be a mute spectator and allow people to take the lead. This helps the team build trust in their abilities. What are some unique features that you incorporate into Foodio’s products that make them healthy and nutritious? How do you maintain quality assurance of the product?

Foodio’s USP is the usage of several seeds such as Sunflower, Pumpkin, Flax, Melon as the main ingredients; every flour used in manufacturing our snacks is made from these seeds. We have also removed refined sugar and refined flour from our products and we have brought back traditional Indian snacks. All the ingredients are sourced directly from farmers and undergo a series of tests at the factory to ensure that the products are of premium quality. All the parameters are constantly checked until the final product is packaged.

Our vision is to make Foodio products reach every nook and corner and the world. These products should eventually become a staple in every consumer’s grocery lists. We are on a mission to provide a healthy lifestyle to everyone and provide them with healthy snacks, drinks, beverages and staple choices.

How do you keep yourself well aligned with the periodic evolutions occurring within the food industry? As a successful business leader, what would your advice be to young women and girls aspiring to become business leaders and entrepreneurs in the future?

I take customer feedback calls every end of the month. I also keenly follow several product launches pertaining to healthy snacking, both in India and abroad. This helps me in understanding the innovations that are coming up and how we can make food products healthy. I also want to recreate nostalgic snacks with the healthy ingredients and give people relive their happy memories but in a much healthier way.

I never decided that I want to be an entrepreneur. Food was my passion and I kept pursuing it. One day, a switch flicked in my head and I decided to go ahead with Foodio. I would advise other women to have a clear vision of what they want to achieve. Although there will be struggles and challenges along the way, yet always trust your decisions. Also be consistent and you will surely reach the pinnacle of success.