About the Company:
In the initial phase, FoodComb plans to focus on soy-based milk beverages for different kind of markets like – Kids, lactose-intolerant people, Vegans, Malnourished, etc., many more products like almond milk, hemp milk, chia milk, pea protein milk in natural herbal flavors will be introduced including mock meat or ‘Veg Meat.’
All our products would be plant-based foods & beverages using the best available food processing technique. FoodComb envisages emerge as the most preferred & the largest plant-based /vegan food manufacturer in the region and creates best-in-class vegan /plant-based food variety for future generations.
About the Founder:
MBA in Human Resources & Industrial Relations with close to 17+ years of experience in Food manufacturing, Oil & Gas, Perfume Manufacturing, Engineering, Retail & EXIM verticals in the United Arab Emirates with diverse competencies in HR transformation, HR-Business- Process Re-engineering, Change & Performance Management, SAP-HCM.
I decided to embark on an entrepreneurial journey to provide healthy & nutritious alternatives for dairy & meat consumers and minimizing animal suffering.
Product services details and how they come up with idea and USP:
The idea- I always nursed a dream of being an entrepreneur from the time I was young but had no specific idea of the nature of business. While being employed in the UAE, I thought of venturing into a business of making people’s lives healthier by introducing them to the vegan foods & that was the beginning.
USP, to make, is readily available & affordable to all economic segments of consumers.
How did it get started / struggles and motivation?
Upon deciding to quit my job & turn into an entrepreneur, I relocated to India. I had read about startup India & its funding schemes. But little did I realize that it all wasn’t as easy as portrayed. In the process, I realized that banks do not extend loans that quickly & insisted on collateral twice the amount of loan applied for. The struggles continued for three years to raise funds, while parallelly, I took up a job to sustain as I had a family of 5 to take care of. And then, when I met another startup founder who was struggling to set up & was on the verge of giving up, I decided to help him find an equity partner. In that process, I found one who showed interest in my venture & I got funded. We plan to introduce various vegan foods & beverages and associate with other manufacturers of vegan products & get a variety of products contract manufactured.
Motivation – I never believe in giving up & wanted to prove to the new first-gen entrepreneurs that nothing is impossible.
What are our next big plans?
We intend to start small & scale up to PAN India level distribution & we would look at the export market for our products. We plan to introduce healthy vegan products to replace today’s junk foods, thereby ensuring (the youth especially) the craving for junk food is met but without affecting their health as junk food does.
Accomplishments:
We have just started operations & our products are expected to hit the market shelves in October second half.
Three tips for the people who are planning for a startup business:
1. Keep developing your professional network.
2. Believe in continuous learning.
3. Develop a high ability for resilience.
Favorite book/movie:
Five Point Someone (movie)
The power of self-discipline by Brian Tracy.