Bengaluru web firms dish out healthy food

BENGALURU: At 27, he’s perhaps one of the youngest entrepreneurs in the health-food web-based delivery chains from Bengaluru. Kushal Sharma, an engineer and alumnus of FMS-Delhi, is a founding member of Nutritown.com. In just five months, Nutritown.com has garnered 10,000 Bengalureans subscribing to the weight loss lunch and dinner.
He has 14 employees, including three nutritionists onboard who plan the meal – be it a continental salad or traditional Indian lunch.“Around end-2013, I started losing weight rapidly and became very fitness conscious. That’s when I realized people don’t have access to healthy food outside their homes. I was sure a product could be evolved,” he told STOI. Another similar food service is iTiffin, which is co-founded by Tapan Kumar Das, CEO, who was earlier with Flipkart. “I’m from a small village in Odisha and have hands-on experience in agriculture.
But when I moved to cities, I saw all the vegetables and fruits available all year round. This is possible due to the hybrid variants and preservatives. But is this healthy? No. We saw a study by Mysore University which showed that 71% of people between 25 and 30 years don’t understand the idea of wholesome meals and 99% said they have access to healthy food. Only 5% eat hi-fibre food during lunch and all surveyed respondents had a high-carb diet.
That was my turning point,” he said. He founded iTiffin along with cricketer Robin Utthappa two years ago and over 2000 persons in the heart of the city subscribe to the lunch and dinner. The company has 20 employees, including chefs and delivery boys but Das may open two more kitchens in Bengaluru soon. “The shelf-life of health food is very short. It makes sense to have more branches to expand the service across the city,” he added. Das concentrates on the micro-nutrients. “A healthy meal is one in which micro-nutrients are intact,” Das added.
Customerspeak:
Says Malini Deekshit (47), entrepreneur in BengaluruIt’s been about a year since I started getting lunch and dinner from , "iTiffin for me and my family. I cannot have a satvik diet all the time because of my work schedule. But the food they give is calorie defined and fat free, cooked with olive oil and not re-used oil like in most other restaurants. I’ve even lost a few kgs."
Says Krishna Ravi (27), financial consultant, "I love iTiffin’s nutritious and healthy meals. I don’t get much time to cook at home because of my busy lifestyle. It has proved to be most helpful and the food is tasty too. I wish they have a breakfast service too."