BENGALURU: After nearly three years of trials, working with hundreds of bakers, city-based sisters Suhasini and Anindita Sampath perfected their recipe for an energy bar. Launched in 2015, Yoga Bar, a healthy energy snack, made entirely out of natural ingredients – was supposedly the first in India. Fast forward to 2023, the company received an approximate investment to the tune of Rs 255 crore, from Indian conglomerate ITC for a majority stake, with a promise of 100 per cent acquisition over the next three years at an overall valuation of over Rs 500 crore.
It all started when the Sampath sisters were living in New York. “I was a student at Wharton and Anindita was with Ernst and Young. The two of us went to a yoga studio and we used to buy protein bars after each session. One day, Anindita said that if she made a bar like this, she would call it ‘Yoga Bar’,” recalls Suhasini.
The duo felt that India was a perfect market for healthy energy bars, given the lack of similar offerings in the country at the time. Soon, they were back in the country and started experimenting with various recipes. “We realised that there were large companies in the West selling healthy products, but there were no similar offerings in India. We decided to make a product, made entirely out of clean and locally-sourced products,” adds Suhasini.
Starting with their first product, multigrain energy bars, from a small operation in Indiranagar, Yoga Bar had to initially overcome the commonly-held notion that health doesn’t sell in India. But it quickly grew to be a household name and expanded to other products, including protein bars in 2018. Suhasini emphasises that having her sister as a business partner was a major advantage. “Finding a co-founder is never easy. So working with my sibling made a lot of sense,” she says, adding that the people frequenting yoga studios in Bengaluru were their initial customers. “Obviously, Bengaluru has a large population of health-conscious consumers, so we found it a lot easier to sell in a city like this,” she adds.
Despite the sale of a majority stake to ITC, Yoga Bar continues to operate as an independent entity. Suhasini hopes that the consumer juggernauts’ distribution arm will boost Yoga Bar’s growth. “ITC is fairly new to FMCG. They have been aggressive in growing their portfolios. Which is why it made sense to go with them,” Suhasini concludes.