HYDERABAD : Jyothi Sri Pappu, an M Pharma graduate, combined two elements that are becoming increasingly significant in our times: the knowledge and wisdom of our grandmothers, and the resources provided by Mother Nature. In 2014, driven by her personal need to source homemade, plant-based, and handcrafted food for her child, she developed Nutreat.
Seeing her child all healthy and fit, other mothers demanded the same food for their children and her business got the kickstart it needed. However, the story took a different trajectory in 2017, when a Sri Lankan customer wanted something unique and different for her child. “That’s when our journey for customised products started,” says Jyothi. “Since then, we have customised around 12,000 recipes for people with different needs— those who have osteoporosis, diabetes, high blood pressure and even kids with autism,” she added.
Growing up in an environment that preferred natural and fresh food over packaged products, Jyothi says she was drawn to the traditional way of making food through stories she heard from her father and practices followed by her mother and grandmother. “This is the reason why everything is handcrafted by women in my company,” she said.
Customisation for products involves in-depth research and numerous follow-ups with clients for about six months, to understand their workout methods and lifestyles. “Each body is different and while working with kids, we also have to take into account their preferences for food varieties. For example, if a kid likes cookies, we give them their required nutrients in that form. We work with a range of nutritionists and dieticians to arrive at the desired product. For kids with autism, we take care that their food does not have gluten and lactose and has a lot of brain boosters like Ashwagandha,” Jyothi told CE.
When asked how she replaces the necessity to add preservatives for a longer shelf life, Jyothi said, “We have a signature four-step process that involves slow roasting, sun drying and stone grinding the ingredients which decreases the necessity to add preservatives. It does indeed lower the shelf-life of our products. For example, our pre-mixes last for six months and cookies that have handmade, home butter in them, last for only a month. But handcrafting and using natural material is the USP of our products.”
In India, Nutreat has a reach in tier-III cities across all states and also has a strong and dedicated customer base in other countries like the US, UK, Australia, Russia, Portugal, Singapore and Malaysia. They have 5-8,000 customers and around 1,000 people require constant interaction every month. Besides pre-mixes and baby food, they also have seasonal jams, cookies, instant dosa mixes, pancake mixes, brownies, murukku and khakra.
“My husband, Satish Kumar Pappu is the only person who believed in my concept initially. He invested some amount into the business to encourage me,” she said. Currently in Assam, researching how to develop handcrafted teas, she is all geared up to launch Nutea in 2025.
Talking about challenges, she said that procuring raw material—which comes from all over the country, for example, dry fruits from Kashmir, spices from Kerala, etc, to their two production units in Hyderabad and Malkipuram in East Godavari region— isn’t as difficult as is the logistics involved in it. “About 40-43% of our operational cost goes into getting these raw materials and that is a problem that any new business that works with freshly sourced ingredients faces,” she said.
So how does she plan to expand after this? “Recently, we have signed a few more co-branding projects, as well as white labelling projects. We have designed recipes for other small, upcoming brands as well. We have almost three projects signed up for corporates,” Jyothi said.
Since her journey started with making homemade baby food, we asked her for some advice for other parents about taking care of their children. “Care starts right from the time the mother conceives the child. The most important thing is to focus on a healthy lifestyle and spend time with your children. Do not buy packaged cereals. Anything that has fruit in it needs to be consumed within 24 hours,” she concluded.