Enterprise: Sattva Life Foods Llp

Founder: Shruti Ajmera Reddy

Industry:  Food & Beverage

Year it was founded: 2018

Based out of: Hyderabad, Telangana

Introducing babies to solid food is an important milestone in their life. Until the age of six months, babies derive all their nutrition from  the mothers or formula.  But after a certain point, a baby’s body requires nourishment, other than what a mother can provide through her milk, to meet their increasing nutritional and developmental requirements. It is at this juncture that Shruti Ajmera Reddy, founder of Hapup (parent company Sattva Life Foods Llp), a baby nutrition brand in Hyderabad, found that most of the baby products sold in the market these days are laced with adulterated substances that are extremely harmful for the little tots.

Being the mother of a six month old herself at the time, Shruti wanted to give her child the best food in the world and realised that this was of utmost concern to most parents. With the belief that, “every child deserves a healthy and balanced diet served with love and affection from the family,” she started a baby food brand where each product is derived from India’s indigenous ingredients and recipes that date back to hundreds of years. Hapup makes multi millet mixes that are made using freshly sourced natural Indian ingredients. Her baby food range is so versatile that adults can have them too!

Like every mother I was very particular about the nutrition I wanted to give my baby after six months of age. After studying the market and understanding what all goes into baby food that is available in the market today, I was shocked to see the chemicals used in baby food.This was the starting point in our journey to starting Hapup.

In conversation with GlobalLinker (GL), Shruti Ajmera Reddy shares her business journey.

GL: Tell us a little bit about business journey. What motivated and excited you to start it?

Shruti: Like every mother I was very particular about the nutrition I wanted to give my baby after six months of age. Thankfully today we are armed with technology that helps us in our quest to get answers to all our burning questions. After studying the market and understanding what all goes into baby food that is available in the market today, I was shocked. From added sugars, to chemical preservatives and flavouring agents, a baby food sounded more like a chemical factory than something edible.

This is when I turned to our Indian roots and started looking at food that was being fed to babies generations ago. Free from adulterants, rich in nutrition, these foods gave a strong foundation to a baby from day one. These recipes used local and seasonal ingredients to make a powerful super food for babies. Even the process of making these recipes is handmade with love with least interference into what is naturally good.

This was the starting point in our journey that led us to work with nutritionists, doctors, chefs, scientists, mothers and even babies (our real taste testers). Based on research and numerous interactions and associations with thought leaders in the field of nutrition, we came up with Hapup nutri mixes.

Thanks to all the love and support we have received from #HapupFamily we continue to grow and deepen our research in the field of nutrition to offer best healthy and tasty foods to babies, kids and adults!

GL: How wonderful to hear that Hapup was received with love and trust. But tell us, launching a new range of products must have been a herculean task. How did you raise awareness for your products?

Shruti: The most critical point in our journey so far, has been going online. But once we were online, it gave us a platform to raise awareness about our products and interact with all our customers from near and far across the globe.

We strongly encourage a healthy dialogue between consumers and us regarding what exactly goes into their Hapup product. We are a transparent brand that places extreme importance in building a community that is focused on giving the best natural healthy nutrition to their babies and families.

GL: What are the challenges for your business to grow bigger, better and faster from here? What are you doing to tackle them?

Shruti: In order to scale their business, many food manufacturers choose quantity over quality. In our case however, our brand’s foundation itself lies in quality. So with scaling, one of the major challenges we foresee is finding the right partners (farmers, producers or vendors) to ensure the same quality of product in the future as well. Thankfully, in our journey we have come across many people who truly understand our philosophy and offer us solutions to our challenges of scaling.

Gl: You are a Linker. Which offerings of GlobalLinker have helped you? And why should other SMEs use it too?

Shruti: I am a new member on this platform; however I am seeing a lot of benefits of being associated with GlobalLinker already. One of the key ones being able to connect with peers from different industries. GlobalLinker also seems like a good platform to learn from each other’s stories and seek collaborative partnerships. I am excited to explore these offerings.

GL: What specific advice would you have for young women who would like to become entrepreneurs? Are there any advantages and disadvantages of being a women entrepreneur?

Shruti: As they say, “All the glitters is not gold.” Entrepreneurship may look highly glamorous from the outside, but on the inside it is real hard work and perseverance. One needs to be really sure before jumping in, because they need to be in this for a long time.

One advice I would give is, “Speak to as many entrepreneurs as you can (men or women), seek out mentors and really get a sense of how they have accomplished what they have in their business.”

I see myself as just an entrepreneur. Sure there are obstacles I face just because I am a woman, but that’s what makes it exciting for me, the opportunity to forge my own path. I also get to enjoy the perks of being a woman in business that my male counterparts might not get to experience. However, in the end it all boils down to hard work and perseverance.

GL: What is the next big thing on your business agenda?

Shruti: We are working on a whole new line of products and I am very excited about that.

GL: Can you share with us some behind the scene questions of when you are not a boss woman?

 When do you wake up every day? I wake up at 6:30 AM

The first thing you do when you wake up? I hydrate myself

Three things you do to unwind/ relax? I play with my baby, practice yoga and origami

When you are faced with a big challenge? I meditate

The best piece of advice you’ve ever been given is? Failure is okay

The one book everyone should read is? My current favourite is Atomic Habits by James Clear and I recommend everyone should read it once.

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Network with Shruti Ajmera Reddy by clicking on the 'Connect' button on her profile.

Disclaimer: This article is based solely on the inputs shared by the featured member. GlobalLinker does not necessarily endorse the views, opinions & facts stated by the member.