In a country where milk, ghee, lassi and many other dairy products are a part of everyday diet in a way that can’t be ignored, the concept of vegan food and nutrition can be a tricky one to sail through. That said, many millennials and the Gen-Z population have come to become a lot more self-aware about what works and what doesn’t work for their body. This is where vegan nutrition comes in the picture.
Many young adults have only recently come to realise dietary conditions like lactose intolerance and the inception of Origin Nutrition is a similar story. 'Both my husband and I have been fitness enthusiasts for the last 15 years. He realised that he was lactose intolerant 10 years ago and switched to vegan protein powder. I too made the switch because I realised that it digested a lot faster. We were constantly importing our vegan protein from the US and it was such a challenge. Our parcel would get stuck in customs and turned out to be extremely expensive. Taste-wise, we just never found anything in India that we found delicious. This spurred us on to formulating it ourselves. It took us more than a year of intense trials and tests to zone in on a product that we absolutely loved,' says Aditi Mammen Gupta, Co-founder at Origin Nutrition.
The brand offers a range of plant-based protein in five different flavours as well as plant-based biotin. Besides being vegan and animal-friendly, Origin Nutrition’s products are also natural, clean, toxin-free and additive-free. While a clean and conscious lifestyle is slowly becoming the norm for many across the world, Gupta realises the novelty of the concept in India. 'India is still at a nascent stage in living up to conscious standards but the good news is that people are becoming much more aware and many companies are coming up with sustainable solutions which make it easier for product manufacturers. We definitely aim at becoming totally environmentally friendly and sustainable in the next two years,' she says.
Image Source: Instagram/originprotein
All said and done, Gupta’s ambitious business goals are only part of her life as a woman and an entrepreneur and the balancing act is no easy feat according to her. 'Frankly speaking, one of the hardest parts about being an entrepreneur is managing a healthy work-life balance. As a mompreneur, I know that it is very hard to manage kids and work. I have always found planning out my day really well the previous night, along with accepting help from family, is a huge help in overcoming challenges faced in this aspect,' adds the co-founder
Much like most working women out there, Gupta emphasises the need for women entrepreneurs especially, to voice their needs without hesitation. 'A definite 'do' would be to ask for help whenever required. As women entrepreneurs, we feel that we need to do everything ourselves. Juggling kids, home and work definitely is not easy and I have personally found that asking for help, whether it is to babysit your children or to educate yourself in a certain aspect of your business that you may not excel at, worked wonders for me as an entrepreneur,' she says.
We quizzed her about something she would advise entrepreneurs to avoid and here’s what she said: 'Don’t ever try to emulate anyone else. You can borrow inspiration from someone you look up to but always stay true to your own values and beliefs. Embracing my feminine principles in the way that I lead my team has never let me down.'