“Staying Healthy is anything but easy,” said the Gogineni Sisters – The Alumni Story of the Week

 

Sisters Sudha Gogineni (2010/DD/CH) and Veda Gogineni (2013/DD/BT), both graduates of IIT Kharagpur, left their high-paying corporate careers to address a significant issue in India: Undernutrition. Growing up in a health-conscious household and practicing yoga, the importance of good health was ingrained in them from a young age. However, the demands of their professional lives took a toll on their health, leading to issues like knee pain and fatigue.

Their decade-long corporate story could be anyone’s story. They have worked their way to great jobs, worked incredibly hard, and felt like they had it all. Before, it all began. Their health was slowly but surely, deteriorating. Lack of time and a sedentary lifestyle impacted them in many ways – skin pigmentation, low energy levels, acid reflux, hair loss, back pains. You name it, and they had it. They desperately wanted to fix their health, but the recommendations that came their way were either too synthetic, or too difficult to implement. They were looking for a safe and easy alternative.

“Nutrition supplements were a great solution, but were too synthetic for our liking. But the idea of creating nutrition supplements that were entirely plant based was very appealing to both of us. So, we brought Earthful to life – nutrition supplements that are 100% plant based and pack powerful elements of mother earth.”

When they discovered that 75% of Indians lack at least one essential vitamin, Veda and Sudha knew they had to make a change. Unwilling to rely on synthetic supplements, they began searching for natural alternatives. This journey led to the creation of Earthful, a brand dedicated to 100% plant-based nutrition solutions.

Veda, with a background in biotechnology, had initially pursued a career in investment banking before moving to a high-growth startup, Meesho. Her sister, Sudha, brought her expertise from working in FMCG with ITC Limited and Uber to their new venture. Together, they decided to leave their lucrative jobs to launch Earthful.

“Launching our own business was no easy task. Leaving our high-paying jobs for this was a tough decision. We aimed to create 100% plant-based products, a novel concept in India. To achieve this, we had to scout for experts from various countries to understand and source the right ingredients,” said co-founder Sudha.

“Building a team that shared our vision posed a significant challenge,” said Veda. The challenges seemed endless, but we persisted, trying different approaches each time. We live by Albert Einstein’s words: Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.’ Learning from our mistakes, we succeeded in creating the cleanest products in the market, which now enables us to launch new products more efficiently.”

Their range of natural products include:

  • MULTIVITAMIN
  • PLANT PROTEIN
  • KIDS MILLETS MIX
  • ZEN MODE
  • ROOT NOURISH
  • HER SUPPORT
  • INNER GLOW

STAYING WELL, NATURALLY

“We are on a mission to eradicate nutrition deficiency, the natural way. Our products are science-backed nutrition supplements that help you stay healthy without breaking a sweat.”

With ambitious goals to become a 500 crore business within the next three years, Earthful aims to significantly improve the health of Indians. It is valued at 13 billion USD and expanding at 17-18% annually.

Visit https://earthful.me/pages/about-us for more

A Financial Express Exclusive 

By : Poulami Mondal, Digital & Creative Media Executive (Creative Writer)
Email: poulami.mondal@iitkgp.ac.in, media@iitkgp.ac.in, Ph. No.: +91-3222-282007

Follow us on: Facebook – IIT Kharagpur; Twitter – @IITKgp;  Instagram – @iit.kgp; LinkedIn – Indian Institute of Technology
For news visit: https://kgpchronicle.iitkgp.ac.in/

Healthy Vegetable Oil – award winning innovation by IIT KGP researchers

IIT Kharagpur researchers have developed a low-cost polyunsaturated, antioxidant-rich vegetable oil powder for a healthy heart

India Today           NDTV        EiSamay        Careers 360

Researchers from IIT Kharagpur have developed a novel formula for a vegetable oil powder to keep your heart healthy.  The innovation, led by Prof. Hari Niwas Mishra from the Department of Agricultural and Food Engineering involved tailoring vegetable oils through the preparation of oil blends which are inherently endowed with natural antioxidants as well as well-balanced fatty acids.

Oils vary significantly in their fat saturation. The healthiest are those containing mostly polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats that are healthy for the heart. The role of such fats is widely known for reducing low-density lipoprotein or harmful blood cholesterol.

“The novelty of the research team is in its formulation of a nutritionally balanced polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) enriched with antioxidants and producing a synergistic vegetable oil blend,” explained Prof. Mishra. 

The PUFA-rich oil powder will find extensive use in replacing dairy fat in bakeries and confectionaries, believe researchers Monalisha Pattnaik and Dr. Mousumi Ghosh from the Food Chemistry and Technology Laboratory run by Prof. H N Mishra.

Monalisha Pattnaik
Dr. Mousumi Ghosh

“There is already a shortage of dairy fat which can not only be compensated by this product but also have a healthy impact particularly mitigating heart-related diseases on the consumers,” they said.

Another critical area the researchers have addressed is the susceptibility of PUFA-rich vegetable oil to rancidity and reduced shelf-life under severe environmental conditions.

“We have developed a novel process to protect the lipids from oxidation by microencapsulating with appropriate materials,” said Prof. Mishra.

The innovation has already been patented and is ready for commercialization at low costs.

Congratulating the researchers, Prof. Virendra Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur remarked, “Even after seven decades nutritious and healthy food are seen as lifestyle products due to affordability issue and lack of awareness. But under the holistic approach in the present scenario, we must remove this bias which is a toll on the health of millions in this country. This product answers this call by making available PUFA and antioxidant-rich vegetable oil for mass-scale consumption by large sections of the population especially in the lower-income groups, who are otherwise forced to buy oil with saturated fats due to their low prices.”

The researchers have received several awards for this product. A key among them is the Gandhian Young Technological Innovation (GYTI) Award 2020. Furthermore, this work has been recognized for Young Student Invention and the best thesis work in IIT Kharagpur. The team is working incessantly towards providing low-cost healthy foods to a wider section of the society.


Contacts: 

Project Information: Prof. H N Mishra hnm@agfe.iitkgp.ac.in;  Institute Related: Prof. B N Singh, registrar@hijli.iitkgp.ac.in

Media Outreach: Shreyoshi Ghosh, shreyoshi@adm.iitkgp.ac.in; More News:: https://kgpchronicle.iitkgp.ac.in/

Follow IIT Kharagpur on Social Media: Facebook:@IIT.Kgp; Twitter: @IITKgp; Instagram: @iit.kgp