FMCG start-ups innovate to fulfil healthy snacking appetite of kids

Feeding kids is no child’s play. While the Indian kids apparel market has crossed $4 billion in the country, FMCG start-ups are now eyeing the healthy snacking range for children below the age of 10 years, which was non-existent until now.
 

Several start-ups have rolled out unique healthy food products and beverages, including pre-biotic chocolates, whole grain snacks, porridges and nutty bars for toddlers and school going children to carve out a separate segment.
 

While they have already garnered the attention of investors, including marquee names such as MTR and former Tata Health CEO Muthu Krishnan, these start-ups are seeing over 100 per cent growth month-on-month after Covid, as healthy eating has taken the centrestage.
 

Bengaluru-based healthy foods brand Timios, which was started three years ago by brother-sister duo Aswani Chaitanya and Hima Bindu, will soon be rolling out a range of baby products by the first week of October. The company is in the process of setting up a $500,000-manufacturing unit that will produce items just-in-time to maintain the freshness value. Initially, it will have capacity of 15-20 tonnes per month.
 

“We want to focus on 0-5 years of age. We will come up with a probiotic range in different formats for them, including cookies, energy bars, and snacks in the next 12-18 months,” said Chaitanya, a former investment banker who quit his job with Goldman Sachs to roll out Timios. The current packaged snacks segment is pegged at $4 billion in India and is expected to grow annually at a CAGR of 7.5 per cent between 2019 and 2023. “The healthy snacking category for children is non-existent in India and we are hoping for a 2x growth in the next five years,” he said.
 

Food and nutrition start-up LilGoodness has launched India’s first prebiotic chocolate. These first of its kind chocolates have prebiotic fibres, which activate healthy bacteria in the gut and improves the absorption of essential vitamins and minerals, therefore promoting better immunity and good health, said the company, founded by former Tata Health executives Harshavardhan and Pariksha Rao. It will be launching five different variants in the prebiotic chocolates range for the festive season.
 

The company already has a range of vegetable crackers and ready to eat porridges available on ecommerce websites. They will be launching a jaggery based additive and a beverage for kids in a couple of weeks. “We are working with a team of scientists in the country to come up with snack options using ancient superfood grain Teff which is high in protein,” said Harshavardhan.
 

Milk start-up MilkLane is also targeting the kids’ segment, a white space in the dairy market. The firm is building its own pipeline of dairy products, Nutrinos, for children aged between 3 and 8 years. “Our aim is high-and-fast penetration in the kids segment that forms a 10 per cent of the $800-billion dairy market in the country,” said MilkLane CEO Gaurav Haran.

Gurugram-based Slurrp Farm is also ensuring that healthy grains such as millets reach the plates of children in form of dosas and pancakes.
 

“These start-ups need to bring in the elements of health, fun and immunity too after the outbreak of Covid to find success in this segment,” said brand expert Harish Bijoor.