In 2016, Srikanth Ch, who was usually very active, suddenly found himself on complete bed rest for two months due to a disc bulge.
“I struggled to carry my children and all the doctors advised me not to,” she says.
An entrepreneurial individual who, just a few months ago, sold his startup Styl to Voonik, Srikanth began rigorously researching exercises and supplements that could help him get out of the frayed state he was in.
When she looked at online markets and websites to buy natural supplements, she realized that most companies didn’t disclose their lab test results to users, especially when it came to contaminants in products.
Given the plethora of stories on the Internet about how heavy chemical contaminants in herbal supplements had caused fatal illnesses and even deaths in people who had consumed them, this did not sit well with Srikanth.
He decided to do something about it and founded with his friends, Varun and Rajesh Jampana, in 2018.
The nutrition-focused startup has more than 40 products that help people address nutritional deficiencies and deal with problems like diabetes, joint pain, stress, low immunity, and heart problems, with the use of herbs and extracts free of heavy metals.
Since COVID-19, more and more people are turning to Ayurvedic and herbal nutrition to strengthen their immunity against new diseases and viruses. The sudden increase in the number of nutrition and supplement companies, born in the last two years to capture this demand, has seen many contaminated products proliferate on the market.
With India leading the way with its long-tested, innovative and tried-and-true Ayurvedic remedies, the country’s nutraceuticals market is expected to reach $10.20 billion by 2026, up from $3.92 billion in India. 2020, with a growth of 22% year over year. according to a report by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.
Hyderabad-based Bbetter has raised nearly $1.5 million in funding from investors including 8i Ventures, Redbus founder Phanindra Sama, TaxiForSure founder Raghunandan G, and Voonik founder Sujayath Ali.
Test group: Family
Every Bbetter product comes with a brochure showing how many contaminants, especially heavy metals, are present in that batch. Products are manufactured in WHO-GMP or FDA approved units.
“We want people to trust the quality of the product they’re investing in, which is why we’re making all these disclosures to them. We want customers to come back because they trust Bbetter,” Srikanth tells YourStory.
“From sourcing raw materials from organic producers to lab testing each batch, we ensure we are making supplements we can confidently give our family and consume ourselves. In fact, after each cycle of R&D and moving to mass production, we tested the first batches on our family members and ourselves, because that’s how confident we are that our products are contaminant-free.”
The startup sells vitamins, minerals, and Ayurvedic supplements in the form of tablets, soft gels, gummies, effervescent tablets, and powders. Products sold through its own website, as well as popular marketplaces, include vitamin D3, flaxseed oil, ashwagandha, marine collagen, and triphala.
Bbetter competes with Healthkart, Cureveda, WOW Skin Science, SimplyHerbal, and Vedik Roots.
Srikanth says that the company has been seeing traction in Tier I, II and III cities. Most of its products currently only focus on adults, but the startup plans to launch a range of gummies for children soon.
The average price of their products is Rs 650, and as of June, the repeat rate of their best-selling products was 69%.
The startup crossed Rs 1 crore in sales revenue just a month ago.
Currently being sold online across India, the startup says it wants to enter retail soon. Srikanth also expects to expand into the US and European markets in the next six to eight months, after completing the registration and documentation process.
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