We are publishing an interview of Mr. Pranav Sharma, CEO and Founder, Poshtick.
Please tell us about the founders
- Pranav Sharma, CEO and Founder, Poshtick- A young 23 year old Commerce Graduate from Delhi University. Pranav precisely looks after the sales, marketing and administration in the company.
- Kritik Thakur, Co-Founder and COO, Poshtick- Kritik primarily manages the back-end operations, human resource and customer relationship.
Give us a brief background of what founders were doing before starting the venture.
Before starting the venture, Pranav was a part of Business Risk Services (BRS) in Grant Thornton wherein he helped clients recognize and mitigate risk by setting up robust business processes, institutionalizing the right internal controls, better use of Information Technology and achieving Operational Performance Improvement.
What is the problem you are trying to solve? Can you share with us any insights that led you to believe that this is a big enough problem?
It all started with a very simple thought, ‘HOW TO BE FIT AND HEALTHY’. Pranav had gained a lot of weight and wanted to get rid of it, he joined the gym . But gradually, he realized diet plays a very vital role in complementing the efforts in the gym. Pranav started researching on the internet about what to eat and what to avoid. He found out that its 80% of what you eat, that goes on determining your health.
He discussed the idea with his friend Kritik who is now the Co Founder in the company. Their primary aim was to build an end to end solution for the people who are busy and don’t have time to work out in the gyms or indulge in physical sports activities to keep themselves fit. They are trying to build a community of people who want to stay fit by adopting to very simple means.
Poshtick believes that being healthy is not that a complicated task. There are many simple things if incorporated in daily lives which can easily be implemented to stay fit and healthy.
The objective is to educate people about heath since there are many misconceptions which exist in people’s mind. The focus is mainly on how to solve health problems through food as food remains a very integral part of this venture.
What challenges did you face when you were starting out?
As far as key barriers are concerned which dissuades a potential consumer from making the purchase is PRICING, Accessibility and Lack of Adequate Knowledge regarding healthy eating. There are many brands in the market who have priced their product so high that “HEALTHY FOOD “ are considered as a luxury and premium product . Hence, for the middle class, it is very an aspiration to consume this food.
We have tried to bring down the prices and make the products pocket friendly for the masses.
Accessibility or availability of healthy food again remains a big problem which at times poses barriers for the potential consumer to become the actual consumer. Healthy food is available only in big premium departmental stores. We are trying to solve this by making a hybrid model by combining the online and offline retail space.
As far as Adequate knowledge is concerned, brands which are offering healthy options currently are not able to educate the consumer regarding the right intake of the food and its nutritious value that also dissuades the consumer for making a repeat purchase. We at Poshtick give a lot of emphasis on consumer education. We want to create a community of educated consumers.
How did you get the initial capital? What returns does it have? Tell us about the investors (if any)
The initial capital was raised through an High Networth Individuals, Bhavya Sharma and Amit Nagar. The initial funding of INR 3 crores was utilized to develop the product line-up and strengthen the online customer outreach.
In its first quarter post starting the online operations in September 2016, Poshtick has generated a revenue of INR20 lakhs.
Please tell us about the Product / Solution. Explain how you went about the Product-Market Fit Process.
Poshtick is a first of its kind initiative to build a community of likeminded people who wants to stay fit and healthy . To start off with Poshtick has come up with a product called “THE FINGE BOX” which is a calorie and portion defined mid-meal snacking solution.
Alongside, the other products which makes Poshtick different from its competitors are Wheat Puff, Whole Wheat Brownie, Ragi and Oats Cookies, Trail Mixes, Exotic Granola Bar and Whole Wheat Crackers.
Pranav and his team have done an extensive research over a year in developing the product lineup and taken extra efforts in striking a perfect combination between taste and heath.
What were your assumptions when you entered the market, learning that you have?
Poshtick foresees a good response from the market as it is an emerging sector. The behavior of the average snack consumer is fast-changing, and the need to switch to healthier options is growing rapidly. It is this dynamic change that has got in a growing number of players in the space. The key trend that can be seen evolving is a preventive vs curative approach towards health and lifestyle concerns, due to which functional, nutritional and value-added foods are expected to occupy an important place in this expanding market.
What is the strength of the startup and the scale of operations? Who do You Perceive as Your Competition?
It is just the initial stage and the company has just generated a revenue of INR20 lakhs in its first quarter. However, by the end of 2017, along with its physical presence in Delhi NCR, Kolkata, Guwahati, the company also foresees to have its retail presence across Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore.
There is actually, no direct competition in this segment as our product offering, raw materials used are totally different from what other players do.
What is the revenue model? What is the logic behind it? What is the model you are following – Free / Freemium / Premium etc. ? Explain your thought process.
We currently generate our revenue through our online platform and going forward, we will be playing through both offline and online presence. Food segment is something where the consumer expects to have the product instantly, hence, we will be betting high on the retail presence.
Our revenue model is quite simple. Our retail presence will be for the consumers who wants the products instantly.
Our online operations would primarily cater towards educating the mass about the nutritional balance in their diet. One of our milestone product offering is the Finge Box which is a calorie and portion defined mid-meal snacking solution. This is a subscription based product which is available in both weekly and monthly options.
Who are the consumers that you are targeting? How is this going to affect them?
Our products primarily target the on-job competitors who unintentionally become the victim of unbalanced diet. It is inevitably important to follow the primary 3 meals to have a healthy lifestyle but our product will bridge the gap of scarcity of healthy options for snacks.
How did you get your first customer?
Though our online platform
What would be your goal to accomplish in the next six months?
In the next six months, the primary goal is to amplify the retail presence in DelhiNCR, Kolkata, Guwahati and strengthen the supply-chain mechanism.
What message do you want to convey to fellow entrepreneurs?
There is no specific age to dream big and till the time you can see your goal clearly, that means you are planning it the right way.
