By Ruchi Vishwakarma
On Aug 2016 Company aka Varion Food Sciences Pvt Ltd acquired land in MIDC, Maharashtra for undisclosed amount for health supplements manufacturing facility.
The vision behind own manufacturing was to have complete control over sourcing of genuine raw materials from growers to encapsulation and final packing in ISO 22000, HACCP, GMP certified facility of supplements and ayurvedic medicines to cater to Indian market and US.
So while he was working with Varion LifeSciences Pvt Ltd realised the Dietary Supplements growth in the west was almost getting saturated and now these products started finding good place in Indian consumers, with having disposable income to take proactive steps for their health.
And being a health conscious person himself, Sanjay always wanted to do something in the Dietary healthcare industry for India too.
The best part here was that, Sanjay had already been working in the Healthcare segment since a pretty long time. Hence, as he saw an opportunity, he decided to grab it.
Now their beginning was rather unusual. Even though they were clear in the heads that they wanted to do something in the Healthcare sector, but exactly what they wanted to do was yet uncertain. Hence, before they started the portal, they went on to try their hands into different sub-sectors.
From getting into public healthcare, to providing practice management software to independent physicians and small clinics, they literally tested waters with at least two to three different business models. But nothing seemed to be appealing to them.
Nevertheless this turned out to be a learning phase out of which they gained gaining enough experience and understanding of how the Indian healthcare industry works. And when the talk happened, they realised that they actually should and also wanted to be in the B2C (Business to Consumer) segment.
Hence, E-commerce played its role and with 4 team members this gave birth to this Company.
How does your delivery model work?
We deliver through various logistics partners. Usually delivery happens within two business days to metros.
What is the kind of funding you have received and what is the revenue model?
We are initially resistant to go for outside funding as we might lose out on the flexibility of the business. We have recently acquired an existing facility to make our own supplements and scale up our operations. Once done we may approach for Funding or we might go the IPO route.
Popular e-commerce sites are said to be bleeding profusely, what is your view on the future of e-commerce space in India?
We believe India will take at least 3-4 years to mature as an e-commerce market. We are basing our growth on strong fundamentals and are confident that for all players who're doing the same, there is plenty of room to grow.
Vitaminhaat.com Sub dairy Varion FoodSciences Pvt Ltd. was formed with the premise to offer effective and affordable solutions to health enthusiasts. Today, Vitaminhaat offers India's largest range of genuine health supplements across categories that includes all major brands. VitaminHaat has grown from a team comprising four members in June 2016 to 10 plus and aims at becoming India's Numero Uno in this segment. A team comprising trained nutritionists, counsellors and product experts, help customers in choosing the right product/service via live chat, email and phone.