Our Story
How does one balance two opposite interests? One, the determination to become an Ironman, requiring intense training and nutrition to swim, cycle and run in the world’s toughest one-day sporting event. And two, the absolute love for tasty food. The answer is simple – healthy eating!
A Common Problem
Amit Gupta started Native Roots when outside foods failed to meet his taste and nutrition needs. As a fitness enthusiast, he was always on the lookout for the right foods and nutrition to suit his active lifestyle. But outside foods often left him disappointed. Many ‘healthy’ brands added artificial chemicals or unhealthy ingredients. Or, he felt he was compromising on taste for health. An avid cook, he started experimenting with his food and discovered the magic of millets, which added both taste and nutrition.
While Amit started making food products for his own use, soon his training group members started ordering them. And he realized that this was a common problem. As people in India are increasingly becoming health conscious, they are looking for the right nutrition to fuel their workouts and their bodies throughout the day. Many of his friends complained about lack of a good on-the-go snack to provide the right nutrition post-workout, and even during a long workout like running or cycling. Many people also mentioned that while they can eat healthy during the main meals, they get stuck when it comes to snacking. Most snacking options are high in sugar, salt and/or bad fats. Many snacks being marketed as healthy also have the same issue, or include artificial flavours, chemicals and preservatives.
Creating an Impact
As Amit discovered this need for genuinely healthy, tasty and convenient products, Native Roots was born! An MBA from XLRI, he had already quit his corporate job some time back to join his wife’s NGO, Foodshaala Foundation, that provides food and nutrition education to the poor. He also studied nutrition to delve deeper into the subject. Now, along with offering healthy products, Native Roots also commits a part of its profits to Foodshaala, contributing towards better health for the poor.
Native Roots provides a natural way to fuel fitness enthusiasts and active lifestylers during their day. While it has been challenging to start a company from scratch, Amit’s commitment to provide natural foods to keep people active kept him going. The products include no refined sugar, chemicals or preservatives, and use nutritious native ingredients. They are convenient, so it is easy to carry and consume them even while running, cycling, working or traveling. And they are tasty, to add a feel-good factor during/after the workout or in the middle of a long day.
An Exciting Journey
Today, Native Roots receives orders from pan-India, including from fitness enthusiasts, health-conscious mothers, and corporates. Our customers’ stories are what makes us the happiest! We spoke to a mother who always packs a Native Roots Laddoo or Energy Ball in her son’s snack box for his sports session. We met NRIs who tried our Cookies in the US through a relative, and came all the way to Gurgaon looking for our products during their next India visit. We interacted with trekkers who carried our Energy Balls all the way to the Himalayas, and triathletes who used them to fuel themselves in foreign lands and seas. And best of all, we have come across kids who gave up other sugary cereals for our healthy Muesli.
These stories show how our products have become a regular part of the daily lives of so many people, in more ways than we could imagine. And they motivate us to do more, levery single day. And make true our vision of making people happier and healthier through better food.
