Founders' Note

Shanu:

India is infamously recognized as the Diabetes Capital of the world. As per a report by TOI, there are close to 80 million patients in India and the number is expected to rise to 135 million by 2045.

Back in 2007, I had a nervous breakdown at the age of 12 after coming back home from school seeing my grandpa in an abnormal situation. Least did I know then that his insulin level dropped significantly. Trust me, I was helpless and couldn’t bear seeing him in such a state.

As time passed by, I would see him struggling with diabetes, punching his finger early morning to check the sugar level, and living a life less happening.

Then one Friday, which would be a ritual day at my house to buy the weekly grocery, my father asked my mum to toss a cup of Makhana with Desi ghee and black pepper and serve to my grandpa.

Surprisingly, this was the first time I saw Makhana being consumed other than any fasting day like Diwali and Navratri. Later on I came to know from mom that someone from the neighbourhood suggested Makhana to be fed daily as it has magical properties to regulate the sugar levels in blood.

Anyway, it was no harm, and needless to mention that it went perfectly with our everyday evening snack.

Four months past, Makhana truly became a must-have in our daily lives, but we were astonished to learn that my dad has kept a check on his father's sugar level since the day we started feeding him Makhana.

There was a significant difference, and this was a breakthrough for all of us. Even her dietician was overwhelmed with such improvement.

Then discussing facts like a great source of calcium, multipurpose use in cosmetics, promotes the supply of oxygen in blood, enhances fertility, and a series of literature backed arguments became a regular topic of discussion amongst us.

Also, Bihar accounts for the world’s 95% production of Makhana and I hail from that part of the country would see gigantic Lotus ponds everywhere.

Even my father started trading Makhana when I was in the 10th grade, and I would see him selling 20-30 tonnes a month. Being a Baniya Marwari, I always had a knack for venturing into a business and hence, I would make time to sit with him and understand the nuances of Makhana business.

However, I still believe that an early exposure to Makhana, specifically, and evidently witnessing its affect drove me to take-up a full-fledged start up into Makhana that anyway is highly unorganized and still mere 65k crore rupees.

Also, today’s ecosystem is all about building a sustainable D2C brand, and hence Nutri Makhana. Just for overview, Nutri Makhana will encompass all the innovations related to Makhana, from flavouring to Atta and laddu to pasta.