Whether you are a fitness freak, working couple, bachelor or a regular corporate employee, survey says that most of us are forever searching for that ‘healthy, nutritious and tasty meal’ which seems so difficult to manage in our busy lives. If you work in a MNC, one of the perks you get is a free lunch every day. These meals are now ubiquitous in every company in India but too often, there are not many healthy options provided. Canteen food is not at all healthy to say the least.
With the belief that a felicitous life can be enjoyed by a person who has healthy mind and body and a mission to bring superior healthy and nutritious meals to the busy people of Bangalore, two young fitness enthusiasts-turned-entrepreneurs, Pushpesh Dutt and Sudhanshu Sharma, started Tandurust in 2014.
The seeds were sown in Pushpesh’s mind when he stepped into the corporate world for the second time after obtaining MBA in Finance. He started working out and lost 12 extra kilos in less than 3 months. He soon realized that working out alone cannot make people healthier and fitter, the right nutrition has to be integrated into their lifestyles to have the maximum benefit. Over the period of few years he gained knowledge of nutrition and workouts. When he came to Bangalore for his third job with a global banking giant, Pushpesh strongly believe that working people always struggle to get decent healthy eating options due to constraints of time, knowledge and availability. The problem was eminent for a large group of fitness enthusiasts in Bangalore.
The idea struck to provide healthy meals of Breakfast, Lunch, and Snacks to these groups. He developed a number of recipes over the period of six months to kick off the venture under the brand ‘TANDURUST’. He partnered with his friend from MBA days, Sudhanshu, who shares the same passion about healthy lifestyle, having worked with major tech companies. Together they performed some pilots among their colleagues and friends and finally launched the beta stage of Tandurust.
Tandurust offers balanced meals (in terms of all macronutrients) that are consumed more frequently than apparently healthy but food options (eg. salads). It makes and delivers 4 meals in a day which are nutrient measured & calorie counted, mainly through subscription plans to diverse group of customers like fitness enthusiasts, working couples, bachelors, working professionals, startup and helps them in achieving their fitness goals.
Tandurust meals are served in a top sealing plastic tray. One portion includes multigrain chapattis (and brown rice), where flour is blended with flaxseed powder to add Omega 3 fatty acids in the meal. There would be a legumes preparation which is a good source of complex carbs, dietary fiber & protein. Healthy Indian curries prepared by using minimal oil would also be served. Delicious raita prepared from Indian yogurt and blended with freshly roasted & ground flaxseeds will definitely satiate the taste buds. Of course, salad prepared from broccoli, sprouts or steamed veg completes the meal.
Breakfast/Snacks sample may include sprout sandwich stuffed with moong sprouts, lettuce and other vegetables, served with yogurt sauce (a new recipe developed as a replacement of mayonnaise). Or say, oats, ragi & brown rice idli which are rich in complex carbs dietary fiber and vitamins.
Tandurust has a subscription based model offering weekly and monthly plans for all 4 meals. Subscription allows to have a proper forecast of meal requirements which minimizes wastage. Advance payments ensure better working capital management. The current subscriptions are around 80-100 meals a day and breakeven is targeted by the end of June 2015.
With customers from big companies like HSBC, Goldman Sachs, Paypal, CISCO, HP, Twitter and startups like Flipkart, bluestone Tandurust has got a very good traction so far. It has reached 300+ customers, delivering 6000+ meals so far. More than 60% of the customers have continued their subscription plans. Tandurust intends to reach 1000 orders a day, to be served from the currently centralized kitchen in Bellandur. Pushpesh and Sudhanshu also have plans to setup 2-3 new kitchens in the city and expand to other cities in parallel. So finally, Achche Din are here in terms of balanced and healthy food options!
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