Making India Fit & Fine

Ask a millennial about health food and the likely reaction would be that it is just "not yum!"

Ask an urban mom about her growing teen bordering on obesity and she will confirm that no amount of hiding healthy parathas in ketchup works to get the kid to eat well. Not to miss out on the preservative content in sauces and instant food.

Oh, and do take a quick look at the daily lunches at work. Barring the few who make healthy food choices in advance, most people tend to give in to an unbalanced meal while making a decision on a hungry stomach. Adding to the woes of a professional at a desk job is a sedentary lifestyle leading to unhealthier eating and lesser exercise.

You get the picture.

It is no surprise that India is the world's third most obese country (Lancet 2014) and that obesity has doubled in the last 10 years (Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 2016 report).

Thankfully, entrepreneurs are consciously recognising this as a serious problem. We're edging on towards a world ranking where we might finally beat the US by the sheer size of our population. In this scenario, easy-to-find healthy food and fitness combinations are making their way into the mind-sets of people at a fairly rapid pace in urban areas.

A few are converting their passion for healthy eating and living into entrepreneurial ventures that serve the need to make India fit & fine as we inch closer to the number one position of the most obese nation in the world.

Entrepreneurs Sunayana, Darshana and Kavita have similar personal 'fat-to-fit' stories to tell - stories which have now inspired a two-month old start-up in Bangalore. This start-up has real paying customers, with the highest rated all-day dining option in Jayanagar, one of Bangalore's oldest bastions, and it has a remark-worthy original name - Enerjuvate.

Simply put, Enerjuvate is word play with 'energy' and 'rejuvenation'. Energy comes from tasty and nutritious food, and rejuvenation with fitness experiences that are meant for both body and mind. The all-day dining experience has a menu designed with local produce, largely organic and meant for balanced nutrition. It includes a range of delicacies, from light bites to filling mains handcrafted by Darshana Nahata, a multi-talented artist with early years of experience in hospitality with the family business.

The studio curates unique experiences for fitness, such as aerial yoga, facial yoga, dance experiences and also hosts a variety of trainers for both general workshops and private events. Sunayana's eyes twinkle when she hears of a new experience and ensures that it happens at Enerjuvate, sooner than later. She strives to take Enerjuvate to newer heights and explore endless possibilities. Her experience in large scale operations of exports & logisitics , an avid yoga practioner and heading a forum called Infinite Potential for women entreprenuers provides a cross section of experience which works well for Enerjuvate.

Freshly back from Singapore, Kavita's eighteen years of experience as a digital agency head, and Digital Lead of her newly minted digital strategy agency 'Avocado Tree Digital' has her heading the branding, business expansion & marketing strategies at Enerjuvate.

The team believes firmly in word-of-mouth publicity which can only come from fulfilling a genuine need. Enerjuvate being the highest rated café on Zomato is testament to this. It has received media coverage in all leading dailies, on radio, bloggers reviews and has an active social media presence.

So what's next? Business plans include collaborative expansion, alternate delivery models and a workable model for getting its healthy and creative menu to as many folks as possible. No rush, we just want to make sure that our products are great and that customers keep coming back, because enerjuvenation can be addictive!