No-guilt dinners with Bangalore-based Nutritown’s healthy meals
Kushal Sharma lost 30 kilos, roughly 8 inches on his waist, in about 6 months.
I’m going to let that sink in for a bit.
He now cycles everywhere and runs half marathons.
I’d always heard of such miraculous weight-loss stories on the late-night teleshopping channels where a fat man or a woman would claim the vibrating belt helped them regain their social life.
I’ve now finally met someone who’s actually lost that much weight, and without using the belt! Through his latest venture, Kushal has now dedicated himself to helping others take the first step in their weight-loss by providing them with healthy food.
What?
Nutritown started roughly two months ago in Bangalore, makes and delivers ‘nutritionist endorsed fresh meals that help you look and feel good’. “I started mentoring a lot of people for weight loss and realized that there were so many people struggling with following and maintaining a smart and practical diet,” explains Kushal. “We control what ingredients are used, how the food is cooked, how much food is cooked and when it should be delivered to you,” he explains further.
Nutritown’s single focus is on dinner right now because in the Indian context dinner is generally the heaviest, therefore unhealthiest, meal of the day.
Quality
All the raw materials are fresh and are procured from organic stores. “We avoid packaged products. Every sauce and dip is made in-house with no maida. Our menu over time has evolved into a healthy hi-fibre, hi-protein and zero trans-fat menu,” beams Kushal. The team of chefs from The Leela Hotels and other establishments work on building a nutrition-locking and streamlined cooking methodology to ensure that the food is cooked on time and consequently delivered on time.
“Since our beta launch, we’ve been getting a steady traction from users. We are really proud of the loyalty we have gained from our customers. The appreciative and critical feedback from them on how to make ‘healthy food tasty’ has helped evolve our menu,” reveals Kushal
What’s for dinner?
The menu for the week is decided at the beginning of the week. Each meal comprises of one portion of food (salads, wraps, sandwiches, etc.) and one portion of drink (shakes, smoothies, etc.). Their most popular food items are the Protein Wrap, Colorido Salad and Fiery Club Sandwich. Their most popular drinks are the Green ‘Tea’wister, Popeye Chlorophyll Smoothie and Powerpuff Smoothie. “Our food is no magic pill, but it is something that will definitely aid you in leading a healthier lifestyle. Since our food is healthy and tasty, it is something that you can stick to for long,” states Kushal.
Branding
Nutritown hasn’t been branded as a catering company. Kushal’s been very careful to communicate to his customers that the purpose is to assist and facilitate a healthy lifestyle, and to become a health brand that people can trust. “Business-wise, we specialize in our operations and technology. We have enough capacity to scale up this business,” he says.
Challenges
The biggest challenge faced is to make healthy food tasty. “We’ve got all of our customers firing in their feedback with every meal they’re served and it really helps,” says Kushal. The deliveries are currently done on sports bicycles – to take the eco-friendly and healthy route forward. “The bikes work for now, but with the growth we’re seeing, we’re going to need to find a new mode of delivery!” he reveals.
“There are a lot of tiffin systems like iTiffin, Itsmymeal, etc. that offer healthy alternatives, but with respect to creating a health food brand that could assist people; I think that spot is vacant,” he signs off.
I had Grilled Chicken Shaslik with a Green ‘Tea’wister at Nutritown, and paid for it as well.