Small-town native brings healthy juices to the Bengaluru fitness aficionados
With people becoming increasingly conscious of what they eat and adopting healthy lifestyles to become more fit and happy, juice has turned into a health aficionado staple. With the fruit juice market hitting a CAGR of approximately 25-30 per cent, the juice business in India is highly dominated by unorganised players (holding over 75 per cent of market share). According to consulting firm Technopak, the Indian packaged juices market alone is valued at Rs 1,100 crores.
This was where Savad saw his opportunity before starting his venture Juice Maker. Hailing from Papanacheri village, Savad left his native when he was nineteen years old. He recalls his early days in Bengaluru, where he landed with just Rs. 250 in his pocket.
I didn’t know how to communicate in English. My childhood friend who is now my business partner, Niyasim, wrote down some scripts in English for my basic communication and survival,” he says
Starting work at a hotel chain, Savad observed how business works in the hospitality industry. Realising he was good with numbers and operations, he envisioned starting something on his own one day.
Before long, Savad climbed the ladder to become the youngest general manager in Bengaluru for the hotel chain. But his success story didn’t stop there.
He quit his job with a vision to make people healthier, and started Juice Maker as a small juice shop in Koramangala. Having realised his passion, Savad tells us how serving fresh healthy juice to customers is what drives him forward.
Juicing out the journey
Started as a social experiment, Juice Maker is a monthly, subscription-based B2C service aimed at providing fresh juices to individuals based on their requirements.
Savad’s childhood friends, Niyasim and Muhsin agreed to invest and join him in his venture as they believed in his vision. Still at its pilot stage, the business has managed to break more than 250 subscriptions through just word of mouth. Savad says,
We received requests from other startups, MNCs, apartments and gyms to provide juices to them on a subscription basis. We thought if this could be powered with technology it will not just make it easier for customers but also inch us towards a successful business model. Wanting to change the culture of packaged juices, our blend of health packs and our tailored recipes are our differentiator.
With a team size seven individuals and an active network of 19 juice makers and delivery boys, the venture is bootstrapped. They say their revenue is increasing at 125 per cent month-on-month, with major source coming from the company’s offline stores.
Open to taking corporate orders, the venture’s client base includes companies like Lookup, 103 Studios, TookiTaki, Pollsye and Get Closer. They have also partnered with Swiggy, TinyOwl, TastyKhana, Foodpanda and Roadrunnr for better visibility and last-mile deliveries.
Moving forward, the startup aims to use only organically grown fruits and vegetables for its juices. It is also in talks with a few vendors from whom it plans to source its fruits and vegetables.
Juice Maker is working on a web as well as mobile application (Android and iOS) which will have modules to suggest juices based on one’s dietary requirements. The company also plans to expand its presence to Chennai by next year.
Explaining the challenges of an entrepreneur, Savad tells us,
During the journey, there are many ups and downs. With the focus on surviving during initial days, the entrepreneur is hit by a lot of anxiety and questions which need to be streamlined, in the best interest of the team.
Savad emphasises that the cycle of a product does not end with its delivery. Rather, there is an active need to get feedback from the customer for constant improvement of the product offering.
The Potential
When one takes into account the 50-billion food-tech market, the business of juice deliveries does not come as much of a surprise. According to Business Insider, in the Silicon Valley, Juicero, a startup functioning with the same model as Juice Maker, has been raising a good deal of cash. Having raised USD four million in October 2013 and USD 15.8 million in April 2014, reports say that the venture was ready to raise USD 100 million in January 2015.
Juice Maker is receiving interest from investors. Moreover, it will be interesting to see if the startup will follow the same growth trajectory as Juicero.