This Kolkata-based D2C startup is delivering health and wellness packed inside its delicious gummies
Founded in 2021, Kolkata-based What’s Up Wellness offers healthy supplements packed as gummies to help people have healthy hair, skin, and nails.
Amid the pandemic, people have realised the importance of taking care of their health, follow a healthy lifestyle, diet, etc. However, many of us find it difficult to stick to our wellness plans. After some time, either we get tired of the healthy food items, or find it difficult to maintain our supplement schedules.
But what if wellness came packed in delicious, sweet, gelatinous gummy candies?
Image Credit: What’s Up Wellness
Kolkata-based , founded by Vaibhav Makhija and Sayantani Mandal in April this year, is aiming to help people stick to their wellness supplements through gummies.
What's Up Beauty gummies are a delicious blend of 13 essential ingredients for healthy hair, skin, and nails. The FSSAI-approved product claims to be completely vegan and gluten-free.
Early journey
Vaibhav and Sayantini have previously worked in various D2C brands where Vaibhav held responsibilities related to digital ads, product management, email marketing, partnerships & alliances, and CRM, while Sayantani worked on branding, social media, communication, and content strategy segment.
The co-founders were working with Grofers from 2019 to early 2020, and were building Grofers’ beauty business vertical named Orange Something. However, the vertical was rolled back amid the pandemic, and the team was furloughed.
The duo reveal that as they have been working in the beauty and wellness market, they wanted to start up their own business in the same segment.
“We were researching the beauty and wellness segment while part-timing. We realised that people use several personal care products such as conditioners, lotions, etc., for healthy hair and skin, but they do not get the desired results from these products. This is mainly because the internal nutritional level required for the same is low. We realised that people spend a lot on these external application products, but the main problem lies internally,” Vaibhav tells YourStory.
Coming with work experience in different segments, Sayantani reveals that while starting up, the duo had to learn about product development, operations, vendor management, etc., among others.
“Since both of us have experience of working in startups, we had an idea about how things work in the background. Both of us divided the work amid ourselves where Vaibhav looks more into the logistics part of the business, while I take care of the product development,” she says.
Illustration: YS Design
Delicious supplements
Vaibhav explains that like many others, they had to move out from their hometowns for their jobs.
While managing work and hectic life in another city, people tend to lose out on home-cooked food and rely on outside food, mostly junk. This leads to a decrease in nutritional value. To counter this, people opt for healthier diet plans and supplements, but might fail to stick to them.
“In case of supplement powders, people mostly find it difficult to stick to the plans after a few days as one needs to get the powder, mix it with water, and then drink it. In cases of pills, it might feel like one is taking medications. Thus, gummies are delicious and are easier to eat. People also look forward to eating it as it feels like a candy,” Vaibhav says.
According to the co-founders, the beauty gummies by What’s Up Wellness include healthy ingredients such as Biotin, Zinc, Folic Acid, Aloe Vera, Grape Seed Extract, Sea Buckthorn, Vitamin A, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, and Vitamin E.
The co-founder explains that while the supplements are healthy snacks, it is advisable to be consumed by people over 18 years of age. Also, adults with any kind of chronic disease such as diabetes and expecting mothers are advised to consult doctors before consuming the product.
Image Credit: What’s Up Wellness
Business and plans ahead
The bootstrapped startup began with an initial investment of over Rs 25 lakh. The company said it will go for external funding after reaching its revenue goals.
The What’s Up Beauty Candies are currently available in 30, 60, and 90 day packs priced at Rs 899, Rs 1,599, and Rs 2,149, respectively.
The gummies can be purchased online through the official website and other ecommerce sites such as , , and , and is now looking to go live on .
While the co-founders refused to share details on revenue and the total orders, they claim that the startup is already recording double digit monthly revenue in lakh.
According to a report by Research and Markets, the Indian dietary supplement market is expected to reach $10,198.57 million by FY 2026 from $3,924.44 million in FY 2020, growing at a CAGR of 17.28 percent.
Other notable players in this segment include , , , and Bodywise, among others.
Vaibhav believes that What’s Up Wellness has an edge over its competitors due to its delicious taste and formulation.
Speaking about the future plans, Vaibhav says, “We are looking to raise funds soon and launch new products across new categories. In the long run, we want to go omnichannel over the next few years and also become a Rs 100 crore brand in the next five to six years.”
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Edited by Megha Reddy