This entrepreneur’s cereal and snacking brand aims to change the breakfast game

In today’s fast-paced world, we are seeing a noticeable demand and shift in the consumption of on-the-go breakfast items such as oats, muesli, cornflakes, etc. According to Mordor Intelligence, the Indian breakfast cereals market is expected to witness a CAGR of 8.2% during the next five years.

“Most of the products available under this category are either loaded with sugar or they lack taste and are chewy in texture,” says Pathik Patel. 

A serial entrepreneur, Patel, who is also a marathon runner and fitness enthusiast, started Fit & Flex in 2019 in his journey of eating better.

The Ahmedabad-based startup offers a range of breakfast cereals and snacking products with over 35 SKUs. The founder claims the products are 100% baked and have less sugar content.

Fit and Flex products have 65-70% less sugar content as compared with legacy brands, says Patel.

“The top two brands selling granola in the Indian market have close to 17-18 grams of added sugar per serve, which in the case of Fit and Flex is just 3.5 grams,” he adds.

Products and technology

Fit & Flex offers muesli in three flavours, and granola is available in four flavours. Its snacking products include baked multigrain mixture in three flavours and mini bites are available in flavours like chocolate, almond, and cranberry yogurt. 

While the breakfast cereal market is already dominated by brands like Kellogg’s, Nestle, Marico, and others, Patel is quite confident that the technology used to make the products and their ingredients will help the startup get a good market share.

According to Patel, Fit & Flex uses unique proprietary baking technology, giving it a unique crunch and texture that no other brand has been able to achieve in India. It currently has an overall production capacity of 375 metric tonnes per month and 4,500 metric tonnes per year.

“The Baker Perkins line is a European machinery that has a proprietary baking technology where products are baked at 360 degrees, which removes the moisture and gives them a unique crunch and texture that is long lasting,” he adds. 

Before starting Fit & Flex, Patel grew his family’s cotton and chemicals business for more than 20 years. He used the profits from the cotton and chemicals business to start Fit & Flex in 2019. The company invested Rs 30-35 crore to set up the factory, which includes the cost of machinery, equipment, safety setup, etc. The machinery—patented technology from Europe—cost Rs 60 crore.

“We have India’s biggest (in terms of size and production) cereal manufacturing plant and have invested close to Rs 100 crore in the manufacturing,” says Patel.

However, he says, "Being a bootstrapped and premium ingredient and nutrition focused food company, we face challenges everyday. The market already has enough giants who have misinterpreted breakfast cereals with loads of added sugar, preservatives, artificial and low-quality ingredients. Besides, bigger brands often have monopoly in offline retail. We fight them day in and day out just by the virtue of wholesome ingredients and lowest to zero added sugar that would make India healthy."

The startup sources oats from Australia and is one of the best in the world in terms of quality, claims the founder. It also imports frozen dry fruits from Thailand. 

“Using the IQF technology, excess moisture is removed from real fruits ensuring their nutritional value is still intact and these are the fruits we use in our products unlike competitors who use sugary or candied fruits for saving costs,” adds Patel.

At a brand level, the startup claims to have an upper hand when it comes to product format, taste, and quality over its competitors.

“Most of the new-age competitor brands have now been acquired by large conglomerates, which has given them a huge advantage in terms of fast expansion of distribution network in offline channels, which is one challenge that we face as a completely bootstrapped brand,” adds Patel.

Market opportunities and revenue

Fit & Flex’s Muesli is priced in the range of Rs 140 to Rs 295, and granola is slightly on the premium side - priced between Rs 265 and Rs 425. Its high protein flavoured oats cost Rs 250 for 400 grams and multigrain mixture snacks are available for Rs 20, Rs 55, and Rs 99. 

The startup generated a revenue of Rs 12.5 crore in FY24, and is aiming to close FY25 at Rs 18 crore. 

Presently, Fit & Flex's products are stocked in over 5,000 general trade (GT) and modern trade (MT) stores in India, including DMart, Reliance Fresh, Reliance Signature, SPAR, Nature’s Basket, Modern Bazaar, Simpli Namdhari, Magsons, etc.

Additionally, they are available in more than 200 vending machines operated by Dalchini, Nutritap, We Wend, etc., and on various prominent ecommerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, CRED, Meesho, Jio Mart, Health XP, Bigbasket, Natures Basket, and ONDC. 

Furthermore, its products are exported to countries like the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Maldives, Nigeria, Uganda, Nepal, Philippines, the USA, and Canada.

The company’s sales for FY 23-24 stood at Rs 12.5 crore and it is aiming to close FY 24-25 at Rs 18 crore. 

The company has a team of 60-70 people at present.

The way ahead

Speaking about future plans, Patel says, they want to make Fit & Flex India’s most loved snacking brand in the 'better for you' category--refers to foods that are healthier, lower in calories or sugar, natural, or less processed.

Apart from this, building a strong GT network is our primary focus this year in order to be able to reach a large number of homes and become a familiar brand.

In the coming year, the startup plans to introduce high protein and millet-based snacks to expand its snacking category, and aims to aggressively expand into the GT markets, with plans to open nearly 10,000 new stores. 

(The copy was updated to correct sugar content figure.)