How Good Monk is rethinking nutrition by blending supplements into everyday Indian food

The origins of nutrition startup Good Monk are deeply personal. Co-founder Amarpreet Singh Anand and his wife, Sahiba Kaur, encountered the problem firsthand with their children. Their elder son, then around thirteen, consistently avoided vegetables, nuts, and conventional supplements. Despite sufficient calorie intake, his BMI fell into the bottom five percentile.

“What we were experiencing was not unusual. As parents, you know what your child should eat, but you also know what they will actually eat. The gap between the two is where most nutrition solutions fail,” he explains.

Frustrated by the limitations of existing products, which often contained high sugar levels and were poorly suited to long-term use, the couple decided to study the problem more comprehensively. 

Good Monk, a Bengaluru-based nutrition startup under Superfoods Valley Private Limited, develops easy-to-mix, clinically validated nutrition powders that address common vitamin and mineral gaps in Indian diets.

“We realised that the problem isn’t just what people eat, but how nutrition fits into their everyday life. If it feels like medicine or a chore, it won’t work. Our goal was to make nutrition invisible yet effective, something people consume naturally without thinking about it,” says Singh, Co-founder and Chief Nutrition Officer.

Its formulation was guided by a simple principle: nutrition should be tasteless, odourless, and seamlessly integrate into everyday meals. The powder was designed to mix effortlessly into staples like dal, roti, rice, milk, curd, or beverages without changing their taste, smell, or texture.

Product evolution

Good Monk officially launched in December 2022. Within four months, the startup initiated clinical validation of its flagship product, a step still uncommon in the nutrition space.

“Nutrition doesn’t deliver overnight results. Without clinical evidence, people lose confidence before benefits become visible. For us, validation was essential, not optional,” Singh says.

The products are FSSAI-approved and manufactured in GMP-certified, HACCP-compliant facilities, ensuring regulatory compliance and food safety. Clinical validation has further supported their safety and efficacy, helping build credibility in the nutrition category.

The first product, the Family Nutrition Mix, targeted ages four to fifty. Early adoption revealed strong uptake among households with older adults, prompting age-specific variants, including formulations for those aged fifty and above.

“We didn’t decide our hero product upfront. Consumers did that for us. Our role was to listen and respond,” he says.

Today, the “Healthy 50+” product accounts for nearly 70% of sales, while the Family Nutrition Mix contributes about 15%. Other offerings, including fibre-focused blends and a plant-protein mix for rotis, follow the same principle of integrating seamlessly into daily meals.

While consumption spans all age groups, purchasing is often driven by younger adults aged 25–35 buying for their parents.

“Older consumers rarely browse nutrition brands online. Their children actively look for ways to support them without complicating daily routines,” he notes.

Products are priced between Rs 11 and Rs 13 per serving, translating to Rs 22–26 per adult per day. Sourcing equivalent nutrients individually would cost nearly 65% more.

“If nutrition feels expensive or special, it becomes occasional. We wanted it to feel ordinary, something you

do every day without thinking,” Amarpreet explains. Nearly 75% of customers were new to the supplement category, highlighting the model’s effectiveness.

An idea rooted in household reality

Singh, who had spent nearly fifteen years at Cadbury and seven years at Diageo managing large consumer portfolios, took a three-week sabbatical in 2021 to conduct on-ground research across Delhi, Gurgaon, Indore, Bengaluru, and Mumbai. He spoke directly with families across income groups and geographies.

“Across cities, the pattern was consistent. Parents understood nutrition, but execution broke down inside the kitchen,” he notes.

This insight drew from longstanding Indian household practices, where nutrition is often discreetly incorporated, such as adding ghee, lentils, or vegetables into meals without announcement. “Indian kitchens have always solved nutrition quietly. You don’t announce it; you blend it in. That insight became the philosophical foundation of Good Monk,” Singh says.

From insight to formulation

The development process began with identifying dietary gaps typical in Indian households, followed by extensive consultations with families, nutrition scientists, food technologists, and industry specialists. Iterative experimentation and repeated consumer testing were central to the process.

“We were not trying to create a ‘superfood’. We were trying to fix what was missing in the average Indian plate, and to do it in a way that people would actually follow,” he says.

The final formulation combines 18–20 nutrients, including vitamins A, B6, B9, B12, C, and D; minerals such as iron and zinc; lysine to support protein utilisation; probiotics (Bacillus coagulans DSM 17654); fructo-oligosaccharides for fibre; and selected herbs including Ashwagandha (KSM-66) and Brahmi. Stabilising agents ensure shelf life without compromising daily safety.

What began as a parental concern has evolved into a structured attempt to address one of India’s most persistent dietary challenges: not simply knowing what to eat, but sustaining the act of eating well, every day.

Good Monk’s products are available online through its official website and platforms including Amazon, Flipkart, Zepto, JioMart, Worthy Cart, Swadesii, and PushMyCart. Offline availability is currently limited to select modern trade stores in Bengaluru, with gradual expansion to other cities.

Science, safety, and iteration

Neither founder came from a formal nutrition background, a limitation addressed early through the creation of a six-member scientific council of senior nutrition, food science, and formulation experts.

“Intuition can help you identify a problem, but it cannot validate a solution. Especially when the consumer includes children and the elderly, science has to lead,” Amarpreet explains.

Achieving a tasteless, odourless formulation proved particularly challenging. Early tests, including one involving over 100 families, resulted in multiple rejections, especially from children. “Kids are brutally honest. If they say something tastes different, you know immediately that the product is not ready,” he recalls.

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The development cycle lasted nearly fifteen months, encompassing over 150 quality checks. The formulation underwent clinical validation and received FSSAI approval, with a focus on daily consumption, metabolic suitability, and long-term safety without added sugars or preservatives.

Growth so far and the road ahead

Since launch, Good Monk has served around 4.5 lakh customers and operates at an annual revenue run rate of about Rs 30 crore. Growth has been nearly thirty-fold over 20 months, driven largely by repeat usage and word-of-mouth.

Founders initially invested roughly Rs 1 crore of personal capital and raised Rs 28–30 crore in external funding. The next fundraising round is underway to support brand building, organisation expansion, innovation, and capacity enhancement.

“Most of the capital now is being deployed for the next phase of growth, brand building, organisation building, innovation, and expanding capacity,” Singh says.

While the startup currently operates at a negative EBITDA, this is a deliberate investment choice during scale-up. The startup has a five-year vision of reaching Rs 1,000 crore in turnover, supported by both domestic and international expansion, including the US via Amazon’s Global Selling programme.

“In the next two years, we want to reach a serious level of growth. The flywheel is moving fast, and that gives us confidence in the long-term direction,” he adds.

Good Monk competes with brands like Nutribuddy, HealthKart, OZiva, and Sugarfit, while internationally, it faces established players such as Garden of Life, GNC, and SmartyPants. What sets it apart is its focus on seamless integration into daily food rather than standalone supplementation. 

“Our edge is that nutrition doesn’t demand attention. It blends invisibly into the food people are already eating, so taking it becomes effortless and consistent. Unlike conventional supplements, it doesn’t interrupt daily routines or taste preferences, which is critical for long-term adherence,” he concludes.