BodyFirst® is part of BodyFirst® Wellness Nutrition Pvt. Ltd., a science-based sports nutrition, personal health, and wellness group. BodyFirst® products aim to provide health supplements of the highest quality and ONLY the ingredients which have a lot of studies done by research bodies. Not only are the products scientifically approved but they also have high-quality standards that are maintained across batches as the Regulatory norms.
Right from sourcing our scientifically studied ingredients to evaluating the right dosing and getting the final product in a format that is user-friendly, they take utmost care to maintain quality. The brand’s products include nutraceutical and AYUSH products, and it plans to add a range of 50 more products in the coming months. Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty has partnered with this wellness brand, joining the brand’s mission of ‘Aatmanirbhar’.
Pranay’s ambition is to create superior nutrition and wellness products for the millions of Indians. Being a victim of sugar addiction himself and the consequences that comes with it, Pranay realised the importance of not only physical fitness but also the role a healthy diet plays in one’s lives, a diet without this drug-like substance called Sugar. Pranay’s vision is to be a pioneer of a No-Sugar diet moment. He snaps at processed sugar whenever he sees friends or family injudiciously consuming it. This is because he has learnt the hard way, the disadvantages of refined sugar consumption.
Curious to know more about the brand, we sat down with Pranay Jain to have an insight about the same.
1) Please tell us how you started BodyFirst.
I founded BodyFirst in 2017 inspired by my own transformational journey with the aim to provide consumers with a nutritionally rich product range, with specially curated ingredients clinically studied and researched. I was always a very athletic person. I have won many awards by playing district-level tournaments. But as I grew older, stress escalated in my life, and my go-to solution became sugar. This continued for a long time until I lost my confidence, and my health took a dive. In 2012, I joined Mixed Martial Arts and that changed my perception of health. I understood the importance of a healthy diet and regular workouts. This was also when I bid my adieu to sugar. Over time, I strived for a healthy body and the metamorphosis continued until I emerged as a fitter person with grit and determination for a healthy lifestyle. After finishing my MBA at NMIMS, I realized that it was time to build a brand that helped others in their fitness journey and transformation. And thus, BodyFirst was created.
2) What factors influenced or motivated you to start this venture?
Going through the journey of transformation and evaluating the many factors that played an important role in building a healthier lifestyle, I realized that I wanted to help other people with the knowledge I had accumulated over the years. By building an ecosystem that educates, encourages, and builds awareness around health and nutrition, I wanted to provide the consumers with the necessary products to reach their desired fitness levels. I have a huge passion for a healthy lifestyle and my intention with building BodyFirst is to empower people with the same knowledge and power over their health.
3) Your No sugar Movement is quite inspiring and informative. Please elaborate on this.
I consumed sugar like any other person in our country. It was around my college time that eating sugar become a stress eating habit. Over time, I saw the adverse effects of refined sugar. I went on a no-sugar diet and learned more about what sugar does to one’s body. It causes high risks to the heart, is a leading cause of diabetes, and has been associated with depression, irritability, and obesity. Refined sugar can become an addiction without one’s knowledge because of how often it finds its way into our diets. I have specifically designed BodyFirst as a wellness and nutrition brand. I also hosted multiple webinars on the disadvantages of sugar. Additionally, I researched and provided multiple alternatives to it as well.
4) Do you believe that a person must consume only a specific quantity of sugar in a day? Also, please share your insights about how effective are sweeteners for consumption by individuals?
I am a strong believer in no-sugar diets and my vision is to be a pioneer of the same. Refined sugar is very harmful to the human body. It also is very addictive and can cause withdrawal symptoms. I have conducted various seminars on the disadvantages of sugar consumption. I also have researched and suggested various alternatives for it. There are 52 types of sugar and all of them are harmful. Sweeteners have, over time, proven to be a good alternative for sugar. If consumed in moderation, it can help maintain a low-calorie diet while avoiding the harmful effects of sugar consumption.
5) How has your journey been so far?
I founded BodyFirst in 2017 with a vision to build a nutrition and wellness brand based on science. We, at BodyFirst, have strived to deliver high-quality health supplements made from ingredients that have undergone extensive research by accredited research firms. We have taken significant effort to preserve excellence and a science-backed approach throughout the process, from procuring our extensively examined ingredients to evaluating proper dosage and delivering the finished product in a user-friendly form. The journey to achieve all of this has been a humble one filled with experiences and learnings. Watching all the change we are creating and the nutrition awareness that is spreading is a joy. Like any business, we have rough days, but happy and healthy customers make me keep going on those days.
6) Please tell us some of your best-selling products.
Some of our best-selling products are Fenugreek Fibre, Astaxanthin, Whey Protein, and Flaxseed Oil.
7) How do you manage your team? Does Covid affect your team as well as your business?
We have a team of over 20 employees currently. We strive to hire the best talent. Managing a team takes time and effort but we have a very smooth-running process established within the company. COVID affected us just like it did the rest of the world, but we bounced back quickly. The pandemic induced panic over the world. But during this panic, one of the biggest realizations people had was related to their health. Health, nutrition, and immunity-boosting foods are increasing in popularity. The market size of the global fitness industry surpassed 96 billion USD in 2019 with a statistic of about 170 million people choosing to switch to a healthier lifestyle. Fitness is a growing market and the opportunities in this market are increasing faster than ever since the pandemic. Because of all of this, our business received a boost during the pandemic when people realized the importance of nutrition and wellness products backed by research.
8) What is the USP of your brand?
BodyFirst is a sports nutrition, personal health, and wellness company built on science and extensive research. All our ingredients have undergone extensive clinical research and are backed by athletes.
9) Being a startup, what do you think is the biggest challenge in India? Your thoughts on how our government is doing on supporting startups.
One of the biggest challenges of a startup in India is survival. As a startup, it is very easy to give in to the urge to give up. One can get discouraged due to lack of success for a certain span of time or lack of funding to grow. Perseverance is one of the biggest qualities a startup founder needs to cultivate and exhibit. Startups have been a huge driver for the economy. Through the pro-digitization budget announced earlier this month, the government of India has extended the redemption of taxes for startups by one more year. This will help the startups sustain while aiding them in building a digitally enhanced ecosystem and boosting technological inclusions.
10) What kind of feedback have you received from your customers? Was there anywhere you found you needed to make adjustments?
With science-backed nutritious components at the forefront of our products, early and rapid acceptance has encouraged our customers to embrace a healthy lifestyle. We have been seeing excellent consumer sentiment and incredible feedback and support since the beginning. This has encouraged us to continue introducing new and science-backed nutraceutical products. Given how the industry is growing and the reliability we have observed on our brand by our customers, we are confident that we can help build a higher trust in Indian products. This is also the reason we have a high repeat rate.
11) How has the business performed since you started this venture?
I launched BodyFirst in 2017 with the vision to revolutionize how health-conscious people consume nutrition. We have partnered with SA Pharmachem which provides extensive R&D on nutritional products. Since its inception, BodyFirst has been keen to leave its mark in the nutrition and fitness market. We have achieved to partner with 1000 plus stores across India. These include capturing every segment in the nutrition category and creating products for all demographics. BodyFirst is dedicated to bringing innovative and creative products to its consumers by highlighting convenience and creativity in varied forms such as bars, powders, liquids, chewable, etc. In terms of the patent, BodyFirst has patented its package form that allows faster and more convenient consumption of its content by consumers. We are set to achieve 300+ SKUs in just three to four years since our founding and intend to bring these progressive products within reach of our rising customer base. We have grown 390% since November. We are already witnessing the results of our strategic plans to help connect with prominent wellness chains and fitness influencers around the country and ensure the availability of our products.
