Invest Money On Platforms Where Our Customers Are Present: Suhasini Sampath, Yoga Bar

With consumers increasingly shifting to healthy snacking options, Yoga Bar has managed to build a strong brand  recall and capture a sizeable market. The brand is now worth Rs 200cr and growing at a 100% Y-O-Y. The brand now aims to become one of the top 3 food brands in the country with a turnover of Rs 500 Cr in the next 2-3 years. 

In an interview with BW Marketingworld, Suhasini Sampath, CEO, and Co-Founder, Yoga Bar spoke about the major shifts happening in the healthy snacking categories and their startegy ahead.

Excerpts:

Elaborate on the consumer buying trends that you have seen in this category/industry. What is Yoga Bar doing to keep at par with the trends and satisfy consumer needs?

The changing dietary patterns mandate the discovery of foods that are healthy, safe, and able to meet the nutritional requirements of consumers. This past year we have witnessed a major shift in the snacking category as well – from confectionery and namkeen to much healthier alternatives such as oats and muesli, one of Yoga Bar’s top sellers.

A study by Deloitte indicated that Indian dietary trends have evolved with changing food consumption patterns over the years. There has been a decline in the share of grains in the daily calorie consumption (from 63% to 55% in the last six decades), while there has been an increase in the daily consumption of protein (~15% in the last two decades), fruits and vegetables, whole grains and superfoods. 

One definite learning is that more and more individuals are focusing on nutrition. Brands must call out specific health and nutrition benefits rather than simply terming products ‘healthy’. We strive to make consumers aware of the nutritional composition of its products by showcasing complete transparency on all our Yoga Bar product labels. We began the clean label revolution in India because we believe that the big FMCG companies were hiding things from their customers. We wanted to change that.

Tell us what the idea behind starting Yoga Bar was and take us through the journey so far. 

Reminiscing a time we were new to the life of a corporate hustler when we would work for ridiculously long hours and had very little of what we’d call a healthy routine. Clubbing that with being foodies, we would keep munching and were initially quite oblivious of the effect it had on our bodies. Snacking remains intrinsic to Indian food consumption habits. With it, however, comes a load of calories, toxins, and unhealthiness.  

This dilemma was precisely what inspired Anindita and me to the idea of a healthy snack brand. We wanted more out of our snacks retaining the decadent taste our taste buds cannot let go of. We shared this with family and friends to start with and received overwhelming enthusiasm from all of them which is what drove us to bring Yoga Bar to the position it is at today. We started in a market that was still very new to the concept and our market tends to be brand loyalists and skeptical of switching to something unheard of. 

But over the years, the response we’ve received has been phenomenal, to say the least, and we’ve expanded our product portfolio to include something for everyone, from a granny right to a little toddler. From retailers and investors telling us that Health doesn't sell to revolutionizing the packaged Food industry and becoming the front-leader, this journey has been amazing.

 Since inception, what has been the kind of business growth that you have witnessed? 

Anindita and I are proud to say that Yoga Bar is now worth 200cr and is growing at a 100% Y-O-Y growth. Our strategy has been to quickly enter and disrupt the segments which are core to our brand proposition and the value we want to drive. We strongly believe that there is a healthier and cleaner version of every packaged food.

We began with protein bars and soon after, forayed into creating innovative flavours of muesli and oats. The subsequent launch of our breakfast segment captured about 20% market share very quickly. With the success of this segment, we then ventured into creating peanut butters and ayurvedic juices. We made the move into the kids’ segment, our most recent venture, keeping in mind reasonable pricing ensuring penetration into Tier 2 & Tier 3 cities also promoting the products’ wholesome composition for children.

 What do you think is the differentiating factor for Yoga Bar among competitor brands?

We started Yoga Bar to educate consumers and improve the snacking habits of Indians and make them more aware of what they're eating, with a promise of complete transparency in what our products offer and consist of.

Our guiding principle that has led Yoga Bar’s brand journey was to offer a product, designed by nutritionists and not marketers, that promises 100% clean and natural ingredients not compromising on the taste.  

We also advocate a ‘No-Maida’ policy, unlike other brands, as we recently launched our children’s nutritional snacking segment with new mixes, ‘Yo Chos and Yo Fills’ with the Power of 7 consisting of 5 Whole grains (Jowar, Bajra, Ragi, Quinoa, Oats) and 2 Dals (Moong and Channa) ensuring that kids are not consuming maida-filled snacks. 

Since the very beginning, we have always been very focused on our packaging design, using bright, pop, happy colours. It has now become our identity.

What are the product offerings and production techniques that you have brought to the table to entice new consumers? 

We worked with over 50 food experts to put together the perfect set of products for our consumers. Each of the ingredients that we choose has definite nutritive value. We steer away from ingredients that contribute to empty calories. We don’t use any artificial sweeteners, preservatives, or colouring agents. 

Always on the lookout for new opportunities, we have recently expanded our categories - to supplement children’s nutritional needs. We strive to constantly experiment and reinvent our products to give our customers as nutritionally rich a composition as a snack can offer. 

Additionally, in terms of packaging, on the back of our products, we feature inspiring stories of those who have taken the path less travelled but yet are like me and you, someone we can all connect with. We have consciously stayed away from celebrities.

 Could you tell me what the brand’s future plans are and how you see the industry growing in the next 5 years?

We want to become one of the top 3 food brands in the country and aim to become a 500 Cr company in the next 2-3 years.

Living the new normal post the COVID-19 pandemic has made us all rethink our priorities and focus a lot more on ourselves. Given the rising awareness about a healthy diet and focus on nutrition, we see the health food sector as one of the fastest-growing sectors in the country.

One of the milestones we wish to cross is to expand our presence offline and move to 4x the number of retail and chains in the next three years from 10,000 stores at the moment. Our focus is going to be on increasing offline sales along with online sales in the upcoming financial year. 

 Can you elaborate on the key trends that will shape the marketing landscape of the health food industry? 

Given that the health food industry itself was a trendsetter and shattered the existing norms, we believe that the marketing landscape of the health food industry will create its own trends and will not follow what’s happening in other sectors. For example, when Influencer Marketing blew up, every brand went behind it and maybe got returns as well. But it’s different in our industry, if the consumer gets to know that you are trying to build trust by paying someone off who doesn't actually consume your product, it will actually backfire. Similarly, when we started using pop bright colors on our packaging, it became an instant hit with customers and now you will see every small food brand trying to copy that aesthetic vibe. Being the market leader in this industry, we have the power of setting new trends rather than following them.

One thing that we do believe is that every brand in our industry will have to invest in Customer Education. With rising awareness, consumers have started to understand the technicalities of food manufacturing, ingredients and their effects on body, sourcing etc. We need to keep helping them understand their food better by educating them about finer nuances so that the general shift towards healthier food options continues to happen.

 How has the marketing mix changed in the last two years?  

Amid the pandemic, when offline sales plummeted for every company across the country, we had to very quickly pivot from an offline-heavy distribution through 6,000 retail stores which contributed to almost 90% of our revenue, to online channels like Website and E-commerce Marketplaces. This enabled us to clock 3x growth in FY21 alone!

Going forward, our marketing mix will also reflect this change and we see our Marketing spending to be evenly distributed across online and offline channels. One thing we have been very conscious of is that every Marketing activity we do has strict pre-defined KPIs and goals. It has ensured that we don’t waste our money on platforms where our customers are not present. We know our customer touchpoints very well and try to leverage them to the maximum extent. For example, our packaging design, our in-store branding, our social media are case studies in the health food industry.