A start up Nuskha Kitchen, by a lady entrepreneur, is in the news these days. It is all about traditional Ayurveda wisdom for the new mothers & other patients that made the Sharks and the viewers sit up and notice in the Shark Tank India’s recently concluded first season. It’s a great solution that helps to heal through medicinal edibles. India Input’s editor spoke to the promoter, Alpana Tiwari.
Dr. Namrata Mishra Tiwari
Start ups are getting discussed in Shark Tank India. Nuskha Kitchen was Recently featured in the Sony TV Show. Apart from being the only one from Rajasthan to do so and bringing focus back on Ayurveda and traditional healing, the narration also highlighted the need to discuss postpartum care through our traditional ways. Postpartum period refers to the first six weeks after childbirth, a crucial period of adjustment and healing for mothers.
The promoter Alpana Tiwari shares the Nuskha story in these words, ‘So far we have served around 1000 new mothers with the nurture and care that they deserve along with 3000+ regular customers for our day to day line of products! More than the numbers it is the 5-star ratings that keep us motivated.’
HOW THIS START UP HAPPENED !
Ayurveda runs in the Tiwari family, quite literally. Alpana Tiwari tells India Input about her family’s deep bonds with Ayurveda, ‘ I come from a long lineage of Ayurveda, my grandfather, father, brother, maternal uncles all have been or are Vaidyas and Ayurveda Acharyas. I used to help my friends and neighbours with home remedies and herbal/ayurvedic treatments. People would call up to take suggestions for as common ailments as cough & cold to as complex as postnatal care. That’s when the seed for Nuskha was planted.’
India Input: But any reason for the emphasis on the new mothers ?
Alpana Tiwari: ‘It is very absurd to see that all of these large companies are trying to push for the westernized solution when the commonly accepted and highly effective product is available in our traditions ! Yes. Here’s a fact, almost all of the households in our country have set-right nutrition
edibles that are fed to the new mother post-childbirth! The preparations might vary depending on the traditions, region and culture. However, we all have seen this as the common practice in our households. The Postpartum care was always my forte. Indian Postnatal care is a huge and growing industry, some sources estimate it at around 2.4 billion dollars. All of which is completely revolving around westernized solutions of lactation powders and protein shakes. And it hardly makes any sense, selling these western solutions especially in the Indian subcontinent.’
India Input: How did you launch the Indian start-up on the concept?
Alpana Tiwari: ‘In 2019 when my Son came back quitting his Job at an MNC and was in between jobs, I highly insisted that we take this up as a Startup! He was skeptical at first but I was adamant to follow this through. We did our pilot test in 2019. Designed a package for postnatal care keeping three points in mind:
1. Easy to consume. People should not feel overburdened by the sheer quantity and
variety of ingredients.
2. Must be functional for all customs and demographics.
3. Taste!’
‘We put together two key sciences, traditional ayurvedic herbs + cooking.’
50 DAY PACKAGE FOR NEW MOTHERS
Nuskha Kitchen offers packages for 50-day duration.
They include 20 different items Like Ajwain laddoo, Sonth(dried ginger) Laddoo, Haldi laddoo, Dashmool kaadha, Battesa, Gond Laddoo, Massage oil etc. Alpana Tiwari shares her experience saying, ‘It has helped in the total
and comfortable postpartum recovery, for our clients.’
India Input: How different is the Nuskha experience ?
Alpana Tiwari: ‘Everything comes pre-scheduled. You get proper guidance on how to consume and why to consume each item. Every package comes with a 24 hr on-call support where the mother or family can connect with our experts for any advice. We have Ayurveda practitioner Vaidyas or vaids, dietitians, gynaecologists and paediatrics in our team. Every package is customised as per the body needs and surrounding conditions of the new mother and delivered to the doorstep in the first 4 days of delivery, globally.’
THE TEAM ‘NUSKHA KITCHEN’ !
‘Viral Tiwari my son and Co-founder is a mechanical engineer from Manipal Institute of Tech, Manipal. Post engineering, he got placed in an IT firm and worked there for a couple of months,’ says Alpana ji and adds, ‘Other than us two, we have with us 3 licensed Ayurvedic doctors, 2 gynaecologists, and
yoga experts for guiding us through. We are also blessed to have a workforce of highly skilled women who take care of our production needs, and a professional office staff.’
THE GROWTH STORY !
According to Ms. Tiwari, ‘We are currently working with a 20% growth in sales month on month for the past 8 months and aspire to continue the streak!’ We are currently entirely bootstrapped. We started initially with a capital of 2 thousand rupees from my savings. To now when we are anticipating a turnover of 30 lacs plus by the end of this fiscal year. We have been unit profitable since day one as all our orders are pre booked. Although we do have a high operation cost currently, as we do not compromise with the quality, but the high operation cost is balancing out with the growth in the sales.’
‘We are currently being incubated at MNIT Innovation and Incubation Centre (NIT, Jaipur). As we move forward we wish that our brand becomes synonymous with pregnancy and postpartum care. We aspire to become the pioneers of postpartum care in India, setting up our niche,’ she underlines her ambition before adding, ‘Like we always say our journey is based on one strong belief that Indians don’t leave their roots easily especially in the case of food – eating less but eating well. Now, it is the time, the world is beginning to follow!’
Contact details for bookings :
Website: nuskhakitchen.com/
E mail : nuskhakitchen@gmail.com
WhatsApp : +91 8107309213
