Startup Circle: How is Timios, a FoodTech StartUp transforming the way children take their early years' nutrition

Timios was founded by brother-sister duo Aswani Chaitanya and Hima Bindu in 2016. The idea came about when Aswani moved to India from the UK in 2014 after spending about 15 years at top tier investment banks. Once he returned with his family, as parents, Aswani and his wife were in search of healthy age-appropriate snacks for their two young boys. Unlike in the developed markets, there were no options for healthy yet tasty snacks designed for children. He realized the gap in the market and teamed up with his sister Hima Bindu, who holds a Masters degree in Nutrition and has worked as a research associate at an agriculture university and as part of the research and development team of a leading FMCG company. The duo founded Timios to create healthy yet flavourful and age-appropriate food products for children.

To know more about the company and the motto behind, CIOL to the opportunity to talk to Aswani Chaitanya, CEO and Co-Founder, Timios. Here is an excerpt of the interview.

1. How did you start with the product?

The idea of coming up with a food brand for kids was sparked during supermarket visits where there always seemed to be a tussle between parents and little ones. There was a huge gap when it came to children’s snacking, so I dived deep into research and reached out to friends and family to understand the market more. My wife played an integral role in all of this too, comparing what was available in the UK and India. It was discovered that apart from a handful of known mega brands, there was nothing in this space that was specific to healthy snacking for kids.

This was a concern because nutrition plays a very important role at this age. It was very clear that this needed to be addressed. Fortunately for me, my sister is a Nutritionist and had just delivered a baby then. She too was on the lookout for something that allowed her the balance of work and home. My father being an Agricultural Scientist did bring invaluable contributions too. We reached out to paediatricians, got relevant references and factories. The base was set but it was time to get things into motion. We started putting a plan of snacks and bars and that is how Timios came into the picture.

2. Toddlers are picky eaters, especially when they are starting. How do your products join for the beginning for solid intakes in newborns?

It’s a no brainer that children learn from what they observe, hear and experience. A parent’s first responsibility in cultivating good eating habits is to walk the talk. Be a healthy eating role model for your little one. If you want your kid to eat broccoli, make sure you are eating them too. If you want them to stop munching on chips, make sure you don’t get them or replace it with something nutritious and equally tasty.

Let’s be honest here and accept that children don’t care whether something is healthy or not. They will eat food that’s tasty, maybe colourful or packaged in an exciting manner. As a parent, you have to take that extra step to ensure that healthy can be tasty, colourful and exciting.

3. Parents are not just who look after what a child is eating, especially in India. How are you raising awareness with the grandparents?

In the case of joint households, grandparents do play a crucial role in the food habits that children develop. If we look back at how our eating habits have evolved, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that our parents and grandparents ate a lot more healthy than compared to us. Their food choices were focussed on eating fresh, natural and healthy. Many grandparents today are aware of what’s best for children.

Today, reaching out to grandparents and raising awareness in this age category is fairly simpler. Grandparents today are quite tech-savvy and they are evolving with changing times. Most of them are now active on social platforms like Facebook and Whatsapp. Hence reaching to them through social media is one of the options.

4. Is the product only for the privileged? How are you catering to the social aspect of child-nutrition?

Timios is good quality, healthy and nutritious food products for kids. It is priced carefully making sure it's not a fancy one-time purchase but for everyday consumption. Our product range starts from ₹ 20.

5. How are you maintaining the supply of products in the pandemic?

We are carefully assessing the requirement and reaching out to suppliers. We reached out to all past and current suppliers to make sure we have enough quantities.

6. The child health market is not just about food. Are you looking to expand in skincare, body growth etc?

Our focus currently is entirely on what kids eat. As the saying ‘Old Habits Die Hard’, the food habits or an eating routine that a child cultivates can carry over to adulthood. Therefore, children need to develop nutrient-rich eating habits right from a very young age. Therefore, our focus will always remain on food because it’s the most important element at the early stage of growth.

7. How does the company handle unsatisfied customers?

Customers shape our success all through the journey. We take any feedback that comes our way with an open mindset and finds ways to make improvements.

Timios is designed keeping kids in mind. We understand how big a deal it is for parents to keep their little ones happy and going! While I wouldn't say we have had 100% happy customers, we do everything we can to keep them happy. Despite all this, if a customer is unhappy, we follow through with the customer to understand and identify the cause for concern and ensure it never happens again. We also make it a point to follow through with them to ensure the concerns are sorted.

Honestly, there is nothing that cannot be fixed, provided it is approached with an open mindset. During this process of addressing concerns, it helps us understand our customers better and vice versa. Post our conversions with customers, they tend to understand our brand better and why we do things a certain way.

8. Is it okay to feed children "packaged food"?

Yes, but it all depends on the kind of packaged food that you opt for. Not all packaged products are dangerous if you pay attention to the label and ingredient list. It is the overuse and limitless eating of the packaged products that can cause the problem. Over restricting on everything will only tempt the kids. Do it more and they might sneak out and binge on them behind your back. Therefore, it’s important to choose age-appropriate packaged products. Choose snacks that are appropriate for their age, are made with natural ingredients, contain optimum levels of sugar and salt.

In short, be sure you understand everything that’s written on the nutrition label. In addition to this, one should also be aware that a snack should never replace a meal. Therefore, the quantity of a snack should be such that it gives them the required nutrients in between meals.

Funding

Timios raised Pre Series A funding led by Rangsons Technologies LLP, part of NR Group. The round also saw participation from Paipal Ventures LLP. The funds will be used for product development, strengthening the existing distribution network and enhancing the technology platform. Timios had earlier raised funding from MTR Foods Pvt Ltd in 2018.

Commenting on the funding, Aswani Chaitanya, CEO and Co-Founder of Timios said:

With the new investment, we will continue to develop more innovative products and expand our footprint. We are very pleased to bring on board Rangsons Technologies LLP and Paypal Ventures LLP to be a part of our next phase of growth. In addition to the investment, we value the tremendous experience and strategic vision they bring to the table.