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Ayurveda is considered by many scholars to be the oldest healing science. In Sanskrit, Ayurveda means “The Science of Life.” Ayurvedic knowledge originated in India more than 5,000 years ago and is often called the “Mother of All Healing.” It stems from the ancient Vedic culture and was taught for many thousands of years in an oral tradition from accomplished masters to their disciples.
Ayurveda places great emphasis on prevention and encourages the maintenance of health through close attention to balance in one’s life, right thinking, diet, lifestyle and the use of herbs. Kapiva brings out first ever Modern Ayurvedic Nutrition Brand on the holistic approach to wellness and not just a curative science.
Kapiva: Company Highlights
| Company Name | Kapiva |
|---|---|
| Founders | Ameve Sharma & Shrey Badhani |
| Sector | FMCG |
| Founded | 2016 |
| Registered Entity Name | Adret Retail Pvt Ltd. |
| Website | kapiva.in |
Kapiva: About
Kapiva: Founders
How Was Kapiva Started
Kapiva: Name, Logo and Tagline
Kapiva: Vision and Mission
Kapiva: Products and Services
Kapiva: Target Market Size
Kapiva: Business and Revenue Model
Kapiva: Startup Launch
Kapiva: Customers/ Clients
Kapiva: Challenges
Kapiva: Investors & Funding
Kapiva: Advisors and Mentors
Kapiva: Competitors
Kapiva: Recognition and Achievements
Kapiva: Future Plans
Kapiva: Coupon Code/ Offers
Kapiva: About
Kapiva is "India's 1st Modern Ayurvedic Nutrition Brand" delivering food-based innovations for healthier lifestyles of Millennial India. The rich legacy of Baidyanath gives Kapiva the knowledge and the authority to amalgamate traditional Ayurveda with modern forms of nutrition. In addition, Kapiva constantly innovates on its products to bring this traditional ayurvedic wisdom to consumers in modern, easy-to-use formats, while delivering good nutritional value.
Kapiva is derived from the three doshas in the Ayurvedic universe - Kapha, Pitta, Vata, which when balanced in a body, bring overall wellness. Kapiva is established on the belief of Ayurveda being a holistic approach to wellness and not just a curative science.
Kapiva offers product lines such as Ayurvedic Nutrition (e.g. herbal juices like Amla Juice, Aloe Vera Juice), Functional Nutrition (e.g. ayurvedic gummies, nutrition powders), and Everyday Nutrition (e.g. ayurvedic breakfast, A2 ghee). Kapiva has also innovated on the formats of these products, making them more accessible. The range of nutrition powders or ayurvedic gummies brings wellness to consumers in easy-to-use formats which are also a joy to consume.
Kapiva remains focused on innovating on more accessible nutrition, under the realm of Ayurveda. The purity and quality in sourcing of ingredients has been given centre stage.
Kapiva: Founders
Kapiva is founded by Ameve Sharma and Shrey Badhani.
Ameve Sharma and Shrey Badhani have been entrepreneurs for the last 4 years, as Co-founders at Kapiva. They joined hands in January 2016 to build the world of modern Ayurveda.
Ameve grew up in Kolkata and belongs to the family which founded the Baidyanath Group. His grandfather was the founder whereas his father is the current Managing Director of Baidyanath. Ameve is the Chairman of the Western region at the Indian Chamber of Commerce and the President of the Baidyanath Group. He has also worked as a Consultant with McKinsey & Company after completing his MBA. He completed his Bachelors in Economics from New York University and went ahead to pursue MBA from INSEAD.
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Shrey Badhani is an adept and experienced sales and marketing professional. He has been instrumental in driving growth and implementing strategic management at Kapiva. Shrey looks after e-commerce, offline sales, marketing and operations for Kapiva. He started his career in Consulting with Bain & Co and Parthenon. Most recently, he worked as a PE investor with Bain Capital in their India office. Shrey pursued Bachelors in Economics and History from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai and Masters in Economics from the University of Cambridge.
Kapiva has a talented team that bring a varied sense of experience to the table. From reputed business school graduates and experienced senior professionals to college freshers and hardworking amateurs, employees at Kapiva come from various walks of life and add value to the overall success of the company. This eclectic bunch brings the much-needed diversity in perception, having a positive impact on major business decisions.
Kapiva Apprenticeship Programme, where the seniors and experienced staff mentor juniors and help them gain valuable business insights. This has helped the employees gain a cohesive professional experience at a very young age.
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How Was Kapiva Started
Ayurveda has always been at the heart of the Indian tradition. However, somewhere along the way the true essence of it had been lost. People approached Ayurveda with a curative lens but it is in fact, a way of life! It relies on the principle of ‘food is medicine’ and ‘you are what you eat’. Western countries have begun understanding the true value of ayurvedic sciences and the industry is booming rapidly overseas. With the advent of turmeric lattes to moringa cereals, other countries seem to appreciate our traditions more than we do!
One of the major reasons why Ayurveda does not fare well in India is due to the lack of awareness about its benefits and values among the millennial population. Considering that India has one of the largest Gen Y population of the world, we are actually not catering to almost 34% of the total Indian population. To combat this, Kapiva has anchored on creating this awareness among the millennials and securing a modern ayurvedic nutrition stance to educate that section of consumers.
All products of Kapiva are created keeping the busy and on-the-go lifestyle of modern-day Indians, who seek to maintain an upkeep of their health in easy to use and convenient options without having to compromise on taste.
For instance: Kapiva Gummies are designed for on-the-go nutrition with the power of Ayurvedic herbs in a yummy-gummy format, which is convenient as well as a joy to consume!
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Kapiva: Name, Logo and Tagline
Kapiva rests on a core philosophy the founders believe in, embodied in the name itself. The name Kapiva is derived from the three doshas in the Ayurvedic universe - Kapha, Pitta, Vata, which when balanced in a body, bring overall wellness. Kapiva is established on the belief of Ayurveda being a holistic approach to wellness and not just a curative science.
The founders believed in this balanced approach to health using Ayurveda, and the company is well poised to achieve its growth objective as consumers begin to adopt this philosophy by proactively seeking better nutrition. In addition to core Ayurveda, the various product innovations add further value to consumers, making Kapiva a preferred brand for modern wellness.
Kapiva: Vision and Mission
Kapiva constantly innovates on its products to bring this traditional ayurvedic wisdom to consumers in modern, easy-to-use formats, while delivering good nutritional value. Ameve Sharma’s vision for the company’s future is bold and ambitious. Ameve sets the overall direction for the business and looks after the direct-to-consumer sales (website), new product development, exports and manufacturing. He has a strong track record in embracing and nurturing innovation, leading change, managing diverse teams, trading, marketing, sales and business development.
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Kapiva’s vision is to not only provide Ayurveda-based nutrition products, but also to bring balance into consumers’ lives through these products. Over the next 5 years, Kapiva plans to focus on innovating to deliver better product value to consumers through new product development, building a compelling marketing plan with clear strategy, building the distribution network of offline sales and hiring and retaining senior level employees with integrity, intellect and work ethic.
Kapiva: Products and Services
Kapiva stands for modern ayurvedic nutrition. They have been able to disrupt the traditional ayurvedic industry, by presenting the benefits of Ayurveda in modern, more accessible, and convenient formats. With the backing of an Ayurveda-inspired innovation, Kapiva has access to the best suppliers of natural ingredients in the country and has built a very strong sourcing story for all its natural products. In addition, the founders’ exposure to various markets during their earlier experiences, has helped understand the modern consumer’s need very well.
Kapiva is designed for a fast-paced 21st century lifestyle, especially where lack of right nutrition and inadequate immunity can pose serious health risks. The company has created a new category of modern ayurvedic nutrition, which never existed before, addressing the core consumer needs of health and taste.
For example, Kapiva Wild Amla Juice is made from ripe, yellow Amlas as they are more nutritious compared to the commonly used raw, green amlas. Furthermore, the juices are cold-pressed to retain all its nutritional content. All the products share such unique sourcing stories. The company’s fast growth trajectory is a result of the innovation in product development by bringing better quality, more convenient products to the consumer.
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Kapiva invests in R&D and innovates on sourcing better ingredients, convenient product formats, and consumer friendly packaging, to deliver more value to the consumer. The company has developed a top of the line and robust R&D setup in-house, while working with top food technology experts of the country, such as the former heads of R&D at companies like Britannia and HUL, to build best-in-class product ranges. Kapiva remains focused on innovating on more accessible nutrition, under the realm of Ayurveda. The purity and quality in sourcing of ingredients has been given centre stage.
Kapiva: Target Market Size
Ayurveda is a ₹ 30,000-crore industry in India. As per current estimates, Kapiva expects to cross ₹ 300 crores in revenue by 2025 to capture a part of this market. Kapiva’s key market lies in India, with a wide reach. The consumer is typically in their mid-20’s to late 40’s, residing in Metros, Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities. Indians are believers in the power of Ayurveda and the modern Indian consumer is looking for a more accessible and convenient format of Ayurveda to consume its benefits. Besides India, Kapiva is available in USA and planning to expand to Canada and European markets in the coming months.
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Today, Kapiva has a portfolio of 50+ products and is present across the top online marketplaces (Amazon, Flipkart, Big Basket, PharmEasy, to name a few) as well as its own website (direct-to-consumer business model). The products are also available in 6000+ General Trade and Modern Trade outlets in the top cities of India.
Pre-COVID, the ayurvedic market typically witnessed 15-20% growth annually. Contrary to this, in the last quarter, many companies, large and small, witnessed growth between 50-90%. The adoption of Ayurveda as holistic, natural healthcare will have a positive impact on the market. Not just in India, the developing economic conditions of various nations is escalating the demand for Ayurvedic products globally. Ayurveda was considered as a pharmaceutical approach, and used as a solution to specific problems. However, Ayurveda is actually about proactive, holistic health and consumers are embracing it as such, now.
Kapiva: Business and Revenue Model
Kapiva follows an omni-channel model of FMCG sales. Digital sales is one of the key channels, with the company being present across the top online marketplaces (Amazon, Flipkart, Big Basket, Pharmeasy, to name a few) as well as its own website (direct-to-consumer business model). The products are also available across General Trade and Modern Trade outlets in the top cities of India.
Kapiva has enjoyed a natural product-market fit, especially leading in certain categories such as Herbal Juices. The current strategy is to expand the footprint across channels, especially through marketing and new product development, both of which are being undertaken with a keen eye on consumer preferences. Customer focus determines the way forward for Kapiva.
Better health and wellness have always been an ongoing aspiration for the modern Indian consumer. Kapiva has been able to disrupt the traditional ayurvedic industry, by presenting the benefits of Ayurveda in modern, more accessible and convenient formats. This has helped in placing the company on a strong growth trajectory, with an almost 3x uptick in revenues from FY19 to FY20.
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Kapiva: Startup Launch
The company began by making its mark on online marketplaces such as Amazon. The herbal juices category was underrepresented on these platforms then, but the need was definitely present, as was the natural product-market fit. Kapiva capitalized on it and thus acquired the first batch of loyal users.
Kapiva: Customers/ Clients
Kapiva focuses very heavily on the right product positioning within a category, by taking great efforts to carve out compelling differentiators of the product before its launch. In addition, their strong go-to-market strategy helps with accelerated results as soon as they enter a category. However, above all, the company believes that it is the quality of their products which customers appreciate and call out the most, leading to better retention and word-of-mouth marketing.
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Kapiva: Challenges
Kapiva initially started off as a chain of Ayurvedic clinics, through which high quality products were sold as well. Pivoting from that clinic/retail model to the current FMCG model was a challenge. Kapiva realised that their consumers were appreciating and keen to consume natural products to correct lifestyle problems. That understanding led to the current FMCG model of business. Currently, Kapiva is working on expanding distribution across all channels and investing significantly in marketing operations.
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Kapiva: Investors & Funding
| Date | Stage | Amount | Investors Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2019 | Series A | USD 2.5 Million | Fireside Ventures, Mohandas Pai Family Office, Marico Family Office (Sharrp Ventures) |
| April 2020 | Series A1 | INR 13.5 Crores | Jetty Ventures, Fireside Ventures, Marico Family Office (Sharrp Ventures) |
Kapiva: Advisors and Mentors
Kapiva enjoys the mentorship of various experienced investors. The Baidyanath connection forms a valuable advisory channel as well.
Kapiva: Competitors
Kapiva competed with Patanjali, Dabur, Himalaya.
Kapiva: Recognition and Achievements
Kapiva has been awarded The Economic Times Emerging Consumer Brand of the Year 2020. Apart from that, the co-founders of Kapiva, Ameve Sharma and Shrey Badhani have been awarded Emerging Entrepreneurs of Year Awards in the Product or Manufacturing- Healthcare category.
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Kapiva: Future Plans
Kapiva has grown from 0 to 50 crores in less than 3 years. It has scaled rapidly with over 3x increase in monthly revenue from March 2019 to March 2020. The company is expected to close FY21 with revenue run-rate of 70 Crores per annum. Given the strong growth trajectory, Kapiva is all set for profitability within the next 2 years. Since launch, Kapiva has served more than a million consumers and is seeing good traction in, both, Indian and international markets.
The future plans for Kapiva are as follows:
1) Innovation through new product development. Kapiva’s range of immunity products is expected to expand soon, followed by products such as ayurvedic breakfast and ayurvedic effervescent drinks, which will cater to customers’ taste preferences, while being healthy.
2) Expanding the distribution network offline and scaling up the direct-to-consumer channel. Kapiva is currently present in 6,000+ general trade outlets across 12 cities. This is set to expand 10,000+ outlets and cover more cities by the end of this financial year. The direct-to-consumer channel has had a great growth story too – it grew about 20x in revenue in less than a year. It is expected that this strategic channel will grow another 5x this year.
3) Building their brand communication to share their story of modern ayurvedic nutrition. They are focussing on digital channels at the moment, since their customer base is largely present here.
Kapiva: Coupon Code/ Offers
Use code "startuptalky20" to avail a flat 20% discount on all products available on Kapiva’s website.
