Sisters Veda and Sudha Gogineni, both graduates of IIT Kharagpur, left their high-paying corporate careers to address a significant issue in India: Undernutrition. Growing up in a health-conscious household and practicing yoga, the importance of good health was ingrained in them from a young age. However, the demands of their professional lives took a toll on their health, leading to issues like knee pain and fatigue.
When they discovered that 75% of Indians lack at least one essential vitamin, Veda and Sudha knew they had to make a change. Unwilling to rely on synthetic supplements, they began searching for natural alternatives. This journey led to the creation of Earthful, a brand dedicated to 100% plant-based nutrition solutions.
Veda, with a background in biotechnology, had initially pursued a career in investment banking before moving to a high-growth startup, Meesho. Her sister, Sudha, brought her expertise from working in FMCG with ITC Limited and Uber to their new venture. Together, they decided to leave their lucrative jobs to launch Earthful.
“Launching our own business was no easy task. Leaving our high-paying jobs for this was a tough decision. We aimed to create 100% plant-based products, a novel concept in India. To achieve this, we had to scout for experts from various countries to understand and source the right ingredients,” said co-founder Sudha.
“Building a team that shared our vision posed a significant challenge,” said Veda. “The challenges seemed endless, but we persisted, trying different approaches each time. We live by Albert Einstein’s words: ‘Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.’ Learning from our mistakes, we succeeded in creating the cleanest products in the market, which now enables us to launch new products more efficiently.”
With ambitious goals to become a 500 crore business within the next three years, Earthful aims to significantly improve the health of Indians. It is valued at 13 billion USD and expanding at 17-18% annually.
