Most start-ups are born out of happy accidents and then, of course, they survive and flourish due to the founder and his/ her team’s concerted efforts. Something similar happened with Happy Ratio, founded by Harsh Batra. Batra was looking to maintain a healthy lifestyle by consuming balanced meals that were both convenient and nutritious.
“In August 2013, I did a month long experiment, in which I consumed 90 per cent of my meals through Happy Ratio’s complete nutrition blend drinks. I have not stopped consuming this drink daily. However, my current consumption patterns have changed. I currently drink Happy Ratio as breakfast and lunch on most weekdays and eat a healthy meal for dinner. On weekends, if I am playing sports, then I consume the drink before the games. A cheat day once a week is a must to sustain this habit pattern, says Batra.
At present, Happy Ratio meals are available in two flavours — chocolate and vanilla. “The flavours were introduced because chocolate and vanilla are the two most consumed flavours in India and across the world. The chocolate one is a great standalone drink while vanilla provides versatility to customise to individual taste buds by adding nuts, fruits and other variants,” he says.
The drinks are currently available on e-commerce sites and talking about the advantages of fuelling the start-up through online presence, Batra says, “E-commerce has been the most effective way for us to reach our audience while sharing our benefits. It has enabled us to be discovered by health conscious individuals who understand the value of nutrition. Happy Ratio’s complete nutrition blend is a very unique product which provides varied benefits from filling the nutrition gaps in people’s diets to fueling exercise and sports and enabling them to lose weight. E-commerce consumers spend time reading the benefits of what we offer, try the product and then become regular daily users of it. We are also planning to be present in stores by the end of the year.”
However, on Amazon, Happy Ratio had a few adverse customer reviews. When asked if the team has been able to identify and resolve the issues, Batra replies, “On Amazon, Happy Ratio is one of the highest rated products in the market. We realised that it is difficult to make everyone happy but every comment and review enabled us to learn, grow, adapt and address the needs of the market.”
A few of the customers commented on the pricing of Happy Ratio products, which they feel is expensive. “Happy Ratio provides complete nutrition with more calories per serve than any other product in the market while being cheaper than a latte served in a cafe. Compromising on health, ingredients to save a few bucks is not what we believe in. We believe that by investing in health one is investing in themselves. Our brand offers a product which is value for money for the nutrition it provides,” he adds.
Last month, the company also launched #Yehhainmerilife campaign in collaboration with Yuwa, an NGO, and has pledged to provide girls with 100,000 complete nutrition drinks. They launched this programme with sportswomen in Jharkhand.
“The nutrition drink for the sportswomen in Jharkhand is the same as the ones available in the market. Happy Ratio fulfills multiple goals for whoever is consuming it. It has the right blend of macronutrients to fuel exercise and sports, providing consistent energy over multiple hours, while being easy on the stomach. Hence, marathon runners, triathletes, cricketers, footballers and tennis players are consuming Happy Ratio. We are hoping that the success of the Yuwa programme will enable us to reach out to more sportswomen across India. Nutritional science is complex and constantly evolving. Happy Ratio evolves with the science,” points out Batra.