Better Nutrition
Biofortified staples from farm to table — a category incumbents aren't incentivised to create.
The Opportunity
A vertically integrated agritech startup bringing nutrient-dense, biofortified staples — rice, atta, and grains — directly from farm to urban consumers. In a country where 4 in 5 Indians suffer from nutrition deficiency, Better Nutrition is building a category that large incumbents have no reason to create: their seeds are optimised for yield, not nutrients.
The Founders
Prateek Rastogi
CEOSRCC and IIM Ahmedabad (PGP). Ex-strategy background. Has spent 7+ years building the Greenday biofortified seeds vertical before launching the consumer brand.
Aishwarya Bhatnagar
CMOBSc Food Science and Nutrition, IHM. Husband-wife founding team — deep product expertise in food science paired with commercial leadership.
The Company
Better Nutrition has built the full stack: R&D partnerships to develop biofortified seeds matched to farmer needs and urban taste → 15,000+ farmer partnerships with training and support → 100+ Greenday procurement centres eliminating middlemen → consumer brand selling rice, ragi atta, multigrain atta, makka atta, daliya, and bajra atta. Currently 90% of revenue is from seed sales; the consumer brand (10%) is growing rapidly via quick commerce and e-commerce. Gross margins exceed 30%.
The Market
The branded staples market is currently ₹35,000Cr and projected to reach ₹1,05,000Cr by 2031. The biofortification category specifically represents a ₹5,250Cr opportunity by 2035 at just 5% market share. In August 2024, the Prime Minister launched 109 high-yielding, climate-resilient, biofortified crop varieties — government policy momentum is firmly behind the category.
Competition
Biofortified staples is a new category with no direct competitor. Fortified atta players (Annapurna, Aashirvaad, Golden Harvest) add nutrients post-production — those nutrients are lost in cooking. Organic atta players (Organic Tattva, 24 Mantra) offer no nutrient boost. Better Nutrition's biofortification happens at the seed level — naturally retained through cooking — which is a defensible, first-mover position that incumbents have no incentive to build.
Why We Invested
New category creation
Existing incumbents are focused on yield-optimised seeds. Better Nutrition is the only player building a biofortified staples brand — a category with no direct competition and a clear consumer need.
Full-stack vertical integration
R&D → 15,000+ farmer partnerships → 100+ Greenday procurement centres → consumer brand. Every part of the value chain is controlled, ensuring quality, traceability, and margin.
Government tailwind
In August 2024, PM Modi launched 109 high-yielding, climate-resilient, biofortified crop varieties — policy momentum firmly behind the category.
Brand momentum
PV Sindhu is brand ambassador with an equity stake. Pankaj Bhadouria on a 3-year contract. Featured on Shark Tank — raised successfully from Namita Thapar.
Large addressable market
Branded staples at ₹35,000Cr growing to ₹1,05,000Cr by 2031. A 5% biofortified share alone represents a ₹5,250Cr opportunity by 2035.
Best Case
Farmer adoption accelerates on the back of government policy and market creation for biofortified crops.
Better Nutrition becomes the go-to biofortified staples brand for urban consumers via quick commerce.
Emerges as category leader — analogous to what Daawat did for basmati, now a ₹8,000Cr brand.
Key Risks
Slow farmer adoption — farmers continue to prefer high-yielding seeds with established demand.
Urban consumers are unwilling to pay a premium for biofortification over standard alternatives.
Large incumbents launch similar lines, eroding the first-mover advantage.
Final Thoughts
The incentive misalignment of incumbents (yield over nutrition) and the years Better Nutrition has invested in developing seeds palatable to urban taste give us confidence in their category-creator thesis. The Better-for-You trend in Indian FMCG is real and accelerating — Better Nutrition is one of the few plays built from the ground up to meet it.
Notable Co-investors
GVFL (Gujarat Ventures), Namita Thapar (Shark Tank), PV Sindhu (equity + ambassador)
Vidit Dugar · Investment Note
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