I saw. I learned. Let's begin.

“Once the light shines on your path, you will see clearly” - Lailah Gifty Akita

The thing about seeing too much, too deep, is that you can’t unsee it. Even if you try too hard, traces of it shall linger and penetrate your mind, sooner or later.

I am about to tell you all a story of what I saw and how it will define my life now. Perhaps, yours too!

I am a proud father of two young boys, one is 11, and the other is 14. Every time we’d travel together, we’d be complimented on having twins. My wife and I initially embraced the compliment; after all, the idea of having twins is sweet for most of us. They were small kids, and we didn’t bother about it much until they hit a growth spurt, and the elder one continued to be seen at par with the younger one.

The sweetness soon paved the way for something fairly disconcerting. During the pandemic lockdowns, we noticed that the elder one’s food habits were fussy, and its outcome showed up every now and then on his immediate health.

This isn’t unique, but picky eaters are typical in most households. Kids are intelligent negotiators when it comes to dinner-table conversations. We know that there is only so much in our control. So, we felt the need to do something about it.

We drew an analysis of our elder one’s nutrition intake and found that nearly 40% of his daily calories were coming from packaged snacks and foods. And then his BMI, which was actually the hardest to swallow, was amongst the bottom 5%. He was into sports and very active for his age, but he’d also be the first to fall ill. We were intrigued, he was eating, but only 50% of the edibles were truly nutritional.

We went about speaking to more parents/families. Still, not many were aware of the nutrition gap in their own household.

‘Kam khaa raha hai, thoda aur khila denge,’ seemed to be the typical response.

Unfortunately, in popular parlance, nutrition is perceived as a low-income group or poverty-related challenge. When considering the middle/upper-middle-class segment, it only gets linked to weight loss & management.

However, if one refers to the Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS) 2016-2018 study, it indicates that in many cases, the urban higher income household (HH) kids suffer from higher deficiency levels than the poor i.e. Iron-1.8x, Zinc-1.8x, Vit D - 1.7x, Vit B9-1.5x.

In spite of all ways & means available, the food & lifestyle habits practiced lead to significant deficiencies.

The government is aware of this challenge & has, therefore, been pushing for the fortification of foods, but how do we make it reach the common people and bring a shift in the mindset?

That seeded the idea for something big and beyond.

What followed was an assortment of travels to several corners of the country to meet families — mothers, young adults, teenagers, and senior citizens — over 1000 hours of consumer connect and heartfelt conversations landed us with valuable insights about micronutrient deficiencies and the epidemic of ‘Hidden Hunger’.

Those who have known me know my firm belief in the rubber band philosophy — the more you stretch yourself, the more purposeful and valuable you become to the world around you.

Superfoods Valley is my humble attempt to simplify nutrition to the consumer at large, create an impact in a niche and uncharted territory and be useful.

If you’d like to come on board this mindful journey and transform the way we all consume, do follow Superfoods Valley.