Jiwa, an online first, health food brand strives to inspire a healthy lifestyle through gluten-free, organic and nutritious superfoods. Their products are responsibly sourced and created from the ground up using real, trusted ingredients.
The company claims that every morning, their ingredients are supplied by their farmer-friends, who they pick personally, so the quality of their food isn’t affected. Their products are wholesome, with bare minimum processing and are manufactured and packaged in-house at their state-of-the-art, family-owned manufacturing plant in Khopoli, Maharashtra. The Jiwa family are traditional Atta manufacturers for 50 years. An 8-year-old health food brand, Jiwa means the soul – its life, energy and vigour. “We believe ‘jaisa ann, waisa mann’, you are what you eat. This connection between food, health and life is what inspires our name, Jiwa. As a family business, we have a strong core competency in food manufacturing. We hope to leverage our knowledge, capabilities and experience in the health food segment,” says Raghav Gupta, Founder of JIWA Foods in conversation with Mumbai Live.
Jiwa’s farm goods are quality checked on various physical, chemical and rheological parameters. Once approved, the goods are fumigated for seven days, then stored in covered warehouses. To add more value to each Jiwa product, the goods are passed through a rigorous cleaning process. The products undergo minimal processing to retain the goodness of the grain. The company believes in the art of traditional stone milling which lends a distinct characteristic to our products. Unlike high-speed steel rollers, Chakki stones grind at a slow speed and cool temperature, a production ‘secret’ that allows them to seal in the freshness and bring you wholesome, quality foods. Even their packaging is organic.
They have now launched a first of its kind initiative - Jiwa Farm to Table. They are working closely with local farmers to procure staples which they then fumigate, clean, process and package to offer their consumers in a ready-to-make or restaurant-style cooked form.
At the launch of Jiwa Farm to Table, Gupta said, “As a brand, we believe in strong quality-focus so all our products are of top quality and are processed in-house. All our products are 100% natural, health and nutrition-focused and we pay a lot of attention right from the procurement to the processing (in-house) to the packaging of products.”
Their new line includes Cooked Quinoa, Cooked tri-colour Quinoa, Cooked Barley, Cooked Red Rice and Cooked Steel Cut Oats. The product line aspires to make healthy food convenient and is thus available across on-demand apps and are accessible within one hour, hassle-free, as they are precooked and at the right price.
Jiwa already has about 30 products in their portfolio, they sell a range of healthy flours and alternate grain flours. They also have gluten-free products, speciality and traditional flours. Apart from this, they offer a range of oats-based products and organic grains. Their upcoming products include grain-free (grade three) flours.
Furthermore, with the trend of people becoming more conscious of what they consume, Jiwa believes there are a few reasons for this. Explaining this trend, Gupta shares, “On a macro level, we are increasingly moving from an agrarian mindset to a service-based mindset. That’s starting to reflect in what we eat. We no longer require the over-dependence on carbohydrate-heavy foods such as wheat and rice. What is required instead is a balanced meal perspective, that’s where millets, proteins, dietary fibre, micronutrients and so on comes in. Food brands need to rethink their product offerings accordingly.”
Gupta also believes that the pandemic has affected their industry, especially with people becoming more aware of their health and their mindsets becoming more accepting of organic food. The company believes that Indians can be drawn to organic food by having more brands in the market that promote genuine organic produce.
While this may take some time to happen, Jiwa has its future roadmap chalked out. The company is planning to launch grain-free flours, such as almond flour, cashew nut flour, raw banana flour and water chestnut flour along with flaxseed powder in the near future. The plan on further branching out the reach of their brand by making their products more affordable, easily accessible and convenient to use are also being carved out.
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