HERALD: What is your field of specialty?
TEAM LAN: We are a food biotechnology based start-up which focuses on tackling certain health issues such as lactose intolerance (wherein the body is unable to easily digest lactose), improper digestion, weak immunity, obesity, osteoporosis and several other dreaded diseases like diabetes and cancer.
We also wish to cater to the needs of vegans since 28.8 per cent of the Indian population is vegan. Our product is a blend of two critical ingredients namely probiotics and soyabean. Probiotics are live organisms which when administered in adequate amount confer health benefits. While soyabean is nutritious pulse packed with high levels of proteins and has a wealth of vitamins and minerals. The current changing lifestyle has worsened these health issues and hence we feel, our product which is lactose free, 100% vegetarian, 100% natural and low fat, is a perfect mix for maintaining a healthy life.
HERALD: How did you get the idea or concept for your business?
TEAM LAN: We have been friends since our bachelors in biotechnology in Parvatibai Chowgule College, Margao. While working on our third year project, we as a team developed a soya based food product under the guidance of Dr Kanchana Rajendra. The process used for making our product is unique and we have filed a patent for the same. We started talking about forming the company but we did not start the company until 2016. The catalysts for this were the patent application and the food hack competition organized by CIBA which gave us a boost and made us realise that our work has a lot of potential. We moved to Mumbai after our masters and founded this firm.
HERALD: What made you build your idea into a business?
TEAM LAN: It is what we are good at and what we enjoy doing. But importantly there is an endless market for healthy and natural food products. You can love something but if there is little or no market for people to buy your product or service, you are dead in the water. Since three out of four Indians have no milk tolerance, it is quite a problem that needs to be tackled. So our soya based products will be of great help. We will not have to create situations where people will have to be made to buy our products.
HERALD: What made you choose your current location as Mumbai?
TEAM LAN: Being Goans and having spent 23 years here, we wish to do something for our very own Goans. Not many are well versed in the field of soya and the numerous benefits that it has to offer. The Goans depend on fish and meat as their sole source of protein and hence we wish to make them aware of this wonder bean which is the meat without bones. We chose Mumbai as compared to Goa, because it has a huge population with no milk tolerance and this market is best suited for our product. Since our product also provides other essential health benefits, we will definitely launch our products in Goa in the near future.
HERALD: Do you think it is easy to be an entrepreneur? How did you build up an entrepreneurial spirit?
TEAM LAN: It depends on how you define easy. It is definitely more complex and intense but if you love what you do then it is very rewarding and enjoyable. When you have something in hand which can be beneficial to masses then why not use it. Entrepreneurs like Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, a biotechnologist is such an inspiration to young females like us. We are biotechnologists who have to learn how to run a business and be business owners. We knew what we did not know, sought out and valued the people who could help us.
HERALD: What issues did you have to face when you thought of launching this company?
TEAM LAN: In the beginning, it was quite difficult to find the right people who could help us make our product commercially viable. But even during the initial days we never got any negative feedbacks and reviews about our products. The leading companies like Brenntag Ingredients India Pvt Ltd, Givaudan and Flavours 24 helped us improve further on our product. CIBA provided us with the facilities for carrying out our initial trials and connected us with the right people.
HERALD: Where do you see LAN Foods in the next five years from now?
TEAM LAN: Our company LAN Foods’ goal is to be the premiere food tech company in the nation to deliver 100% natural and healthy food products. We wish to redefine the current lifestyle of the Indian population by making it healthy and by providing a fair alternative to the dairy market.
