Introduction

Ayurveda is an age-old Indian medicinal system that emphasises using plants to make goods that are more effective than others and that physical and mental wellness can be achieved via nature.  Indian traditional medicine is followed by ayurvedic medicines.

Because Ayu means life and Veda means science, Ayurveda is translated as "The Science of Life" in Sanskrit. Ayurveda also translates to "Mother of Healing." It adheres to the age-old Vedic culture.  Ayurveda emphasises prevention above all else and promotes health maintenance via appropriate lifestyle choices, food, and herb use.

More than 100 businesses in India are involved in ayurveda, with the belief that it is a viable treatment option for those who have not responded to allopathic or homoeopathic treatments. Namhya Foods is an example of an Indian co company. The Ayurvedic Tea company Namhya was established in 2019. Namhya Foods asserts itself as the pioneer ayurvedic brand in health prevention in India. They sell superfoods, tea powders, herbs, and cereals. The grandpa of the business owner served as an inspiration for Namhya's tea and other formulas. "Namhya Foods" was founded by Ridhima Arora. Jammu & Kashmir is home to the headquarters of her startup. After completing her B.Tech in Electronics and Communications at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Ridhima attended Great Lakes Institute of Management for her PGDM in Marketing and Sales. She also worked for Lava International for three years as the Senior Marketing Manager.

The main mission behind Namhya is to make Ayurveda products accessible for a normal person such that they can easily integrate into their regular life. The sales were ₹54 lakhs in the previous 6 months. They had 50% repeat customers on their website, which is really a big achievement. All the products are available on many online marketplaces along with their own website respectively.

Founder’s Journey

Namhya foods was founded by Ridhima Arora, who hails from Jammu & Kashmir. Namhya Foods provides different tea blends, breakfast cereals, and lattes which uses 70+ years old Ayurvedic recipes. Miss Ridhima Arora was born on 28th December, 1992 in Jammu and Kashmir. She did her schooling at JK Public School. She did her B-Tech in Electronics and communications and then went to Chennai’s Great Lakes Institute of Management to pursue PGDM in marketing and sales. While pursuing MBA she worked as project trainee at Ramco Systems Chennai for four months. Ridhima was also fascinated by fashion shows in her college days and did few modelling projects.

Her grandfather was a traditional Ayurvedic practioner and started a small herbs business store in the year 1937 in Jammu and Kashmir where he sold natural herbs and did Ayurvedic treatment. Ridhima’s Father took over the business and expanded it further.

Namhya Foods are soul and body healers. Miss Ridhima Arora noted that the food and healthcare industries differ greatly from one another. Thus, she established Namhya Foods and began selling goods that included herbs used in Ayurveda.

Ridhima began her fitness adventure in 2014 and shed 30 kg in two years (from 86 kg to 56 kg) in order to get in shape. Throughout the entire procedure, she saw how few healthy food options there were in the market. Additionally, liver cirrhosis caused her father to become gravely ill. This time, Ridhima made extensive use of her expertise and Ayurvedic research.

In Jammu & Kashmir, it began as a test retail location. Namhya Foods first decided to offer their products offline, however later on they started making loss.

Ridhima realized that she herself being from marketing background failed to understand her core competencies and did not utilize the digital field efficiently. So she decided to change her business strategy and used all online platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, Blinkit eBay, Etsy (International) etc. 

Namhya uses only natural blends and there are no preservatives. It contains foods like sattu, Tragacanth Gum, Arjun Chhal etc. Also Namhya does not use vegetable oils, or sugars and preservatives. These traditional herbs have natural healing properties and help to revive the prana in the body.

More about Namhya Foods

The main mission behind Namhya is to make Ayurveda products accessible for a normal person such that they can easily integrate into their regular life. The sales were ₹54 lakhs in the previous 6 months. They had 50% repeat customers on their website, which is really a big achievement. All the products are available on many online marketplaces along with their own website respectively.

After 2.5 years, Namhya Foods is selling about 26 different items. One-fourth of their sales are herbal teas for diabetes and PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome), hormonal disorders common in women of reproductive age. Among the other goods are Ragi Breakfast Cereal, Sattu Breakfast Cereals, Liver Care Tea, Thyroid Care Tea, and Lung Cleanse Tea. Since its founding, the company, according to Arora, has sold 50,000 PCOS tea. The company entered the US market in June of 2021. In the UAE, Canada, and Australia, Namhya Foods is already operational.

Shark Tank India Deal

In Shark Tank India Season 1, Ridhima Arora had asked for funding of ₹1 Crore in exchange for 5% Equity. The valuation of Namhya foods was Rs 20 Crores.

This Kashmir based startup had raised ₹50 Lakhs against 10% Equity and IN₹ 50 lakhs in Debt from the shark Aman Gupta of boAt Lifestyles.