A lot of research and surveys have gone into the creation of Strawfit, say Shashank and Rajat Jain, founders of Strawfit.
New Delhi: Strawfit is India’s first and only patented, immunity boosting product with added colostrum, the first milk that a cow produces after giving birth. Shashank and Rajat Jain, founders of Strawfit, talked about the company in detail in an interaction. Excerpts:
Q: Please explain what Strawfit is.
A: Simply put, Strawfit is a milk flavouring straw. It is a straw that is filled with flavouring balls full of nutrients, which when dipped into a glass of milk and sipped through, turns our regular boring milk into a wholesome and delightful drink.
Strawfit is also India’s first and only patented, immunity boosting product with added colostrum. Colostrum is the first milk that a cow produces after giving birth. This milk, which is rarely available to humans on a regular basis, is extremely enriched and nutritious. We wanted our product to be simple, easy to store and transport without compromising on the health aspect of it. Strawfit checks all these boxes, and most of all, revolutionises the way one drinks milk.
Q: What was the idea behind launching this product?
A: My brother and I have always been inclined towards good food, and we can even say that this was our inspiration and drive to enter the industry. We wanted the idea behind our first product to be innovative and novel. A lot of research and surveys have gone into the creation of Strawfit, as we realised that nothing new as such has emerged in the milk flavouring market for over 2-3 decades. Your usual malt based flavouring substances require effort to use, and mostly have zero nutritional value, for which Strawfit is a unique substitute.
Q: What are the challenges you faced in conceptualizing and realizing the product?
A: The biggest challenge we faced with launching a first-of-its-kind product was that we did not have anything for reference. Everything, starting from the concept, to the machinery was tailor-made for us, and it took us around 2 and a half years of rigorous R&D and on-ground testing to bring to fruition the concept, taste profile, development process and product of Strawfit. We remember drinking 20-30 glasses of milk in a single day to test out the right combination of flavours to make Strawfit just perfect.
We see our customers trying it now and commenting on how easy it is to use, but in reality several factors had to come into play to make it happen. For Strawfit to be successful all over the country, we had to take into account the taste, solubility etc. Finding the perfect blend that could withstand any condition and variation anywhere was our hurdle to overcome.
Q. What sets Strawfit apart from other milk flavouring products in the market?
A: The USP of the product. Our USP is deliberately very simple. 3C’s—Concept, Convenience and Complete Health. The concept of conveniently drinking milk through a flavoured straw is something that the market had not yet seen. This worked in our favour to get the patent. Colostrum also plays a major part in making Strawfit completely healthy. All of these elements, along with over 30 added nutrients makes Strawfit a unique and distinctive product.
Q: What are your market expectations and projections?
A: Since Strawfit is a first-of-its-kind product, we want people of all ages to try it. Currently, it is popular among children and parents of children up to the age of 17. We would like to reiterate that anyone who is not lactose intolerant, between the ages of 3-70 can safely enjoy and embrace Strawfit as the new way of drinking milk.
Q: What are your company’s future plans?
A: The idea of Strawfit is growing. We are already available in almost every gourmet departmental store in India, and have also entered the Kirana ecosystem of the country. Given the uniqueness of the product, we are fielding multiple product offers from Maldives, London, UAE and Canada.
This sort of success and recognition at such an early stage is only driving us to bring about a diverse range of products that are aligned to cater to the needs of consumers in upcoming years. We anticipate rapid growth to bring revolution and innovation, and aim to develop richer tastes and make our customers’ lives happier without affecting the environment.