Chennai: Driven by purpose & desire to make a social impact, Tamil Superstar & Jawan actress Nayanthara and her husband Vignesh Shivan have invested in the Chennai- startup ‘The Divine Foods‘, the fastest growing food tech D2C brand in India.
The startup’s philosophy, “Let Food be the medicine”, caught their attention as the startup is promoting superfoods and healthy foods to counter increasing health issues.
The South superstar has now taken Bollywood by storm. From tying the knot with Vignesh Shivan last year to making her Bollywood debut in Shah Rukh Khan starrer, she’s made headlines as both an actress and an investor-entrepreneur in the past few years.
A Story of Serendipity
The back story of how Kiru met Vignesh is really interesting. In fact, he met Vignesh at a parking lot and gave him a sample of his flagship product. Six months later, Vignesh posted about the product on social media and enquired about the founder. Soon, Kiru met him at his residence and confidently asked him, “If you would like to invest in the food tech startup?”
Vignesh has the reputation of being a doer, which matches the action orientation of Kiru, the Founder of The Divine Foods. Vignesh shared on social media, “We have a strategic plan, and it’s called doing things”. Vignesh shared on social media that he & wife Nayanthara are happy to join hands with The Divine Foods and highlighted his pride, “Happy to be a part in bringing the traditional foods of Tamil Nadu to your home”. Great things happen when values match.
American Education, Indian Heart
Kiru Maikapillai is an engineer and also an alumnus of the University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA. Kiru is famously known for declining a US job offer from a leading investment bank to follow his heart and passion for improving both farmer incomes as well as the health of Indians.
Kiru shares, “We are happy to welcome Vignesh and Nayanthara to “The Divine Foods” family as investors and partners. We are working on a critical cause of improving the health of Indians, and getting the support of the generous couple will certainly increase our social impact as well as growth manifold.”
Magic of Turmeric- Story of ‘The Divine Foods’ The venture, which began as a bootstrapped startup from Kiryu’s savings, now has a turnover of several crores. What started with selling only turmeric products four years ago is now a diversified food tech company with innovative health foods ranging from coconut sugar to ready-to-mix drinks, to name a few. Flagship product Paruthi Paal is an Indian mother’s dream come true as a low-sugar flavoured additive for milk.
According to Your Story, “The Divine Foods” is among the “first 100 D2C Challenger” brands that have the potential to revolutionise India’s D2C space. The brand ships its bestselling superfood products across Turmeric (Curcuma longa), Moringa (Moringa oleifera), Millets, Honey and Skin Care categories.
Driven by Purpose
Kiru shares, “Why we named it ‘The Divine Foods’ is because turmeric is
used in temples, and its medicinal value actually makes it even more divine.”
Kiru has become an inspiration for the Indian startup ecosystem, especially for youth and millennials. While Kiru had quit their comfort zone to serve, Vignesh and Nayanthara chose a small startup due to the social impact and health factors.
Marketing Local Products Globally
The Divine Foods is marketing local products rooted in India to global markets. Through Amazon, its products have already made inroads in developed markets, including the USA, UK, Australia, Singapore and beyond. It is India’s fastest-growing D2C food tech brand with 25,000+ Customers. One of the greatest achievements of the company has been getting the US FDA approval in a short span.
While foreign countries are selling strawberries and avocadoes to Indians, the time has come for India to sell its traditional products in the global markets.
