A 500Cr+ Acquisition By ITC, Scaling A Food Start-up & Life As A Founder| Suhasini Sampath on TBWS

Join us for a compelling episode of the Barbershop as we sit down with Suhasini Sampath, the co-founder of Yoga Bar. In this candid conversation, we delve into the fascinating world of building a business in FMCG.
Suhasini shares her insights and challenges in creating a successful brand in the health food space, and we explore the unique strategies and innovations that propelled Yoga Bar to prominence, resonating with health-conscious consumers across the nation. We discuss the remarkable acquisition by ITC, and the accompanying intricacies of navigating partnerships and collaborations in the dynamic business landscape.
We also venture into the personal realm, delving into Suhasini's experience of working with family and the fine balance one has to strike between personal and professional relationships. Her candid reflections offer invaluable lessons for entrepreneurs who navigate the challenges of intertwining family and business dynamics.⚡️
Get ready for an inspiring and insightful episode as we uncover the behind-the-scenes stories, trials, and triumphs of building in the healthy foods category in India!🌟
Introduction 00:00 - 3:44
The Initial Idea: 3:45 - 9:58
Why building healthy food is hard: 9:58 - 22:18
Making calculated decisions about the brand: 22:19 - 22:01
Perfecting the product: 22:01 - 26:09
Building a great food company 26:10 - 29:25
More on Yoga Bar’s journey: 29:25 - 38:42
Playing the long game: 38:43 - 42:00
Legacy matters & ITC acquisition: 42:01 - 48:30
Running a business with family 48:31 - 54:34
More on negotiations & acquisition/ people who helped in Yoga Bar’s journey 54:35 - 1:05:22
The ITC acquisition process 1:05:23 - 1:13:34
What does it take to build a business? 1:13:35 - 1:15:05
What Suhasini learnt about herself during her journey 1:15:06 - 1:20:40
What’s next for Suhasini & thoughts on entrepreneurship: 1:20:41 - 1:28:15
Women in entrepreneurship & Concluding Advice: 1:28:16 - 1:37:39

[@1998adityagupta]

This channel will one day become bigger than Bombay Shaving Company itself.

[@TheCentrist13]

Is this a roast?😅

[@yashsethi]

That's true!!!!

[@apramit]

Am sure the ad revenue of this channel is higher than any profit that bombay shaving company has made

[@dilsere1775]

​@@apramitbro startups have two options 1) go after scaling 2) go after profits The startups who chose to go after profits especially in today's business atmosphere die an untimely death(most of them), their competition chews and spits them out. But the brands like Bombay Shaving Company( and many others) are more concerned about scaling and making their systems SOPs efficient and robust which gives them very strong base to grow which ultimately leads to massive profit generation in the future. 😊

[@ajuthomas9929]

Have you ever seen ads on these videos ? Ads are disabled on this channel.

[@bv6257]

This woman is a gem. This degree of clarity and determination is exceptional. More power to her ❤

[@beautifulmusicforgoodmood]

"Sleeping with clear conscious is very imp"... Respect!....superb

[@kmgeorge100]

Hi Santanu & Madam Suhasini, i am at 64 years with a serious entrepreneurship journey of less than 5 years. i saw is am amazing journey and a crash course in business that's going to motivate me for the next balance 10 years of my life and one day find a buyer of my business and use all the money to the uplifting daughters or girl child. I am a father of two daughters. Madam you are a special & blessed child of God like my both daughters.

[@deepchowdhury5360]

The best thing was figuring out the product line, n she figured out that chikki is nothing but a bar with several ingredients which is similar to her offering n I wish she could explain more on route planning n how Kiran’s dint make sense for her bcoz Kiran’s can give more visibility

[@muskangupta3998]

ONE OF THE BESTEST EPISODES, PERIOD. SUCH A SHARP AND INTELLIGENT WOMAN! LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT.

[@shivanginassa]

I don't usually comment but listening to Suhasini was inspiring! Thanks Shantanu for what you do.

[@vikash1810]

This is my first ever comment on any podcast....i working more than 18 years in MNC....Always wanted to be what she goes through...Super woman..super clarity .... So much learning and pain process

[@akshitagupta3721]

A wonderful masterclass in decision-making, negotiations, feedback taking, clarity in communication. Loved Suhasini's journey and future plans ❤️

[@sanghapriyamajumdar6602]

Phenomenal. Amazed to watch Suhasini emphasize on her concern on the consumers and overall public health impact philosohphy. Leaders like her go a long way in changing lives of people unknowingly. Kudos to her for crafting a product that is going to last.

[@sailendranathvemulapati]

This woman is so fluent yet so articulate. Simply love her clarity of thought which of course comes with no baggage. ❤

[@rchaugale21]

This is the best episode till now. Suhasini was honest and candid. Loved it. Kudos team barber shop.

[@harpreetbajwa1349]

wow... suhasini is like such a breath of fresh hair with such a clarity of thought, especially the last part about her expectations and goals of her own life

[@priyanshutibrewal3522]

I am Really feeling Happy that Someone Is making Podcast that are core on FMCG. Really Happy.. Best wishes One Requests too.. Make video in Hindi/Dub into Hindi..

[@chotabheemzonalibre2721]

She has exceptional clarity of where she is and where is she heading

[@19jack84]

By far the best episode, exactly what an upcoming entrepreneur needs to listen. good movie plot family, drama, action, climax and probably a sequel , glad! she is not Ex Mckinsey

[@SubashCV]

Brilliant. Like Suhasini’s ethics & passion for quality health product

[@thatguy6442]

I tried yoga bar for the first time after watching this podcast and I would say they have earned a customer. I will never look back on Cadbury again.

[@basavaprabhu5925]

"Yogabar truly stands out as the best brand! Their range of healthy bars and delightful chocolate muesli & oats are simply amazing. They offer the tastiest and healthiest products, all made from natural ingredients."

[@arnabighosh5523]

What an inspiration Suhasini is. Thank you Shantanu for making her know to us

[@ashokhariharan7904]

One of the best episodes . I literally repeated chapters and took notes.

[@chinmayadhiman3358]

When she spoke about how in the scale of been impactful entrepreneurship is not on the top, damnn. But I would like to have my own venture or an exit then work on that impact as she did..

[@kns6132]

great interview and very impressed with Suhasini's clarity, openness and providing clarity to the community as well. Nice one.

[@sauravverma7166]

A wow moment to watch this wonderful , My last 1:3 hrs is full of learning. Ore power to you Shantanu and Suhasini.

[@K-T-D-A]

Thanks for yet another excellent conversation. Love this brand and am a big admirer of what they have achieved and the path they are treading

[@gaurangnaik9356]

It was an amazing conversation for me. Especially being in food company myself, I could relate to all the challenges mentioned.

[@AnkitG12]

Always loved such conversations. So much to learn from the mind of the entrepreneurs. Thank you so much.

[@Ayyo292]

Am I the only one who experienced audio breaks almost every few minutes? I was very keen to listen to the full podcast but the audio breaks unfortunately bothered me quite a bit. But otherwise, huge fan of Yoga bars - loyal customer here.

[@mahendrakumarsai1178]

Last episode with three girls - I simply didn't like it and then I thought is this because m biased against women and some kind of chemical locha, and thank god I felt really relieved when I got chill vibes from the way this lady talks about business

[@ARV8800]

Great content Shantanu . You are the best podcaster. Thank you for bringing such amazing guests .

[@tanviasawa1519]

This has been incredible, Thank you Shantanu and Suhasini!

[@muhammedmulafer6977]

I was always looking for podcasts which gives an in depth knowledge, by far this guys podcast gives waaay more insight than any other

[@adityasaha5725]

I'm just blown away by Suhasni's clarity of thought and how clearly she articulates each and everything. It's massive for India as a country to have such women entrepreneurs to look up to. Awesome episode Shantanu and team ❤

[@pushpavarma1476]

Great show! I guess this is growing better than your actual products and becoming a brand of its own!

[@saswatajuee]

Typing this as I am munching on toast with yoga bar peanut butter. Thank you for yoga bar - I really love the quality of the muesli and peanut butter.

[@gauthamramachandran9949]

Inspiring beyond words. Everything was genuine authentic and the real. Thank you Shantanu you have found your second innings. 😅

[@beverlymenezes8969]

Absolutely love Yogabar products!! They're such a great way to get your daily mix of nuts, super seeds and dry fruits and cool Wholegrains like quinoa, oats. I literally start my day with their chocolate muesli and have Yogabar Choco Cereal for midnight cravings

[@templogical3095]

Does it have added sugar?

[@muskaankukreja3487]

Would love to see more consumer product centric episodes like this one❤

[@TauroChuck]

Two intelligent sensible people talking. Value.

[@importadoraragar]

suhasini , i love the short she is wearing. absolutely loved it..

[@jacquelinefernandes1139]

Brilliant thinking. Suhasini is so articulate

[@davidtinkering]

Definitely pitching collabria to Suhasini Sampath within the next year.

[@vadirajkulkarni4364]

Amazing and inspiring Suhasini Sampath.

[@Live-hh6li]

I have used yogabar products They are really good

[@shyamsatish5386]

Great conversation and high Goodness quotient here. Ordered the Yoga bar Muesli (Dark chocolate and Cranberry) for my boys .

[@harikiran03005]

Such a honest conversation.. Thank you Shantanu for bringing this ...

[@saikishan2180]

Absolutely perfect intro ✨💙

[@venkatasubramaniankrishnam6655]

I'm enjoying my Yoga Bar breakfast cereal as I am watching this 😊

[@aniketjain8587]

Loved the entire conversation Like the journey Insights Process Hard work What entrepreneurs go through is unimaginable. One really should have that passion to live that 8years or more without getting distracted by the so called bucket list which Sofia media is throwing at u

[@vinimay3191]

Wow. Well done. Thank you for making this available.

[@anmolsachdev9607]

Yogabar is an amazing brand that I can trust blindly, everything they make is SO HEALTHY and ALL NATURAL, and they perfectly bridge the gap between health and taste, either be their Protein Bars or the DARK CHOCOLATE MUESLI! Everything is just TOO GOOD! 😋🍫

[@mohitverma-mr8ns]

Healthy, natural but not so nutritious.

[@mamtha9417]

Yogabar asExcellent taste and quality as compared to other brands. I have been a regular user of Yoga bar now and as usual yogabar truly deliver quality product. I would recommend everyone to go for it if you're looking for a good protein bars & oats. I will surely try other products of Yogabar now.

[@sreyaboinpally818]

One of the best episodes ever

[@piyushjain9929]

Such a smart lady!

[@jshaan75]

I still have one in my fridge kept from ages. Sure they were healthy but the taste makes me never wanna eat it again.

[@rl1900]

True

[@Sourav_MadridCF]

Same, mere fridge mein bhi pada huaa hai

[@thesuryapasricha]

First comment ❤ Your podcast works like a charm!

[@sammodon]

Would love to see a founder of a trucking company. Old world business with tech integration. Would be interesting

[@praveenandhavarapu]

I dont know how she got that much of clarity in her life, she is on point at every decision she made and she's one of the people i ever seen with that much of a clarity in life and in business too about her decisions. I would love to get advices from her if i have a chance. She is gem of a businessman and this is one of the gems from @shantanu. Thanks man for this episode

[@sumitjadhav9265]

Great episode ❤

[@UmaR-xx1fi]

She is amazing !

[@mailvikas77]

Indepth interview on brand making..super episode

[@AbhijeetSharma-xl6ou]

Ground rooted knowledge podcast

[@jui2309]

For 1:29:00 - You HAVE to talk to Women like they are women. Coz like you rightly said, we are watching this channel not just for inspiration from women who have made it, but also a ray of hope that yes there are issues that you will face, and here is how I dealt with that. I say this, coz there is no LEAN IN for Indian women. Our issues and problems are way different from what women in the West face.

[@Ayyo292]

I'm interested in learning more about Lean In. I did see a few Lean In communities in India - are they not very active?

[@neerajkarnavat685]

OG bhai kudous ✨

[@shardulpathak185]

Thank you shantanu

[@prathikkarthikeyan6684]

Are all the podcasts done for this season ?

[@nik_flex]

Yes, I found Yoga Bar at DMart in just 25₹ which costs less than snickers and fuse and also healthier I guess. 🎉

[@shwetaranka996]

It was on buy one get one free offer

[@nik_flex]

@@shwetaranka996 yes, or buy one for 50%

[@rupeshram]

Do these products come with preservatives? If no , how do these products last in the shelf with the humid Indian weather? If yes, what are the preservatives ?

[@chamansahu9274]

Bhai sahab Santanu ji Humare jaise garib ke liye kripya Hindi language me interview le liya kariyega. Lekin Aapne Sanjeev juneja ji ka interview liya Lajawab tha Sanjeev ji Bahut hi Great inshan hai unki Baato me sukun aur Santi hai.

[@bhatia.design9563]

superb!

[@mayankrajput4376]

Shantanu: What about X? Suhasini: It's very hard.

[@radhikas5585]

I wanted to know what the issue with the peanut butter jar was but I think due to editing, it was cut short. :( that whole v interesting bit on designing their manufacturing line has been edited so much that it's v difficult to listen and understand.

[@user-sx4go5ky4x]

While seeing the podcast my wife ordered for the choco cereals 😅.. It was really good ❤.. A much better version of Kellogg's chocos ....

[@tejaswi1995]

Yoga bar’s oats are 🔥

[@user-sk3cc7jc3m]

Yoga bar products Pricing are really high , why is she not speaking about price ?

[@ronakprakashbhai4577]

Amazing

[@shreyaspopat]

Boss Lady.. absolutely on point.. a discussion that is full of learning and inspiration.. ❤

[@manylaksh]

I started admiring this entrepreneur. Like she is a 💎

[@nishantbisht8064]

you gained 1 more customer of yoga bar :)

[@shardulpathak185]

What about audio? Or Some words are mute...where company name comes

[@muskaankukreja3487]

I'm officially scared to even think of entering the F&B space

[@mzain823]

Respect! But if she says “it’s hard” once again, I’ll cry 😂

[@sagarjaiswal402]

I’m not sure if somone has noticed but I’m losing them in between intermittently. Maybe the setup or the mic.

[@ofshubham]

Yes, there are way too many cuts in between the conversation because Suhasini kept talking in a flow and revealed many things. They edited it later to keep the trade secrets.

[@chunchun20]

Awesome episode but thing that I don't agree more than money its idea of creating something and owning it employees are not remembered but the people who make these companies are always remembered

[@srs.shashank]

the yogabar muesli is good!

[@udditconsul7699]

Hey team Barber shop , please bring in some pioneer from real money gaming industry and please talk about the recent developments in the industry . This is an existential crisis for this industry , please help whats the way forward in their view . It would be really great .

[@UmaR-xx1fi]

Hope she remains as she is !

[@aditya.k.kochhar]

Please get ideaforge guys to your show

[@Live-hh6li]

I hope itc doesn't change or kill the company

[@rathodshivakumar4222]

I desperately wanted to ask shantanu about the unshaved beard and are there any strategic tricks of promoting brand or whether it is sarcastically been there 😅

[@prib2662]

Is everything okay, 3 weeks since last episode??

[@gauravsj96]

Great one ! Guys please improve the sound part. Cheers !

[@user-zw9qb8ho4q]

Beautiful

[@FollowHim]

Wow

[@royalj2]

It’s so hard.. it’s so hard.. that doesn’t seem like an answer for what Shantanu ask about. I’ve heard enough..

[@SubhamDas-dw3kk]

16:30 ❤

[@sagarjaiswal402]

Can we please get the name of the blogger who exposed horlicks & sauce?

[@shantanudeshpande]

Foodpharmer

[@sagarjaiswal402]

@@shantanudeshpande Thanks a ton. That’s pretty quick. ❤️🙌

[@siddeshv8643]

Nice to hear her insights. But far too many cuts which makes it difficult to make sense of the conversation. Seems like more hidden than revealed

[@himanshuarora2195]

@foodpharmer needs a shoutout 13:38

[@TheNayak12]

Startup Funda.. 1_ do sale. 2_ take back from market 50% Net sale.... 3