Interview: Rohit Mohan Pugalia, Founder & CEO, Munchilicious Granola (A SOCH Foods LLP Product)

It all started from the kitchen of Ms. Purvi Pugalia in 2016. In a short span of time, Munchilicious has made its way into more than 250+ retail stores of leading retail platforms across India such as Nature’s Basket, Spencers, Aditya Birla Retail Ltd. It has a huge online presence on Amazon, Flipkart, Big Basket and many more. 

Rohit Mohan Pugalia, Founder & CEO, Munchilicious Granola (A SOCH Foods LLP Product)
Rohit Mohan Pugalia
Founder & CEO
Munchilicious Granola
(A SOCH Foods LLP Product)

Munchilicious is on the correct path of ‘Local ko Vocal banana hain’. A tasty and healthy snack packed with high quality nutrients having upto 50 per cent fruits, nuts and seeds, it has been made with careful consideration to suit the tastes and preferences of the Indian consumer.

Available in 5 different flavours like Original Granola, Dark Chocolate, Grain Free, Dried Fruits & Desi Twist and manufactured in an ISO 22000:2005 certified facility, Munchilicious is definitely the premium-quality food product we need today.

In an exclusive interaction with Motiverge, Rohit Mohan Pugalia, Founder & CEO, Munchilicious Granola (A SOCH Foods LLP Product) shares more insights about his venture, journey so far, motivation and future plans.

Below are the excerpts from the interview:

Tell us more about Munchilicious.

Munchilicious Granola is a premium-quality food brand that is both nutritious and delicious. It’s packed with a nutrient-rich mix of nuts, dried fruits, and seeds that make each bowl tasty and healthy. It’s suitable for anyone and everyone either with a busy or an active schedule.

The USPs of our brands are:

  • No added sugar
  • Gluten-free
  • No added oil
  • Rich in Nutrients, Fibers, and Vitamins

What factors influenced or motivated you to start this startup? What seeded the idea of startup in this sector?

I had a habit of eating smaller portions of food every couple of hours. Hence, my wife (Co-founder) would pack 3 tiffins for me, along with some tailor-made Granolas considering my health. One fine day we had our Eureka moment and started our journey to build Munchilicious Granola as a brand.

What were the first few steps during and after the launch of this startup?

During the starting phase, we only focused on ensuring quality of the product. We wanted our product to meet all the international standards from packaging and product composition aspects. Going forward, we also made sure that we reach our consumers keeping in mind the taste pallet thereby coming up with different variants and more varieties of Munchilicious.

Have you raised funds so far?

It’s a bootstrapped startup.

Tell us about your motivation. What keeps you going?

The vision of making packaged food a wholesome breakfast and snack option for our ever-busy target audience is what motivates me.

How has been your journey so far?

We started out from a home kitchen with no infrastructure and zero knowledge of marketing for the product that we were about to produce. We were unaware of the roadblocks we might encounter. We have definitely faced various challenges but these challenges helped us to reach to where we are today.

Our product was appreciated and welcomed by everyone who had tried it. When we look back at our efforts and our journey so far, I feel it has been beautiful and it motivates me further.

How big is your team?

Our team is comprised of 30 members.

Who are your major competitors in India as well as globally?

In India – Kelloggs Granola, Yoga Bar, The Nibble Box, Monsoon Harvest, Coco Sutra, Nourish Organics, Nesplus, Coco Sutra, Soulfull.

Global Competition is helmed by the giants like – Kelloggs, Nestle and General Mills

What are the business opportunities in your sector, especially in the APAC region? How do you see market growth and response in the post Covid-19 world?

We have great scope in the near future as and when the lockdown ends, as the consumers will start taking care of their health more post COVID-19. This pandemic has become an eye opener for every individual and going forward we are sure that we will see a change in the eating patterns and lifestyles of individuals. Maintaining high immunity levels will become a part of the new normal. Consumers are stocking non-perishable food like breakfast cereals and healthy food. That is a great opportunity for Munchilicious Granola to fulfill our consumer’s healthy and nutritious consumption needs.

Munchilicious_Manufacturing-plant-2

Where do you see the startup in coming 3 to 5 years?

We are working and will soon come up with new and innovative products that would boost our portfolio and help in enhancing the overall wellness of our consumers. Along with addition of new products to the portfolio, we are also looking forward to expansion across India and overseas in the markets of Singapore, Africa, Gulf countries and also further expanding it to Europe and the United States.

Awards and achievements, if any?

•“Preferred Healthy Snacking” Economic Times Business Icons-West 2020

•“10 Most Promising Food Processing Start-ups in 2019” by Silicon India Start-Up City

What are your messages for budding entrepreneurs/young generation?

Whenever you think about starting a business, be sure that your business plan is scalable. Be innovative and passionate about your product/service.

Hope this interview would motivate all the aspiring entrepreneurs. It is a part of our startup profiling feature story/interview series .We are on a mission to put forth the inspirational journey of successful entrepreneurs in order to spread some motivation during these tough times.

Please visit and share the below link with your network of Startup Founders and we would love to publish their success story for our readers across the globe.

Link: https://motiverge.com/get-your-brand-featured/