(May 9, 2024) Her journey started in her father’s lab, where he was working on silk protein and looking for bio applications of the same. “We figured out that there are multiple applications of this ingredient,” shares entrepreneur Mitali Tandon, who is the co-founder of Morning Fresh, a promising cure for hangovers. “One of the things that we did find was that it can support liver function. So once we went out into the market to figure out if this was a product that we could develop and validated the concept, we came back to the R&D board and started figuring out a formulation for hangover issues,” she adds.
Today, the Forbes 30 Under 30 entrepreneur has established her brand in the market and is recognised by several loyal users, popular retailers, supermarkets, and e-tailers as the go-to brand for those looking for a healthy solution to protect and replenish their bodies after a night of revelry. “Morning Fresh was born out of the need to uncover and understand the myriad uses, versatilities, and biological applications of silk coupled with a market gap and an opportunity. It is India’s first post-drink solution to help relieve customers from the after-effects of alcohol consumption and liver protection” adds the entrepreneur, as she sits for an exclusive interview with Global Indian.
Navigating people’s psychology
Born and brought up in Bengaluru, Mitali has always been inspired by her parents’ journey. “Both my parents are entrepreneurs. My mother runs her own practice. My father has run his own business,” shares the entrepreneur, adding, “Both my parents have always been working and both of them started their own businesses after a short stint in the professional world. So I think for me that has played a fairly significant role, and gave me the confidence when I wanted to become an entrepreneur.”
But interestingly, the entrepreneur didn’t pursue a degree in management after finishing her schooling. She, in fact, was admitted to the University of Kent, where she pursued a double honours bachelor’s degree in criminology and social policy. “It was quite an exciting experience. While I was studying there, I also used to work at neighbourhood centers in the UK with young kids,” she shares.
After moving back to India, Mitali worked at the infamous Tihar Jail in Delhi, for about three months. Sharing her experiences of her time there, she says, “When I just back to India, I got to know about a programme being headed by Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), where they were going to work with adolescents between the age of 18 and 21, who had been convicted. The convicts were given a chance to complete their education or take on elective courses during their prison time. Everyone at my house was quite terrified that I would have to work with these convicts, but the real experience was quite fun. It wasn’t anything different from a real classroom – people would chat, have questions, and even play like in any regular classroom. Some kids would bunk classes as well. I had a great time we interacted with all the inmates.”
A master blender
After she came back to Bengaluru, the young entrepreneur started going to her father’s lab to observe the R&D being done on silk protein. “Our primary research found properties in silk protein that resembled and enabled naturally occurring liver enzymes. A lot of back-end scientific research and extensive product development was also required including testing and finalising formulations,” shares the entrepreneur.
Soon, the company had successfully developed a brew that could help people with hangovers, without any side-effects. But that is when Mitali faced the real issue. “The biggest challenge that I faced was the lack of knowledge in people. We were selling the product to a retail store and spoke to a procurement officer, who wouldn’t understand whether to place the drink near a Red Bull or Yakult. Also, many of the procurement officers would not talk to me, as I was a woman about the product. They would rather speak to the male intern accompanying me. It took us a while, but we are in the market now,” the entrepreneur shares.
With nine stock-keeping units, Morning Fresh is available in 450 retail outlets across Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Goa, and other cities, and also on e-commerce platforms. “We are now looking at expanding our market,” shared the entrepreneur, adding, “We are working on establishing ourselves, not just as a hangover drink brand, but also in the wellness space as well.”
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