Food Pharmer 2.0: Revant Himatsingka launches his OWN brand, to roll out certification

Revant Himatsingka

He has grilled food giants, called out sugar bombs masquerading as health foods, and earned the trust of millions of health-conscious Indians. Now, Revant Himatsingka, aka Food Pharmer, version 2.0, will not only certify clean foods but is also stepping into the arena with a product of his own.

“One of the biggest concerns my followers point out is that my content is more problem-focussed. Nine out of my 10 videos will probably say that a particular product has a problem or it is being advertised incorrectly. I want to go from being problem-oriented to solution-oriented, giving more alternatives to people, telling what they can potentially eat,” Himatsingka told Moneycontrol.

He has 2.8 million followers on Instagram.

Certifying clean food

For this, Himatsingka  is coming up with something called `Food Pharmer Approved.’

“I will approve brands which I think are authentic. This can potentially expand beyond packaged foods, like approving  a healthy restaurant. 'Food Pharmer Approved’ will be like a symbol or a certification.”

While the influencer wished to go for lab tested certification, he has decided to roll out without it due to the high cost.

“I have delayed it a lot. The idea was to make it extensively lab tested. But lab testing is very costly, time consuming, and needs a full-fledged  team. For now, I'm thinking of rolling out without lab testing. where I'm just informing people of the clean brands by looking at the ingredients. Most companies won’t even pass through the first filter of clean ingredients to move to the second filter of lab testing to find out if the claims made by companies are true or not,” he added.

Himatsingka plans to give a disclaimer about the reviewed products not being lab tested.

Launching his OWN brand

The other development in Food Pharmer 2.0’s story is that the influencer has turned entrepreneur and is launching a range of clean-label foods — everything he once wished brands would make, now under his name.

In fact, he claims he is co-creating India's cleanest product along with his followers. After taking  suggestions on social media, the newly turned businessman's first product is whey protein.

“I have partnered with an operator who runs a manufacturing facility in Tirupati. They are putting in some money which should be sufficient at least for the first six months and then, depending on how it goes, we will look into raising funds,” he said.

Himatsingka pointed out that it was people who decided what product he should launch and now are also suggesting the ingredients.

The whey protein will be launched under the brand name Only What’s Needed ---  OWN. The brand name too is people approved, the influencer said, after his followers turned down his first suggestion — Take Charge.

“Most companies put unnecessary ingredients that are often harmful. We are going to put only what's needed. So, you are owning your own health because you are voting for it and it's your own product.”

He hopes to schedule a soft launch of his brand and the product in June, and a proper launch in July.

“I am trying to launch a militant clean label brand (a brand that is particularly vocal, proactive, and dedicated to promoting clean label practices and transparency in food and product labeling). I won't even call it a brand, it's more like a movement to try to make clean products,” he added.

For distribution, he's going online: “It will be my own website, along with quick commerce, e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, etc. No offline in the beginning. If it does really well, then maybe we'll expand offline. But I don't think I have the expertise for offline and neither do the people around me. I think that's a very different market.”

As awareness about eating healthy increases, more Indians are looking for healthy food alternatives, however, pricing is a worry.

Keeping it real

Himatsingka said that he doesn't think his brand will necessarily be cheap because of the quality ingredients that will be used.

But he will cut down the marketing expense. “Most companies spend insane amounts on ads. If I can cut down the advertising budget by 20-30 percent and pass that on to customers, then we can be cheaper. But I will still not probably ever be able to compete with the big brands who are selling their products for Rs 10. My aim will be to sell good ingredients at a relatively affordable price,” he said.

With the new brand, he wants to make the world's most transparent company. “I am not calling it India's most transparent company, I want it to be the world’s most transparent company.”

On whether launching his own brand will lead to a conflict of interest, the influencer said that he will avoid making content on brands that are direct competitors. “I will try my best to be objective and not criticise  competitors.”

Money matters

On monetisation, Himatsingka said that as before, a chunk of the money will be coming from his talks.

“Monetisation from the food brand is a long term thing. You don't get money even in the first three-four years. With the talks, it's pay what you want and I don't do it very regularly, maybe once in two-three months. And despite getting a lot of opportunities I have said no to all food brand deals, even food deals from clean companies,” he explained.

Seeds of change

Himatsingka said that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the Consumer Affairs Ministry have introduced some positive steps.

“For instance, brands like Horlicks cannot call themselves health drinks anymore. Also, companies cannot use the `100 percent fruit juice' tag unless brands meet certain criteria. Of late, they’ve also done something around misleading ads. If you see a misleading advertisement, you can file a complaint,” he added.

Recently, CBSE (the Central Board of Secondary Education) mandated that schools affiliated with the board across India must install ‘Sugar Boards’ to educate students about the risks of excessive sugar consumption. Himatsingka calls this one of his biggest achievements and this is why he will continue educating people online while pursuing entrepreneurship.

“Educating people online gives me the most joy. In the last few months, I was focusing mainly on Instagram. Now, I am also focussing on YouTube and trying to grow that as well,” he said.