Mojo Bars- Mumbai

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“Your on-the-move snack!”

I am going to be a bit honest here. As I sat down to write about Mojo Bars, I went through my usual rituals of reading all the notes I had taken during the interview, procrastinating in the name of inspiration (or lack of one) until I finally opened a word document and decided to write an introduction. Except I could come up with nothing- no witty quotes that I recently read and no funny snacking related incident that I could start with. So I decided to get serious and look up the snacking industry. I was “mildly” surprised. Did you all know that the snacking market has grown from 8000 crores in 2004 to a 47,000 crores in 2013 (updated numbers will follow, hold on!). The snacking industry is also one of the toughest industries in the food sector to carve your niche in (Source). Now that my eyeballs are back in place, here is the story of a new entrant in this tough world. They are trying to answer your hunger pangs in a “Mojolicious” way. Meet Mojo Bars and get to know how your snack time can be more fun.

The story of Mojo Bars is the story of an Industrial Engineer’s foray into the world of food. Maulik Mistry has a Masters in Industrial Engineering from the University of Southern California and a Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering. Post Masters Maulik started working in Nestle USA, which is where he found his love for the food industry. “I realized that the food industry is very complicated. The fascination for food kicked in and I started reading up and researching more about the industry. I was part of the operations team which led new product development projects. Working in one of the largest food companies for two and a half years gave me the ability to really understand how the industry functions.” Post Nestle, Maulik ventured into the world of start-ups with a venture called “Unreal Brands”. “Unreal Brands”  aims to make confectionaries as natural as possible. “While my first employment helped me gain the foundation, moving into the world of start-ups helped me expand my horizons. I was part of an ambitious team and it gave me the confidence and the risk taking ability I needed to venture out on my own. I actually got to work on all product related aspects like sales, marketing ,and finance. Work was crazy and each day there was a new role to play and something new to learn. ”

The idea to venture out on his own came to him during one of his trips to India. Maulik says he remembers looking at the shelves stacked with products which were behind their time. “I had this gnawing question within me about why there are not too many options for people who are health conscious and want a distinct brand. Even people who want to make that switch need options. I did some digging and found that healthy snacks are a very small part of this market. To put things in perspective, currently,  the snacking market is worth 56,000 crores of which healthy snacks occupy just 4% of the space. I went back to the US thinking about all of this.” He could think of only one way to answer that question.

Maulik gave up his American dream and moved back to India. On the third day of his return, he attended an event where he met Chirag Bhatia who has a market research background. Maulik and Chirag did the preliminary research to understand what people would like as an ideal snack and why they refuse some of the options available to them. Apart from a lack of options, they also found that people wanted more convenient snacks that they could munch on, in the middle of their busy schedules. (Pauses typing and looks at the small stains on her keyboard).

With all the data in hand, the hunt for the snacks began. “We had information about people’s expectations. We were also sure from the beginning that we want our snacks to be nutritionally dense. We consulted with an ex-Cadbury team. Our nutritionist Kunjan Parekh came on board and we formed our own product development team.” After 15 months of product development, qualitative research, sample tastings, and branding identity exercises the team did a test launch of Mojo Bars in July 2015 and officially launched their products in October 2015 . “When you think of bars the first thought that comes to mind is something like a chikki or a chocolate bar. We wanted to create bars that would change this perception. Very early in our research we found that people did not associate “tasty” with a healthy snack. We wanted to show them that we could give them the best of the two worlds. We also tasted as many international brands as we could just to get an idea. Basically, it was a lot of eating to create something healthy.” he adds with a dash of humor.

If you go to the Mojo Bars website today you will see options like “Nutty Apricot+ Fibre”, “Yogurt Berry+Antioxidants” and “Choco Almond+ Protein”. Their bars essentially try and include elements that would be part of a breakfast or a quick bite. “ Nuts, cereals, yogurt, berries, raisins- we worked with all these ingredients to create our bars. There was an emphasis on including fruits. We have observed that people only carry fruits regularly if they are cut and convenient to eat on the go.” Maulik adds in the end “Every snack that we make has a purpose. All our bars are gluten and preservative free. We want people to know exactly what they are eating,” 

Mojo Bars are available in stores across Mumbai, and recently they entered the Bangalore market. MojoBar retails in 250+ A+ general trade stores in Mumbai and Bangalore, and is shipped to 26 Indian cities through Amazon.in & other online mediums like Scootsy, Fitternity, etc. Products are also available at retail giants Gourmet West (Westside), Hypercity and other institutional channels. They are planning to make snack time “Mojolicious” in other cities as well. Expansion plans to New Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad, and Kolkata are in the pipeline. 

Research and development for new products is an ongoing part of their activity and so is factoring in feedback. In fact, the team believes strongly that decisions need to be data-driven. “Initially, we got a few people to try our bars. We selected them such that they would represent our potential consumers. In today’s day with such a huge social media presence, it is very easy to find “real consumers”, and they would be the right people to ask.” Maulik believes that bars have a lot of potential if products are designed the right way. He hopes to come up with more innovative products and explore new possibilities in the snack industry.

Before I wrap up the interview I ask Maulik what advice would he like to give someone who is thinking of entering the world of food. “Well, we are still too young a start-up to give advice”, comes the reply, but as an afterthought,  he adds- “I would like to tell them- Don’t give up! You may come across interesting offers along the way or moments of self-doubt, but your idea should be above all of that. If you have done the right amount research and you know what you are getting into, give it your best shot.”

Just when I am about to say goodbye one last question pops into my mind- Why the name Mojo Bars? “We really wanted a name that people would remember. Mojo is also about making you feel magical from the inside. You know how you get upset when you are hungry? We hope our bars “magically” help you get back to your day with a smile” 

Mojo Bars is the brand under Pure Snacks Private Limited. To know more about these bars visit their website and follow them on Instagram . Don’t forget to like their Facebook page to stay updated on all things Mojolicious.

All Images Courtesy of Mojo Bars

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