What’s Up Wellness – One Stop For All Health Supplements

• ByAyushi Ray     |    July 23, 2021

“I was always clear that I want to build something of my own.”says Vaibhav Makhija, Co-founder of Kolkata based Start-up ‘What’s Up Wellness’ in an interview with Startup Story. 

From D2C To Startup 

While talking about his previous experience he described how he has worked full time in various D2C companies which covers every sector – food to hygiene to commercial goods, and that has helped him gather the much required experience to build in a Start-up. He says,”I took multiple roles to understand how things worked in different domains –  email marketing, digital marketing, product management, alliances, etc. He last worked full-time in Grofers, leading growth for a new startup of their working in the beauty and personal care category, scaling up by 20x in 6 months. “But then Covid hit us, and Grofers decided to close all their side businesses. Then I started figuring out what can be done and what shouldn’t be done. We explored several ideas, before settling down to this.” says Vaibhav, and that is when the idea of ‘What’s Up Wellness’ hit them. 

Breaking The Myth Of Supplements In India 

When asked why he choose the Supplements sector, Vaibhav says,  “We saw that in India, people are not into supplements. If a person is taking supplements they are considered either sick or weak. While in the West, people take daily Vitamins, supplements for them is a normal thing.” So they thought of making a fun and lively brand which would help people to get out of stigma, and they would associate themselves with it, because the brand is fun and lively. Otherwise, people would maintain their distance from supplements. “We chose the name ‘What’s Up Wellness’ because it doesn’t sound serious at all, rather approachable.” It was a bold choice considering the stereotypical behaviour of Indians towards Supplements. 

Type And Range Of Products 

The first product that they recently launched is -’What’s up Beauty Gummies’ which has vitamins for hair, skin and nails. The present lifestyle that people lead really takes a toll on their overall wellbeing, and there is also a serious lack of nutrition, so it is important that something structural is done in this respect. And one thing people care most about is their looks- any distortion in physical appearance disturbs people and everybody wants to have the perfect, shiny, lustre skin and hair. “So that’s why we started with hair and skin supplements because it has got the most demand in the market. Going forward, we will have more products.” explains Vaibhav. 

Team

Currently they have Part time employees, since they have just launched last month – in May 2021, they are yet to employ full time people for social media, for coding, for branding and packaging. So, the entire burnt is being borne by Vaibhav and Sayantani, the two founders of the startup. 

 

 

Marketing Strategy 

“We want to reach out to people and talk to them directly, about what more they need from us, how our website can be altered to serve them. We are sure about product quality and efficiency, and people are giving us positive reviews.” But the category of Health Supplements is new, and it will take time to convince people that it is okay to take health supplements. And that is why the founders want to regularly interact with people to make them feel more connected, trying to understand they can address all concerns. After someone orders, Vaibhav personally talks to them and after a gap of 3 – 4 weeks they get back to each of the customers, to comprehend what their expectations were, and how far WW products have been successful in fulfilling them, and what more can be done. “Years of deficiency cannot be overcome in a few weeks, but people have expectations that they will immediately see results. So there are always chances of a misunderstanding, and by reaching out to customers we explain to them why it is necessary to have realistic expectations.“ They hope to launch a few more products by the end of this year. They have gained good traction, with high repeat rates as people are seeing the benefits. 

USP Of The Products And What Separates Them From The Race  

Product caters to both hair and skin. The kind of ingredients they have, are formulations of a lot of important elements which includes not just Vitamins but Superfoods like Grapeseed, Aloe Vera and Sea Buckthorn as well. The third most important thing is that, when people are taking vitamins it is important that the constituent elements  are in accordance with the recommended daily allowance (RDA) by the ICMR. According to that, there is a limit on how much each element should be consumed each day. “Biotin, for example,” says Vaibhav “needs to be consumed at a quality of 30 mcg. But certain brands put in dangerously high quality of the same which will help you to see visible results in the shortest span of time, but in the long run, it can show some serious side effects. So we have made sure that all the ingredients are within the prescribed limit.” They also reach out to their customers and clarify that it might take some time to show results, but it will not be toxic for your health.” 

Funding 

‘What’s Up Wellness is bootstrapped at the moment. Both the founders  have put in their own savings, and loaned in from friends. So at this point, they are working on building a sustainable business, and when that’s done they will go ahead and will think of raising fundings. 

Advice To Future Entrepreneurs 

“Talking to people who have been in the business and who already have years of experience is very important. Talking and interacting will help you learn the mistakes that these people have committed, what you should be aware of , and what you should stay away from. It should be a part of your daily work that I need to reach out and talk to people and that is the secret to know where to scale up, and where to focus on.” Vaibhav Makhija, co-founder of What’s Up Wellness

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