A bean-based vegetarian protein and ready-to-cook brand – Hello Tempayy - was launched in March 2021 by Siddharth Ramasubramanian, Founder and CEO, and Rajit Malhotra, Co-founder to bridge the protein gap in India through delicious homemade food by providing an affordable and clean ingredient.
The brand began its journey by keenly studying the modern Indian consumer's food habits at home, at restaurants, and at social gatherings. Its core insight from its grassroots research was that the number of vegetarian meal moments, in India, far exceeds non-vegetarian. This led to the next finding that many of these vegetarians and most of the vegetarians struggle to find sufficient variety in their daily diet that fits their taste profile as well as provides the essential protein and nutrition they want. As a result, meals have become monotonous, and consumers are yearning for new alternatives on the main plate.
Elaborating on it further, Siddharth Ramasubramanian, Founder and CEO, Hello Tempayy said, “Two other important factors at play were:
1) Consumers have also become more conscious about food and health because of the pandemic.
2) Metro-dwellers are starved for time and as a result, are keenly looking for ready-to-cook and eat options that are easy to pull together.
This is what drove us to launch a new and adaptable 100 percent vegetarian protein-rich ready-to-cook ingredient called Tempeh, under the brand name Hello Tempayy, that easily fits into modern Indian kitchens in tasty ready-to-cook formats.”
Tempayy (traditionally spelled Tempeh or Tempe) dates back several centuries and is made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds non-GMO soybeans into a cake form. It is a versatile ingredient that absorbs flavors and can be used to make curries, stir-fries, rolls, and a lot more. It is packed with protein, fiber, and good fats, giving vegetarians, fitness enthusiasts, and conscious foodies delicious, nutritious, healthy, plant-based, protein-rich food. Research has shown benefits for overall health, including muscle gain and weight loss.
“While Hello Tempayy is in the ‘plant protein’ category – we are not a plant-based meat company or a supplements company. We have introduced a natural ingredient, Tempeh that is rich in protein to Indians looking for more protein options in easy-to-cook formats. This is a big difference because the need for more protein is real and the requirement for clean-label products is growing. We are not mimicking the taste of meat and therefore don’t have chemicals, additives, or preservatives,” he explained.
Vegolution India is a conscious food venture that addresses the glaring nutrition gap in the Indian vegetarian diet. The brand - Hello Tempayy, is currently available in six variants: Natural, Spicy Peri Peri, Simply Sriracha, Peppery Szechuan Chilli, Roasted Chettinad, and Spiced Tawa Masala and is priced between Rs 145-165 for 200 gm packs.
“Our marinated variants are our USP versus paneer, tofu, and any other soya products. Also, Hello Tempayy products are made with no preservatives or additives. Our pricing is at par with good quality paneer, while Tempayy offers more protein, has lot less fat, and is more versatile than the well-entrenched Indian staple,” he asserted.
Retail Strategy
At present, Hello Tempayy products are available on its D2C platform, along with select e-commerce platforms like Amazon, BigBasket and in over 250 select stores across Bengaluru, Chennai, Coimbatore, Kochi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad.
“We were recently launched in Delhi and Gurugram across all e-commerce channels,” he stated.
“Over the last year, we have unequivocally established product-market fit and firmly believe that India has a very large addressable market. As a result, we deployed our resources on India-specific product R&D and development, flavor profiling, and consumer trials. We were in constant dialogue with nutritionists during the development of the product,” he added.
To meet its retail, e-commerce, and HoReCa demand, the brand is currently producing over 10 tons of tempeh a month at its two factories in Bengaluru and Pune and is planning to double that production capacity by December 2022. Not only it has made tremendous inroads with the B2C market but also with the B2B segment as chefs are exploring and experimenting with tempeh and restaurant menus in over 50 different outlets across 4 cities.
“Long-lasting category building has to happen across retail channels. While a digital-first approach served us well early on to establish product-market fit and garner customer feedback, physical retail is now a big focus area of growth. We believe that omnichannel retail is the most optimal way forward for the brand and that’s not new to our thinking. In India, where 65 percent of the population is under the age of 35, consumers have access to information at their fingertips. Today, with social media and OTT content consumption on the rise, information can reach more people at a faster rate. Digital commerce has also grown exponentially during Covid, providing easier access to customers,” he stated.
“Yet, the consumer also wants to touch, feel and taste our product. We don’t believe in just concept selling, we are in the food business where tasting is believing. This is only possible through a thoughtful and targeted modern and general trade presence. So we are focussing equally on both,” he further added.
Innovations: The Game Changer
The brand decided to introduce Tempayy to India for two fundamental reasons, firstly, it has great flavor absorption qualities (unlike paneer or tofu where the spices and flavoring or even curries coat the surface of the ingredient; with tempayy - the flavors and masalas permeate into the ingredient resulting in a heartier and more flavorful dish) making it adaptable to different cooking styles. Secondly, it is so versatile to cook as it can be used as cubes, mince or mash to prepare the foods Indians love to eat at home.
“In order to achieve consistent quality, at scale, we have introduced new and innovative fermentation technology adapted for India. We also fortify our products with Iron and Vitamin B-12, something that is very rare for ready-to-cook products in India. We have also formulated wet marinades that work perfectly with Tempeh and are not commonly seen worldwide. The ready-to-cook variants have spices and condiments used in every kitchen with no additives or preservatives. Our aim has been to create a clean product that can be used with great versatility in the Indian kitchen,” he asserted.
“We believe in educating the consumer about ‘Why Tempayy’ and ‘How Tempayy’. To us, technology is a means to an end. We use it where it helps us showcase how to cook with it, how to use it across cuisines and what the benefits are beyond just protein. So whether it is a smart device with a retail store promoter to help her showcase the product or our vast YouTube channel with recipes it is all for one common purpose – educate and energize consumers about Tempayy. We are a food brand that uses technology to market and educate,” he further added.
Future Plans
The brand believes that it has plenty of headroom ahead within the ready-to-cook category. It plans to expand from 8 cities to 25 cities within the next 6 months.
“We have seen an almost instant and incredible response to Hello Tempayy products since we first launched in early 2021. We grew from one city to eight cities in just over 18 months and that bears testament to the adaptability and potential for tempeh in India. We are currently available on all major e-commerce platforms and national and local retail chains and are present in over 250 stores currently. We are delivering month-on-month growth across markets and have seen a 7X growth in unit sales year over year,” he said.
“Going ahead, our plan in the B2C vertical is to build out our geographic footprint (25 cities by mid-2023) via digital commerce followed by a scale-up in offline retail (we are in 250 stores currently and will grow to over 1,000 stores in 2023). We are seeing growing demand from the HoReCa segment as awareness is rising about Tempayy. We expect to be available in over 250 hotels, restaurants, and cafes, not including national chains, by end of 2023,” he added.
The brand has also received interest in exporting to the Middle East and North America. They are large and more mature markets than India and offer tremendous potential in the medium term.
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