Flat Tummies- Mumbai

Their “About Us” section claims that she is the Indian doppelganger of Monica Geller Bing. However, instead of simply whipping up amazing food, Monica Muthappa founder of Flat Tummies whips up delicious food that does not make you go down the road of guilt. A Biotechnologist by qualification Monica always loved experimenting with food.  Post marriage and after moving to a new city, Monica decided to make her passion for healthy food her profession. She began developing recipes that were gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free, vegan and to top it all delicious. Word spread around family and friends and pretty soon Monica realized that there were many takers for her culinary creations. Today Flat Tummies is your destination if you are looking for nutritious versions of your favorite snacks made with best of ingredients or just want to feast without doing the calorie math. Let’s get to know more about this venture shall we?

Now when we say gluten free, dairy free, sugar-free, high fiber and preservative free you start to scratch your head wondering what you would find on the menu. Well, this is what you would find- “Frozen Desserts”, “cookies and granola bars”, “cakes”, “vegan spreads” and even “vegan ice creams.” I quiz Monica about how she developed these products. “Before I started Flat Tummies, I spent almost a year developing recipes and performing trials. My attempts are usually to convert something that we regularly eat to a healthier version of it, substitute ingredients and see how I can make a better product. Flat Tummies products are healthy from scratch as they have the best of organic ingredients.”

After coming up with these innovative products, Monica also gauged their potential from a consumer’s perspective before settling on the menu Flat Tummies offers today. Phew! While they still do monitor consumer feedback closely to understand how people respond to their products, Flat Tummies also conducts tasting at events. Especially before introducing a new product on board, they make sure they have the right feedback. One of their recent tasting trials included beetroot and carrot chips!!

Talking about challenges Monica says she had to learn the trick of the trade and understand all the aspects of setting up a venture- real time. “I was new to the city and I had to understand all the aspects of setting up and running a venture. For eg., how should I package my products, where should I get my supplies from, training people for the venture and a whole lot more. One of the biggest challenges was getting the right people to deliver orders. Now we have partnered with ventures that take care of the delivery for us. Overall for me it has been a huge learning experience and continues to be so.”

Flat Tummies started operation about 8 months back and they are already looking at expansion.  Initially, they delivered across homes and offices in Mumbai, but now they deliver all across India. They have delivered products to Chennai, Bangalore (yayy!), Delhi, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Cochin and Nasik. Not only online deliveries their products have also found space in retail stores across the city and they hope to do the same in other cities as well.

While the response is evident from their rapid expansion and all that is being said about them, Monica talks about how people had to warm up to this new concept. “In the beginning,a lot of people were skeptical about how our products would taste as this was a relatively new concept for them. This is one difficulty with the online sales module, wherein people don’t get to taste samples and hence cannot decide if they would like to try such products.  We presented Flat Tummies products in exhibitions and when people got to try them out first hand, they really liked what they were eating. Our products have found an audience among people who are looking to eat healthy and nutritious. People, who follow vegan diets or are looking for sugar -free delicacies, also love our products. We especially struck a chord among mother’s who were looking for options for their children who are lactose intolerant. Many people were happy to find solutions to their dietary constraints.” Flat Tummies has provided them with not just a solution, but a delicious one too.

Plans ahead with Flat Tummies ?- “I would like to widen Flat Tummies reach. We want to reach out to more places, stores, and people. I am also working on creating products that are more affordable so that more and more people can benefit from them.”

Before I wrap up the phone call I ask her what advice she would like to give someone in the process of starting their own food-based venture. “There is a lot to explore in the food space and it is very interesting. One must definitely explore possibilities. It is also important to believe in your idea and your product.”

On that note of positivity, we wish this venture good luck in all its future endeavors.

Flat Tummies is a Mumbai based venture which specializes in giving you healthy solutions to your hunger pangs. Don’t forget to stop by their website and their Facebook Page  to stay updated.

All Images Courtesy Of Flat Tummies

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