By Rekha S Nair
Food Soul…as the name implies, blending soul in food is a dream venture initiated by Mr. Brijendra Raj Singh and his wife Mrs. Sarika Rajput in the year 2013. The project was primarily commenced to offer flour mill fresh atta to the public following the shortcomings of the packed food wheat flour available in the market which lacked nutritive value and taste. Food Soul is the result of Mr. Brijendra Raj’s extensive research undertaken on branded packed wheat flour and the overall wheat flour industry, leaving his reputed job in the corporate sector. The company’s manufacturing & Trading facility set up in the year 2014 in central India is designed to produce quality Flours, Spices, Pulses, Cereals, Rice, and Snacks.
Food Soul which was started on a small scale, initially focused on the local market, followed by markets of MP, later expanded its footprint in Delhi NCR, Bhopal, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Kerala by 2017.
The idea behind Food Soul (foodsoul.in)
Having realized the plight of small and medium-sized shops and manufacturers, who like Mr. Brijendra Raj not only faced numerous challenges from retailers and other suppliers in the food industry but also competition from commercial giants involved in offering commercial formula products. Hence, the company decided to be the torchbearer of such small and medium scale businesses offering local cuisine and popular taste and had no online presence and struggled to survive in such fierce competition through an app-based e-Commerce platform, foodsoul.in.
The e-Commerce platform Food Soul, which also has its android presence with Google Play store by the name Food Soul, is designed to enable small & medium manufactures, self-help groups, Individuals from remote villages, and those involved in the manufacture of consumer edible products who are seeking to reach the market and sell their products across India.
With the entry into an app-based e-commerce platform, Food Soul widened its presence across the small towns and cities of India, delivering taste lovers extra reach and letting With the entry into to app-based e-Commerce platform, Food Soul widened its presence across the small towns and cities of India, delivering taste lovers extra reach and letting the food lovers get the real local taste to the nook and corner of India.
The company has 1500 plus consumer edible products listed on the platform foodsoul.in from various sellers across India and take the pride in delivering these products at 28000 plus pin codes across the country.
The Inception of Viraaj Foundation
Viraaj Foundation, a not-for-profit organization, is named after the son of Mr. Brijendra Raj Singh and Mrs. Sarika Rajput, Viraaj who had health complications following his birth in 2014. The family who hails from Bhopal was forced to admit their son to AIIMS Delhi for his treatment with no other treatment options left. Those painful dark months of treatment which prolonged for three months filled deep pain and agony in the aspiring couple. The couple witnessed the sorrows and hardships of the attendees of patients admitted in AIIMS Delhi who came from various other states and also neighboring countries too.
In the course of time, Mr. Brijendra Raj who has a strong vision as well as mission courageously confronted with the odds of the recent pandemic and decided to start a social venture with a sustainable business model to offer services to the society in the form of a charity hospital. Viraaj Foundation is registered as a company with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Govt of India. Soon, Viraaj Foundation is likely to instill a charity Heart Hospital along with OPD to offer free treatment options to the patients.
The foundation plans to build an exclusive 50-bed hospital with a well-equipped operation theatre for heart patients and OPD for general patients in the central part of India i.e Madhya Pradesh. To set up the hospital Mr. Brijendra Raj has pledged an 11000 sqft valuable piece of land located at the prime location of Bhopal.
Various fund activities of Viraaj Foundation include story feature in Milaap.org for raising the crowdfunding at free of cost (Link of the campaign is https://milaap.org/fundraisers/support-viraaj-foundation) and also through the company’s e-commerce platform (https://www.foodsoul.in/) which promotes Local, Regional, Organic, Vegan products and support small and medium manufacturers across India by selling their products on the platform and delivering those products across India since March 2021. Profits earned from this platform are diverted to Viraaj Foundation. Also, the Department of Income-tax has exempted Donation to Viraaj Foundation u/s 80G and 12A.
Other Non-Fund raising activities of the foundation include free distribution of food to the needy and to the attendees of the patients waiting outside various government hospitals, who are underprivileged through an efficient team and volunteers. In addition to it, the foundation offers services to arrange for Blood on SOS basic.
Business Model:
Despite the charity efforts, Food Soul is a successful business model. It is the story of an entrepreneur who started the business with a vision to provide healthy & organic grocery through the e-commerce domain. Currently, Food Soul handles orders worth around Rs.30,000 per day which is anticipated to reach about Rs.8-9 lakh in the next 5 years. Of late, Food Soul has a seller network of 250 across India. The startup provides employment opportunities to around 10 employees and it is likely to recruit 200 employees in a few years. The vision is clear to be the giant e-commerce business with a charity in India. During the pandemic, the startup faced hardship in getting orders and stabilizing the business momentum.
About the Founders
Mr. Brijendra Raj Singh and his wife Mrs. Sarika Rajput are committed and determined to provide quality and tasty food products to the consumers while simultaneously uplifting the economic status of small and medium scale entrepreneurs by expanding their market base. They are persistent and positive about providing free medical services to the needy and have started taking steps in that direction. Under their able leadership, both Food Soul and Viraaj Foundation will succeed in changing the lives of the people for the best.