Actor and Fitness Icon Milind Soman Invest’s in Food Startup OnTheRun

By Shariq Hussain

Posted on May 4, 2017

Actor and Fitness icon Milind Soman has just made his entry in startup ecosystem by investing an undisclosed amount in natural health food startup Ontherun which is an enterprise of Stayfit Enterprize Pvt Ltd.

The startup was started in 2014 by Shilpa Phadke. Ontherun currently sells energy bars and granola, and the products are available in Pune, Mumbai, Goa, Delhi and Noida through retail, and pan-India through online distribution channels and the brand website which include Amazon, BigBasket, Big Bazaar, and other standalone stores.

Shilpa Phadke, Founder & Director, Stayfit Enterprize Pvt. Ltd., said, “The health and the wellness food segment is estimated to be a Rs 33,000 crore plus market growing at 8 – 10% over the last year. In terms of sales, the market crossed 10,000 crore mark last year. The industry is nascent and scattered and we plan to capture approximate 10% market share in the healthy on the go food category in the next three years. Stayfits revenue target is approximately 2 crores this year and hit the 50 crore mark in the next five years.”

Sharing his thoughts on the investment, Milind Soman said, “I am a staunch believer of simple, natural food. I have never taken any supplements or have ever succumbed to any fad diets. I do make changes to my eating regime depending on my activity and schedule; however, I always keep it simple and most importantly natural. I came across ONTHERUN energy bars when I was invited to inaugurate a marathon expo in Pune. ONTHERUN was conducting tastings of their product. I instantly liked the taste; yes healthy food can also taste good! and the fact that it contains no sugar or preservatives. I remained a customer throughout the journey of ONTHERUN from prototype to the commercial product. I am looking forward to taking this association to the next level and be part of the growth story of Stayfit Enterprize. I believe in its core ideology, it is something I live by. There is a huge scope to bring our very own Indian super food into the foray, by packaging it in a convenient form. I always get asked Sir Aap Kya Khate Ho? Working with ONTHERUN gives me an opportunity to communicate with my followers and demystify the complexity around health food. I look forward to this exciting journey!”
With this investement, Milind Soman has joined other Bollywood celebrities who has invested in startups such as Madhuri Dixit in GOQii, Gul Panang in m-fitness startup Mobiefit, Kunal Kapoor in Ketto, and Salman Khan in Yatra, Jacquline Fernandez in Rakyan Beverages and others.

With the new funding, OnTheRun plans to extend the category with new products in the coming months. Read more about Indian Startup Ecosystem.

Actor and Fitness Icon Milind Soman Invest’s in Food Startup OnTheRun