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Journalism of Courage
Peri peri salad, Oats protein chaat salad, Mexi crunchiness salad, Pho noodles soup, broccoli cheddar cheese soup and Pumpkin spinach soup — these are some of the soups and salad options offered by Pune-based startup Keep Good Shape (KGS) that are being consumed at offices, homes, colleges, police stations and hospitals across the city.
Started by Megha Bafna, who also has a 9 am to 5 pm job with a real estate company, KGS began with an initial investment of Rs 3,500 and six customers. Today, it has more than 350 clients per day, including doctors and children, and a monthly turnover of around Rs 5 lakh.
“After a leg surgery when I was in Class IX, I was bedridden for 18 months. It taught me the value of good health. As an adult, I have wanted to start a business in the health sector because I know that healthy people want to have healthy food. But the problem is that this is not easily available. You can get junk food readily near offices and schools. I figured that if people started getting salads and soups on their desk very easily, they would not want to eat unhealthy food,” says Bafna, a salad buff.
“When I used to bring salads in my tiffin, my colleagues loved it. When I couldn’t get salad, I used to wish there were options available for ready-made salad,” she says. This sparked the idea for KGS. When she tested the waters in 2017, “the response was so good that it took me by surprise”. The following year, Bafna registered the company.
“I worked to remove the idea that healthy means tasteless. I make sure that healthy is tasty, full of different flavours and freshness. My calculation was that the salad business would appeal to the working sector, but then I began to get orders from residences,” says Bafna. KGS, which has a workshop in Swargate, has also opened franchises in Pimpri-Chinchwad and Faridabad in Delhi, and is finalising the opening in Chennai.
“I do not have a business background, so I learnt on the go,” she adds. She focused on the basics— hygiene and cleanliness as well as fresh ingredients that are shopped at 6 am every day. “There are no preservatives. I don’t give a guarantee for more than 24 hours. People have to eat the salad the same day,” she says.
Her Pasta salad has tricked many children into eating oodles of vegetables with a few grams of pasta. The 30-member team that shops, prepares and delivers the salad also eats a compulsory bowl every day. “Making salad and sups easily accessible is a small way of bringing a change in the way we eat when we are busy in office, home or school,” adds Bafna.
