A billion dollar idea born out of 'gut feeling'

Time of India

05-05-2025

It was a year of fascinating discoveries and never before experiences. One of these was walking through brightly lit supermarket alleys. Not in the daytime but at 1 AM in the wee hours. I was astounded to find a neon lit full fledged supermarket, not a convenience store, open for twenty four hours --buzzing like it was 1 pm in the afternoon.
Peering not just at the quality but at the size of some of the fruits and vegetables. Besides their size, they seemed so fresh that they were almost smiling. Moved around looking for plain and simple yogurt. Found the dairy area. Still searching for yogurt.
Came across packs and packs of small cream coloured bottles. Could not quite figure out if these bottles filled with some kind of liquid were just this country's version of lassi or something else. Asked a colleague at work the next day. Learnt that this was a unique probiotic drink created to treat digestive disorders that were rampant post the second world war.
That was Tokyo in 2004 and those bottles were of a brand called
Yakult
. For the first time I came across terms like Lactobacilli. By 2025 , Yakult has become a global brand , available across forty countries.
Circle back to India in 2025. A 2023 figure from a study done by the Indian Dietetic Association indicates that 7 in 10 urban Indians experience digestive issues.
Rewinding back to 2017. A day spent marvelling walking amongst terraced rice fields . Then imbibing the impact of strolling around streets lined with beautiful structures that seem to be from another era . Colourful, ornate and made with unique natural materials like teakwood, bamboo and coconut stone .
Searching for some refreshing coconut water amidst these coconut stones to revitalise after an entire day of walking , we came across a local outlet crowded like a bar during happy hours in the evening. Everyone was being served some locally brewed liquid. We asked what it was. They answered that this is a local form of
ginger tea
.
After a few sips of this unique tasting, we asked them what it was called. The answer was
Kombucha
. Another fermented probiotic drink- this time from Indonesia. Come 2025 and this beverage has gone global and become a billion dollar plus category with a CAGR expected to be in the late teens till 2030.
A few years ago at one spring festival event, I noticed a large can of a red coloured drink being served as a welcome drink to everyone entering. Walking past thinking that this was just another kind of party punch with excess red wine or a red liqueur. Was offered a chance to partake with an explanation that it is actually non-alcoholic and a cooling traditional summer drink.
It tasted of carrots, beetroots and spices. Was told that this is specially prepared
Kanji
. A cooling drink that was certainly not a party punch but packed a nutritional punch by being rich in probiotics and having the goodness of vegetables and spices.
As summer temperatures start climbing across India, there has always been a focus on growth in carbonated beverages and sugar laden ice creams. But given the increasing awareness of probiotics that has taken Yakult global and the realisation of the benefits of drinks that combine cooling with the goodness of fermentation like Kombucha there may be a huge opportunity for India's local fermented
probiotic drinks
to become beverages of choice for beating the summer heat.
And not just Kanji. There is a whole range of probiotic rich cooling drinks in India that can become ideal beverages for summer helping not just to combat the heat but also improve
gut health
. There is
Ambil
which combines the goodness of ragi millets with buttermilk. Then, there is Koozhu, another nutritious and beneficial summertime drink.
Like that in every region there may be nutritious, cooling and probiotic drinks made of natural ingredients that may be waiting to be discovered and to be popularised. There could also be a whole host of lost recipes waiting to be revived which could ignite this Indian probiotic
cooling beverages
category.
Even leftover rice, a common occurrence in many households, can be fermented overnight and converted into a cooling , nutritious , probiotic rich drink or meal. In parts of India it is actually called
Panta Bhaat
. Huge potential to move from sugary fruit juices with nutritional qualities stripped off to cold pressed, spiced and super fermented Panta Bhaat.
Imagine sachets of Panta Bhaat being available at the local grocery store or as a breakfast option to start the day at a local tea stall followed by a hot cup of tea. Panta Pouch or Panta Punch -anyone?
Brands like MAVI's are already trying to drive this transition by offering artisanal black carrot kanji . Another startup has fermented ginger and launched a probiotic organic brand called Ginger Nova. Moving away from the sugary lassi, Milky Mist a dairy innovator has launched a unique long life probiotic buttermilk.
During our school days we used to look forward to the short break where we could go and grab a chilled bottle of flavoured milk.
Now instead of giving children flavoured milk with sugar imagine giving them probiotic buttermilk with no sugar and perhaps spiced with some ginger.
This summer and for the summers ahead it will be great to shift the conversation from carbonated beverages, processed juices and ice creams to indigenous probiotic enriched natural cooling beverages that not only keep one cool but also improve gut health.
My gut feel is that these gut enhancing drinks can also go global with time just like Kombucha .
Perhaps it is time for the world to say Haanji to Kanji.
(The author is a consumer marketing and financial services professional who has observed the changing and emerging landscape of marketing through living and working in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, UAE and Vietnam, besides always observing India outside in. He is the business director, cards and payments at VP Bank - FE Credit, based in Vietnam. He is also the author of the bestselling book 'Marketing Chronicles.' The views expressed are personal.
)