24-05-2025
The Scientific Foodies: Bharat Bhalla and Varun Kapur, Co-Founders, Yu Foods
Before launching Yu, the duo ran a full-scale consumer survey, speaking to over 500 people about their packaged food habits. The verdict? Guilt, preservatives, and a lingering suspicion of the mystery-meat variety. That led them to deep-dive into food preservation technologies, where they stumbled on something unexpected—NASA, yes, NASA
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If you ever find yourself downing instant noodles at midnight and wondering if there's a way to feel less guilty about it, Bharat Bhalla and Varun Kapur have an answer. And no, it doesn't involve counting calories or shame spirals. It involves astronauts, investment banking, and some serious food science wizardry.
Welcome to Yu Foods, a startup that's aiming to make packaged food a little less evil. Founded in 2021 by Bhalla and Kapur, former investment bankers who swapped Excel sheets for ingredient sheets; Yu Foods was born from a mix of wanderlust and food snobbery. They were always on the go but never wanted to compromise on what they were eating. This passion for discovering wholesome foods that were easily accessible led them on a journey to re-imagine consumer packaged foods.
Their journey into food-tech wasn't a whimsical leap. Before launching Yu, the duo ran a full-scale consumer survey, speaking to over 500 people about their packaged food habits. The verdict? Guilt, preservatives, and a lingering suspicion of the mystery-meat variety. That led them to deep-dive into food preservation technologies, where they stumbled on something unexpected—NASA, yes, NASA.
During their research, they discovered that SpaceX used a method called lyophilization (freeze drying) to keep astronauts fed with fresh-tasting, preservative-free meals on the International Space Station. And just like that, a delicious "why not us?" moment struck. If it works in space, why not on Earth?
So began a year of culinary chemistry experiments. They worked with top chefs and food scientists to cook up a range of ready-to-eat meals that are 100 per cent natural, require no refrigeration, and stay fresh for up to a year. The result? A clean-label product line that includes bestsellers like 100 per cent coconut water and whole wheat noodles. You get your umami hit without the MSG kickback.
Yu Foods operates out of a 40,000 sq. ft. facility in Gurugram, a full-stack R&D lab that sounds more like a Silicon Valley startup than a food brand. But this isn't just high-tech snackery. The company is quietly building a global presence. In just three years, they've landed in 100 Indian cities and 7,500 retail stores, popped up in airline trays on SpiceJet and Akasa, and cracked into South Africa, Canada, and the US with partnerships at giants like Walmart, Checkers, and Pick n Pay.
If you're wondering how a brand this young (and this fresh) scales so fast, look at your phone. Nearly 60 per cent of Yu's revenue comes from online platforms, with quick commerce alone contributing about 50 per cent. That means if you've panic-ordered dinner from Zepto, Swiggy, or Blinkit lately, there's a decent chance you've met a cup of Yu.
Behind the growth is a very deliberate playbook. "Creating a food brand isn't just about good products," Bhalla and Kapur explain. "It's about having a strong brand philosophy." They lean into the idea of "conscious indulgence"—a phrase that sounds suspiciously like an excuse to eat more noodles, but with less sodium regret.
While many packaged foods lean hard on shortcuts like concentrates, flavor enhancers, or dubious e-numbers, Yu skips all that. Even in categories like fruit juice where most of the industry is basically sugared water in disguise, Yu insists on 100 per cent real fruit, no added sugar, no fakery.
It's not all digital dominance, though. Their offline presence is growing too, with a stronghold in North India and expansion into modern trade through Reliance and D-Mart. The company is aiming for a turnover of INR 100 crore by the end of FY26, doubling down on its hit noodle line and pushing deeper into beverages. And all this without making you feel bad for craving noodles. Now that's real innovation.
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