In today’s world eating healthy is not a choice – it is imperative. Your diet is your bank account, and good food choices are good investments. Indeed, since real health is our real wealth, we are delighted to have with us today, Ms. Elina Shifrina, Founder & CEO, BIOFOODLAB, who has brought in clinically tested, low-glycemic, sugar-free, gluten-free snacks to the market. In fact, it would not be incorrect to state that she launched her brand ONE Bite, ‘just for the health of it’! Team SheAtWork, welcomes her as a brand ambassador of healthy eating, who prioritizes consumer well-being and embodies this as a core principle of her business.
Ques. What inspired you to start One Bite and how do you ensure its products stand out in the market?
Ans. I had never thought of becoming an entrepreneur, until I went to MIT, Boston, where I was awakened to the fact that entrepreneurship could be taught/learnt. Having gained knowledge and confidence there, I needed to choose my field of work. Now, from my modelling days, I had always been cautious about eating healthy food, but I did not have the clarity about which foods are truly healthy. Concurrently, I saw the American market clamouring for healthy food. This drew my interest towards the food industry and I decided to find out the true definition of ‘healthy food’ and produce it. Thus, One Bite was born.
Interestingly, food business is like the fashion business – there are waves of trends, popularizing one or more ingredients at a given point of time.
Ques. The Food Industry is a highly competitive industry. As a woman entrepreneur what challenges did you face in entering such a crowded industry?
Ans. I tried to create a niche for my brand. My brand would have to be synonymous with healthy, nutritious bars and while the American market still had some access to such healthy products, the Russian market was devoid of it. The tough part was to convince retailers to get onboard with me in this venture.
However, when I began producing healthy snacks for children, there was no looking back as the demand for the same escalated humongously. India already has access to healthy snacking, but I aspire to cater to the Indian market as well.
Ques. Can ‘snacks’ be truly healthy?
Ans. Indeed, snacks can be healthy. While the first step to being healthy as a person is not going hungry at any given point of time, the second step is having access to a healthy snack in your pocket as a substitute to home-cooked meals while you are on the go. The right balance of nutrients is important in healthy snacks and we need to educate ourselves on this in order to indulge in healthy snacking!
Ques. If processed food is bad for health, how can packed snacks being sold in markets be healthy?
Ans. There is nothing better than a home-cooked meal/snack. However, considering our busy lifestyles, we do not always have access to home-cooked meals. Balancing convenience with nutrition is important and I created my brand in tandem with this thought.
Ques. The representation of women is comparatively lower than men in the corporate world of Russia, like many other nations. How can we address this issue?
Ans. We must encourage more women in business and politics to garner greater growth. Personally, I was impressed to know that The Chief Minister of Delhi is a woman and the number of women in politics here in India is quite awe-inspiring. Now, while women in politics in Russia are way lesser, in entrepreneurship, women are taking strong strides. However, I believe, that because women do not dare to step out of their comfort zones, they do not dare to step into entrepreneurship. This problem can be addressed by sharing success stories of other women who dared to do things differently and succeeded. Also, un-ending family support can encourage women to take up entrepreneurship more actively.
Avtar Madan
Poonam Sinha
Ruby Sinha
