Acquisition project | ProteinChef

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Acquisition project | ProteinChef

Elevator Pitch

Sharing an elevator with a ProteinChef enthusiast:

“Are you craving your favourite Indian food but worried about your health at the same time? ProteinChef helps you transform your traditional Indian meal into a healthy and nutritious meal - without compromising on the taste. With 2.5 times more protein than your traditional food, our offerings help you enjoy authentic flavours while supporting your health goals. Join the movement towards a healthier India, one delicious bite at a time.”

Understand the user

ICPs and prioritisation

	ICP-1 (Fitness Enthusiasts)	ICP-2 (Busy Professionals)	ICP-3 (Indian vegetarian women)	ICP-4 (Elderly Urban Population)
Who they are?	Fitness focused individuals who track nutrition actively	Busy individuals who know their nutritional needs but wants quick food	Health-conscious Indian vegetarian women managing household nutrition	Senior citizens aiming for healthier ageing through nutrition
Age	20 - 40 years	25 - 45 years	25 - 50 years	50+ years
Gender	All	All	Female	All
Location	Tier 1 and 2 cities	Tier 1 and 2 cities	Tier 1 and 2 cities	Tier 1 and 2 cities
Occupation	Young professionals, athletes, fitness trainers	Corporate professionals, entrepreneurs, consultants, remote workers	Homemakers, working women	Retired
Income	₹6L - ₹25L	₹10–45L annual	₹5–20L annual	₹4–10L annual
Relationship Status	Married / Unmarried	Married / Unmarried	Married / Unmarried	Married / Unmarried
Eating Patterns	Focused on clean eating and balanced nutrition, looks for high-protein, low carb options	Aim for healthy eating but needs convenient options such as meal prep, and ready to eat food because of time crunch	Prioritise home cooked healthy meals, time is not a constraint	Home cooked foods with dietary restrictions
Where do they spend time?	Social media, OTT platforms, Gyms, Food tracking apps, Workout apps	Social media, OTT platforms, Corporate wellness program, Weekend outings	Social media, OTT platforms, Social Engagements, Parenting forums / groups, health blogs, whatsapp groups	Parks, Religious places, Friends and family, Pharmacies / clinics, WhatsApp groups
Where do they spend money	Grocery stores, Quick commerce, E commerce, Gyms / sports / fitness centres, and healthy food cafes	Grocery stores, Quick commerce, E commerce, Office cafes, co-working spaces, and healthy food cafes	Grocery stores, local vegetable / fruit vendors, Quick commerce, E commerce	Grocery stores, Pharmacies
Commitment towards clean and healthy eating habits ?	Very High	Medium to High	Medium to High	Medium
Problem faced ?	Fulfilling protein RDA on daily basis	Lack of time for proper meals/snacks	Balancing home cooked vegetarian food and nutritional value for whole family	Balancing home cooked food and nutritional value
Solution they are looking for ?	High-protein, low-carb foods for fitness	Quick, nutritious foods for busy schedules	Protein-enriched traditional foods, iron, B12, calcium fortification	Easy-to-digest, nutritious food options
Influencers	Family, Friends, and Testimonials	Colleagues, Family, Friends, and Testimonials	Family, Friends, and Testimonials	Family, Friends, Doctors and Testimonials
Blockers	Family	Family	Family	Doctors, Family
Ease of Adoption	Low / Medium	Medium / High	Low	Medium / High
Frequency of Use	High	Medium	High	High
Paying Capacity	Medium to High	High	Medium	Medium
TAM	Medium	High	Very High	Medium
Distribution Potential	High	Medium	Medium / High	Low

Prioritising ICP-1 (Fitness Enthusiasts) and ICP-3 (Indian vegetarian women)

Understand the product

ProteinChef helps Indians upgrade their daily meals by making everyday staples like atta, rotis, and snacks naturally high in protein — without changing taste, habits, or traditional cooking.

With clean ingredients, better nutrition, and easy convenience, we make eating healthier effortless for everyone — from fitness enthusiasts to busy moms.

Product offerings :

Multigrain Protein Atta: Combines super grains such as Peanuts, Sattu, Chickpea, Soybean, Mung Bean, and Brown Rice to 2X the protein content compared to regular atta.
Ready-to-Eat High-Protein Rotis: Convenient, heat-and-eat rotis made from whole wheat and other grains offering > 2.5X protein than normal rotis.
High-Protein Snacks: Baked, not fried, snacks like South Mixture Namkeen and Baked Bhujia, offering high protein content with traditional flavours.
Protein Breads: High-protein atta bread enriched with superfoods, seeds, and nuts. Offering upto 6.3g protein per slice and upto 3.5g fiber per slice.

Understand the market

Competition Analysis

Brand	Protein (per 100g)	Key Ingredients	USP	Target Audience	Price Range
ProteinChef	~20g	10-grain blend including lentils, millets, oats, soy	High-protein daily staples (rotis, atta, snacks)	Health-conscious families, vegetarians	₹200–₹300/kg
Prolicious	14g	Chickpeas, lentils, rice, sorghum	Gluten-free, high-protein flour	Gluten-sensitive consumers, diabetics	₹400–₹500/kg
The Better Flour	15.5g	White chickpeas, sorghum, rice, urad dal, red lentils, beetroot, tomato	Gluten-free, low glycemic index	Diabetics, health-conscious individuals	₹400–₹450/kg
Better Nutrition	14.2g	Biofortified wheat (high in iron, zinc, protein)	Naturally biofortified grains	Mass market, families, rural consumers	₹120–₹150/kg

How ProteinChef is different from its competitors

Area	Why ProteinChef is Winning
Product Relevance	Focused on daily-use items (atta, rotis, namkeen) — not just "occasional" health foods
Taste Fit	Maintains traditional Indian flavours and eating habits (e.g., roti with sabzi)
Clean Label	No chemicals or artificial additives - aligns with rising health-consciousness
Convenience	Offers ready-to-eat high-protein rotis - an extremely underserved need
Price Balance	More affordable than premium bars and boutique health brands (middle premium)
Audience Fit	Targets vegetarians and regular families - not just "bodybuilders"
Educational Edge	Focuses marketing on "daily protein gaps" instead of extreme diet transformations

Market Sizing

Total Indian Households ~ 30.24 Cr = 30 Cr

Urban Households ~ 30% of 30.24 Cr = 9 Cr

Assuming 80% of urban households consume Atta on regular basis ~ 80% of 9 Cr = 7.2 Cr

Upper and middle income households ~ 40% of 7.2 Cr = 3 Cr

Health conscious households ~ 30% of 3 Cr = 0.9 Cr

Average spend on Atta and healthy snacks per household ~ INR 1000 per month

TAM (Total urban households’ spend on atta + healthy snacks) = 7.2 Cr x INR 1000 per month x 12 months = INR 86,400 Cr

SAM (Health conscious households) = 0.9 Cr x INR 1000 per month x 12 months = INR 10,800 Cr

SOM (Assume 5% of the SAM) = INR 540 Cr

If your product is in early scaling stage

ProteinChef has established a solid product-market fit, evidenced by positive customer feedback, strategic partnerships, and a growing digital presence. Their initiatives in expanding distribution channels across quick commerce and diverse product offerings suggest that they are in the early stages of scaling their operations to reach a broader market.

Acquisition Channel Selection Framework

Channel	Cost	Flexibility	Effort	Speed	Scale	Potential Impact
Organic	Low	High	High	High	Medium	Very High
Paid Ads	High	Medium	Low	Low	High	Low
Referral	Low	High	Medium	Medium	Medium	High
Partnerships	Medium	Medium	High	High	High	Very High

Selecting cost-effective channels which have good flexibility and high potential.

Organic
Referral
Partnerships

Detailing Organic Research

Detailing Content loops

Organic - content loop

ProteinChef is set out to bring a genuine impact on the health of 100 million Indians by making scientifically backed and tested low-carb, high protein products. Their customers are curious about everyday health topics like how to stay fit (checkout their Instagram @https://www.instagram.com/proteinchefbylofoods/), how much protein is needed on daily basis for kids and adults, how to stay energised all the time. Both ICP-1 and ICP-3 love learning and often share helpful nutrition and lifestyle tips with their family and friends.

Content loop

Hook (to generate the need)

Content Generator

Distributor

Why This Works

Short form video content

- 15 min quick high protein recipes

- 1 min trivia around importance of balanced meal and protein intake requirements

ICPs scrolling through high protein recipes shorts / reels

ProteinChef Team (with fitness chef / influencer collab)

YouTube Shorts & Instagram Reels

Hooks fitness lovers + busy homemakers; easy, fast recipes boost daily usage of ProteinChef atta and rotis

Real testimonials

- 30-Day Protein Challenge: Have One Meal a Day with ProteinChef

- UGC on the product review

(Both to be driven via incentives)

ICPs looking for product reviews / product’s nutritional value / social media profiles of the brand

Indian moms / health influencer curated by ProteinChef

Instagram Stories, YouTube Reels, Email Campaigns, Product / brand page, Whatsapp status

Strong emotional connect with Indian vegetarian women; relatable daily lifestyle storytelling which showcases real results and testimonials over time

Detailing Product integrations

Detailing Referral / Partner program

Referral design

Currently there is no referral in place for ProteinChef. Here’s a structured referral flow targeting ICP-1 and ICP-3.

Step	Action
1. Identify Customer Touch points (AHA Moments)	- After first delivery - After reordering ProteinChef atta/snacks - After posting positive product review
2. Brag-Worthy Element	Functionally enhancing the nutritional value of daily meals without any change in the texture or taste. "I upgraded my family's protein intake effortlessly!"
3. Platform Currency	INR(₹) credits, which can be redeemed on the ProteinChef storefront.
4. Who to Ask for a Referral ?	Users who have: - Completed 1 purchase - Rated 4 star(+) feedback on E commerce / website. - Repeated order within 30 / 60 / 90 days For future reference, systematically detecting “happy customers” and “power purchasers” depending upon the frequency of purchase.
5. Referral Discovery	Discovery points: - Web-app banners - Post-purchase emails targeting ICP-1, example: "You loved it — now share the love!" - WhatsApp nudges targeting ICP-3, example: “Gift a healthier meal to your loved ones." - QR code on product packaging, example: "Help your loved ones eat smarter with ProteinChef — just like you did!"
6. Referral Sharing & Communication	- Link sharing, default to WhatsApp sharing (most natural for Indian users)- ”Suyash has sent you ₹100 to eat smarter with ProteinChef. High-protein atta, ready-to-eat healthy rotis, and snacks — all made for Indian families who want to eat better without changing their favourite foods. Claim your ₹100 discount and upgrade your meals today, <referral link> Gift your family better health, start NOW” - CTA to copy the referral link + message
7. Tracking Referrals	Dashboard inside user account on the web-app, tracking the following: - How many people clicked the link - How many people signed up - How many people made the first purchase - Credit earned so far Keeping the UI clean and simple
8. Referral Landing Page for Non-Users	- Page headline: "A friend sent you ₹100 to try healthier eating with ProteinChef!" - CTA: “Claim your ₹100 discount and upgrade your meals!” - Should look like a gift page and not a “signup” page. Focus on immediate benefits "Eat smarter starting today".
9. Encourage Continuous Referrals	- Tiered Rewards + streak bonuses will lead to more stickiness. 1st referral = ₹100 5th referral = ₹500 bonus 10th referral = Free 1-month atta supply (worth ₹1500) - Push notification if inactive for 30 / 90 days: “Your friends deserve healthier meals too!”

Partnerships

ProteinChef has partnered strategically to target ICP-1 and ICP-2
1. Cult, offering protein packed quick food and snacks at a sports event
2. Swiggy, setting up Healthy Cloud Kitchen
Exploring partnerships with local atta vendors could be a lucrative one wrt brand awareness, business revenue and is still untapped.

Why Local Atta Chakkis ?

Very High TAM, every neighbourhood in Tier 1/2/3 cities has dozens of chakkis. Tapping even a few of them and converting them to official offline distributor of ProteinChef will benefit both the parties.
Interaction frequency of ICP-3 with atta chakki is the highest, say once a month.
Value addition potential is very high because ICP-3 already trust chakki for better quality which can easily recommend / upsell high-protein atta upgrade.
Ease of implementation is not high, manually partner and maybe incentivise a few chakki owners per pincode. Simple co-branding possible.
Scalability is high. For pilot let’s aim to start with 80-100 atta chakkis in any one tier 1 city.
Brand alignment is very high, traditional plus health benefits fits perfectly.

Pilot Run

Choose any Tier 1 city
Shortlist 80 - 100 atta chakkis spread across the city selected.
How’s it going to look like ?
1. Chakki offers 2 options : Regular atta and Proteinchef atta (15-20% higher markup)
2. Small ProteinChef counter stand + Posters
3. Give free small atta samples (250g) for first 100 customers at each chakki
4. Signup Drive: Customers who opt for ProteinChef flour are offered ₹100 coupon for next online order
Chakki Incentive :
1. Flat incentive per KG sold (example - ₹10 margin per kg).
2. Quarterly bonus if they cross sales thresholds.
Investment needed : Around INR 2.5L
1. Sample pouches (250g) for 5,000 households ~ 50000
2. Banners, Posters, Table stands ~ 50000
3. Chakki incentives for 2 months ~ 100000
4. Field Sales support, 2 city managers ~ 60000