From Stevia Setbacks to Max Protein

Naturell’s founder traces a route from a village near Nagpur to a consumer-brand ambition: building healthier snacks while improving farmer livelihoods. His early plan was stevia, a crop he believed could offer farmers a higher-income alternative. When the tabletop-sweetener bet stalled, Naturell had to learn what the market would actually recognise. He recounts the costly lessons that followed: a calcium bar priced for the wrong shelves, children mistaking nutrition for chocolate, and a gradual shift away from vague health claims toward visible functional benefits. That shift led to Max Protein, a 20-gram bar designed around what consumers were already seeking. The conversation also follows Naturell’s expansion into millet-based protein chips, cookies, granola, peanut butter and plant protein, and examines the goal of turning Max Protein into a broader healthy-snacking platform. With the business at roughly ₹160–170 crore, he explains why a partnership with Zyder's Wellness is intended to help pursue a ₹1,000-crore brand.