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As a consequence of the deadly second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the nutraceuticals market is expected to see a growth of as much as 35 per cent Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR), to $18 billion in 2025, from $4 billion now.

The explosive growth is being driven by a shift in consumer behaviour and a renewed focus on preventive healthcare. Nutritional supplements or nutraceuticals are fast gaining acceptance to fill in the nutrition gaps left in daily diets towards improving immunity. Nutraceuticals or Nutritional supplements aimed at preventing and managing specific lifestyle disorders have fast become a staple in the Indian healthcare market in various forms, including syrups, capsules, tablets and gummies. The pandemic has forced people to focus on issues of everyday immunity, wellness and nutrition. The explosive growth for the nutraceuticals industry is further aided by the boom in E-commerce with wellness being one of the largest and fastest-growing categories.

India is estimated to have had the second-highest number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the world after the US, and the third-highest number of Covid-19 related deaths after the United States and Brazil.

"Many people, across all social and economic strata, had an aversion to taking medication of any kind, be it prescribed or preventive. But now there seems to be a shift in mindset. People are becoming more aware and understanding the need for nutrition supplements and preventive healthcare. Nutraceuticals are being perceived as a necessity rather than optional. There is a shift from curative to preventive care in the Indian market. With immunity being the focus, consumers are betting big on nutraceutical products," said Ananya Kejriwal Agarwal, founder & CEO of an innovative wellness, direct-to-consumer startup Nyumi.

Agarwal graduated with an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.S. in Engineering and Design Thinking from Olin College of Engineering. She has worked across Product, Growth and Business Operations at Microsoft in Seattle and at Headspace, a US-based mental wellness app, where she learned how to build scalable products that users love.

Recently Nyumi launched its range of nutraceutical gummies and entered the fast-growing Nutraceutical space, launching critical products specifically formulated for the urban Indian woman. Nyumi is the first company to address the specific issues of nutrient deficiencies in Indian women through products that blend Indian herbs and Western ingredients in the form of vegan, gluten and allergen-free gummy. The initial product portfolio targets some of the most prevalent women-centric issues including immunity, hair, skin, sleep and urinary tract wellness.

Speaking of Nyumi, Ananya said, "Nutrition should not be a compromise, and that is why I built Nyumi. We believe that science is not a linear process but an iterative journey. We have invested heavily in R&D for all of our products to ensure maximum efficacy and bio-availability while making delicious flavours! All of our ingredients have been tested not just for their nutritional benefits but also for the quality of their source, clinical reports and compatibility with other ingredients. Our gummies blend time-tested Indian herbs such as Amla, Haldi and Tulsi with Western nutrients like biotin and hyaluronic acid."

Nyumi has taken on the responsibility of reinventing daily nutrition supplements for women. A team of German pharmacists and Indian nutritionists from Nyumi researched diets and deficiencies common to women in India and sourced ingredients from across the world, formulating products to ensure maximum efficacy and bioavailability. Each product is a scientifically tested blend of the best of Indian and Western ingredients, where every ingredient is carefully and responsibly sourced. All ingredients are clinically researched, with multiple ingredients being patented extracts. The new products are just the beginning of the overarching mission of the company to address some of the significant health issues affecting women, more so in the post-Covid-19 world.

Each gummy is manufactured using state-of-the-art German processes and expert know-how, without any artificial colour or flavours. They are designed to help a woman strike a balance between urban lifestyle and self-care with an offering that is easy to understand and integrate into their busy, hectic lives as a habit of choice, in line with the philosophy of the company itself.