This mother-son duo wants to bring clean nutrition to India—one sachet at a time

In a world consumed by fast food and processed meals, mother-son duo, Tejashree and Shashvat Shah are propagating good health and convenience with clean nutrition. They have developed TANS, a first-of-its-kind vegan smoothie blend that combines raw fruits, vegetables and greens in a single-serve sachet.

Shah grew up surrounded by entrepreneurs. Her great-grandfather revolutionised Indian kitchens by inventing the country’s first safety wick stove and manufacturing steel vessels. Her father continued the legacy with steel factories and mango orchards.

But life had its plans. "My dad had a bad separation in the family, and he was left with nothing. He passed away very soon after that, and I was very young. I got married early because he wanted to see me settled before he passed away," she recalls.

Determined to find her path, Shah turned to education. "I realised I’m good at English. I started ghostwriting for students applying for MBA programmes. Then I thought, why should I write for people? Why not teach them to write for themselves?" 

This led her to launch Winning Edge, an institute that taught the English language and communications skills and prepared students for the Cambridge ESOL exams.

Meanwhile, Shah organised skill training for the government. She also bought land in Ratnagiri and set up Alphonso mango orchards from scratch.

The turning point

After working in education and entrepreneurship training for years, things changed for Shah in 2015 when she attended an Icreate (International Centre for Entrepreneurship and Technology) event. 

"Until then, I didn’t know what a startup was," she admits. 

She designed 12 modules for a 32-week soft skills programme, mentoring entrepreneurs to transition from job seekers to job creators. Eventually, she joined Icreate full-time at the organisation’s request.

With the COVID-19 pandemic came another unexpected wake-up call. "I was diagnosed with a heart condition. I had to take a lot of care, slow down, take less stress," she says. 

Around the same time, her son Shashvat had completed his biotechnology degree and was keen on a nutrition-based food business. 

As a footballer and fitness enthusiast, he was always interested in nutrition. Together, they researched India’s eating habits and discovered an important gap. 

"Indians are used to eating cooked food. They may eat one or two fruits, like an apple or a banana, and think it's enough. But we need a variety of raw nutrition," Shah explains.

Their search for a solution led them to the Five a Day concept—ensuring people consume enough raw fruits, vegetables, and leafy greens daily. But the challenge was making it easy and appealing to consumers. 

That’s when they discovered freeze-drying—a technique that retains nutrients while extending shelf life—to give people raw nutrition conveniently. They also zeroed in on a single-serve concept. 

“We don’t add preservatives or emulsifiers, and a single-serve sachet is convenient because you don’t have to worry about opening it and not finishing it. There is no room for moisture or mould,” Shah adds.

From an idea to TANS

With the idea in place, the duo applied for a grant from Anand Agriculture University in 2020. But there was one problem. "Twenty minutes before our pitch, they told us we needed a name for the project. We had nothing!" Shah laughs. "So, we thought—this is by Tejashree and Shashvat—T and S.  It also translates into Tasty Accessible Nutritional Support. That’s how TANS was born." 

Despite their excitement, the university rejected their proposal. "They didn’t understand freeze-drying. They said, ‘How can you mix ten different ingredients and freeze-dry them?’" But Shah and Shashvat weren’t ready to give up.

They found a small freeze-drying facility in Surat and funded the project themselves. "It was expensive, but we believed in it." 

The next challenge? Taste. We worked for a year and a half to get the flavours right. The biggest issue was replacing sugar," Shah says. 

Their solution came in an unexpected form—pineapple. "It helped mask the taste of greens like spinach while adding natural sweetness."

TANS follows the Five A Day concept—two servings of fruit, two servings of raw vegetables, and one serving of leafy greens. 

While a Rs 2 lakh grant from the Gujarat government helped them experiment with basic variants, Shashvat’s nutrition expertise helped decide the values of vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients.  

Cracking the market

In January 2023, TANS officially launched its raw blends in single-serve sachets. It offers six variants tailored to different health needs—from body rejuvenation to stress relief, including a Health Refresher, Organ Cleanse, Energy Blast, Stress Buster, Strength Restorer, and Body Rejuvenator. 

Shah says its Organ Cleanse and Body Rejuvenate variants sell the most.

It’s raw nutrition in its cleanest form—allergen-free, gluten-free, and made without added sugar, preservatives, or GMOs. 

Each sachet equals 250 grams of fruits and vegetables, amounts to less than 75 calories, and is currently available at a discounted price of Rs 165.

But TANS’ journey has just begun.

Selling a brand-new product in a country where people prefer fresh food was a challenge. "People mistake it for juice, but it’s a vegan smoothie—a raw blend,” Shah says.

At first, the duo tried food exhibitions but didn’t attract the right audience. "Then we realised organic farmers' markets were perfect. The turning point came when a child at an Ahmedabad market gulped down a sample and dragged his parents over to buy it. We were right next to a toy shop, but the kid wanted our product instead!"

Their focus shifted to targeted marketing. "The woman of the house decides what the family eats. Our target audience became women aged 35-40 years because that’s when people start paying attention to their health."

Instead of heavy advertising, TANS relied on sampling at farmers' markets, organic stores, and digital marketing. "We need five years to truly establish ourselves, and we are prepared for that," Shah says. 

The products are available on its website - tanslife.com and on marketplaces like Amazon.

Building for the future

The mother-son duo made a bold decision: they would not seek investors. "Once you have an investor who doesn’t align with your vision, the product changes," Shah explains. "We don’t want to compromise on clean nutrition."

Instead, they set up their freeze-drying manufacturing unit. "We realised commercial facilities raise temperatures to speed up the process, affecting taste and nutrition. We wanted complete control."

While online platforms drive sales, offline events remain the company’s strongest avenue. It also plans to introduce a subscription model soon so it becomes easy for people to incorporate this into their daily lives.

Clean nutrition beyond TANS

Even as TANS gains traction, the duo is already working on their next idea—freeze-dried chutneys and dips. "We know we can’t survive on just one product. So, we are launching a new brand with the same clean nutrition philosophy free of preservatives and additives," she reveals.

They have no plans to slow down. "We are serial entrepreneurs now," she laughs.

(The story was updated to correct a typo.)