Pune: Poshan 1st was born out of a stagnant pattern in health clinics in India. Patients with conditions such as diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol and heart disease were becoming regular. What struck health professionals was a noticeable paradox: patients already knew what their diet should be but took no action about it.
This made Dr Madhur Motwani, who graduated from Mumbai’s Grant Medical College in 2011, realize that merely advising patients to eat right was not really helping. “Most of our patients already knew what they should eat,” he said. “The problem wasn’t awareness. It was action.”
This forced him to think deeply. Why is it so hard for people to act on what they already know is good for them? He came to the conclusion that functional and behavioral nutrition could be a game changer for patients with chronic diseases.
This idea sowed the seed of Potion1st – a startup he founded in 2022 at CMC Vellore with his wife Piya Sanyal, a doctor with post graduation in family medicine.
Pandemic Insights
Piya also supported her husband’s point. “While treating patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, we noticed that obese people with high blood pressure, cholesterol or diabetes would have worse outcomes than healthy people. Madhur and I discussed this and realized that something could be done to improve their health. Since our marriage in 2018, we have developed a daily habit of drinking 300 ml of vegetable and fruit smoothies twice a day. So, we started recommending it to our patients.”
unsolved problem
He emphasized that modern health advice often assumes one thing: that if people try hard enough they will make the right choices. But real life doesn’t work that way. “We soon realized that patients often did not have the right equipment to make these smoothies. The carrots and beets required high potency
Mill and not everyone has it,” Piya said.
Madhur added: “Furthermore, most health solutions rely heavily on willpower. People are constantly expected to resist temptation, even if everything around them is designed to make them choose otherwise.”
radical approach
From office snack counters filled with sugary treats to long workdays that leave no room for mindful eating, the environment often destroys good intentions.
“Instead of fighting willfully, we asked ourselves: What if we could redesign the environment itself?” Madhur said. “What if healthy choices became the easiest choices?”
This idea – to instigate behavior rather than coerce it – became the philosophical backbone of the company.
change in thinking
The timing could not be more relevant. After the pandemic, people have become much more aware about health, immunity and prevention. The market reacted quickly, but not always in the right way.
“There has been a massive shift toward supplements and pills,” Madhur said. “But we believed there was a difference. And the solution lies in the meaning itself. They’re called supplements because they’re added to the diet, not because they’re for the diet. Nutrition doesn’t come from shortcuts, it comes from food.”
Potion1st decided to focus on whole food-based nutrition that was not only evidence-based, but also accessible, convenient, and enjoyable.
“Our mission was simple,” Madhur said. “Help people build habits that stick, not just follow diets that fade away.”
clean food manufacturing
The idea was simple, but the execution was not. “Creating food that was both healthy and enjoyable turned out to be more difficult than we expected,” Madhur admitted.
The team delved deeply into food science, experimenting with freeze-drying techniques to create products that retain nutrition while being shelf-stable and easy to consume. “We bought a free dryer and kept it in our guest room while we organized our plan,” Pia said. In 2023, Madhur contacted the Venture Center, an inventive and science-based business incubator in Pune, and they offered help.
The couple wanted clean-label products with no unnecessary additives and no compromise on quality.
Madhur researched organic fruits and vegetables but realized that it would be too expensive. Furthermore no one could be sure whether it was actually organic or not. “There are claims but no traceability. So instead of chasing the ‘organic’ tag, I thought it’s better to eat whole fruits and vegetables that are not organic than not eating them at all,” he said.
Apart from this there was also the matter of taste. “We also have to make the products taste good. Otherwise, our idea won’t work,” Madhur said.
refine taste
Months turned into years of iteration where every change mattered – texture, taste, aroma, color, shelf life and retention of nutrients. he was one
Continuous cycle of testing and refinement. Luckily, Pune’s innovation ecosystem played a vital role in their quest for perfection.
“Living in Pune helped us a lot,” Madhur said. “We were able to get the right equipment and collaborate with experts from different disciplines.”
He soon realized that food is not just one domain. It sits at the intersection of
medicine, nutrition, engineering, manufacturing and human behavior. All these have to be mixed.
Support from the Venture Center and Startup India Seed Fund helped them build their initial infrastructure, but the biggest learning came from the food.
“Food is emotional,” Madhur said. “People don’t choose food just because it’s healthy. Taste, culture, affordability, habit – everything plays a role.”
sudden success
Interestingly, Potion1st’s most important innovation – the vending machine – was not part of the original plan. The team initially focused on creating single serving packs of a fiber-rich, freeze-dried formulation aimed at improving gut health and metabolic function. And the vending machine was an afterthought.
“We built the vending machine simply as a way to distribute our products at events,” Madhur recalls. “It wasn’t the main product.”
Then came an important turning point. At the Chellaram Diabetes Conference, he demonstrated his initial prototype. What happened next turned the tables. “A visitor came to us and said this was what they wanted in their office. That one sentence reshaped our entire business.
We realized that while people liked our products, what they also liked was the convenience,” the couple said, adding, “Healthy food is available instantly without any effort.”
The vending platform was doing something powerful – it was removing friction. “This reduces the fatigue of decision making,” Madhur said. “It made the healthy choice the easier choice.”
This was the real proof of his concept. The delivery model became as important as the nutrition!
Rethinking market strategy
Unlike traditional food brands, Potion1st didn’t chase retail stores or Instagram likes. “Our strategy was built around partnerships,” Madhur said.
They focused on environments where health already matters – hospitals, corporate offices, gyms, schools and wellness centers.
“Food is already available everywhere,” Madhur said. “The real problem is access to better options.”
So, instead of asking people to change their diet, Potion1st integrated it into their existing routine. “We are not asking for major changes,” Madhur explained. “We are offering a better alternative.”
Vending machines soon became a powerful tool for the couple’s vision as they are unmanned, on-demand, easy to operate and perfect for modern environments.
first customer moment
The first customer didn’t come from a sales pitch, he came from curiosity. “That conversation at the conference was our first real breakthrough,” Madhur said. “We weren’t even actively selling vending machines, but the customer saw something that the founders hadn’t fully identified yet. We built our service model off of that need.”
Since then, Potion1st has completed over 20 installations, with the demand for its wellness vending solutions increasing day by day. “One of our biggest lessons was the decisive first-customer moment,” Madhur said. “Customers often see opportunities that founders miss.”
As of today, they charge ₹Rs 10,000 for 300 ml smoothie or 300 servings of soup depending on the season from their vending machines. “We have seven flavors of smoothies and soups. Each serving costs ₹33 which is easily affordable,” Madhur said.
funding the vision
Building a science-backed food company takes capital, but Potion1st took a thoughtful approach. “We have raised all around ₹“70 lakh in non-dilutive grant,” Madhur shared. This includes support from Startup India, Venture Center and others. ₹Large grant of Rs 50 lakh (Biotechnology Ignition Grant) from BIRAC (Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council).
He also secured ₹availed a loan facility of Rs 50 lakh and invested his own capital (1 crore). “We believed in maintaining quality control,” quips Madhur.
To ensure this, he set up his own manufacturing unit through Proxy Agrotech in Amravati. They get their vegetables and fruits from local farmers.
Madhur said, “Farmers are under constant pressure to sell raw and unripe fruits and vegetables as it takes time to reach customers. But, we source only ripe fruits which we need. This helps their ecosystem, otherwise they are forced to throw away their ripe produce or sell it at a loss.”
Establishment of manufacturing unit
The step of setting up our own manufacturing unit was important. “It was important for us to own the process,” he said. “Quality cannot be outsourced.”
His efforts did not go unnoticed. He received the National Startup Award 2026 in the Food & Beverage Trailblazer category and presenting his vision to the Prime Minister was a proud moment which he will always cherish.
reshaping the market
Potion1st does not see itself in direct competition with traditional players. “The real competition is misinformation,” Madhur said. “In a world full of quick fixes, we’re advocating something slower but more sustainable. We’re not selling shortcuts. We’re helping people form habits.”
Potion1st isn’t just building a brand, it’s building an ecosystem. it wants
Become part of the everyday dining environment. From schools to hospitals
In workplaces, the goal is to make healthy options seamlessly available.
“One of the biggest hurdles today is operational complexity,” Madhur said. “We remove him.”
Education is also a major focus. “Habits are formed early throughout life,” the couple stressed. “So schools are a major priority for us.”
Also, they remain based on reality. “We do not claim to freeze
Dry food is better than fresh food,” Madhur explained. “Fresh is always the gold standard. We step in where new options are not available, and facilitate healthy choices.”
a quiet revolution
Basically, Potion1st isn’t just a food company, it’s a behavioral design company. Understands that people don’t change by telling them. They change when the environment changes.
“We see ourselves as a bridge between awareness and action,” Madhur said. “The most satisfying outcome for us is to see people choosing
Healthy habits naturally, without any force or struggle. Just because it’s easy.”
And, in short, the future Potion1st is quietly building – one small, convenient, everyday healthy option at a time.
