Give us a bit of background about yourself and your company.
I hold over 20 years of experience in the beauty and wellness industry, with an extensive profile of handling operations, legal matters, and finance at a leading MNC in India, along with marketing functions. Back then, the Indian market was not very open to supplementation due to a lack of data on ingredients and other matters.
I was thrilled with conviction and determined to find a subject backed by thorough research. In 2015, the demand for supplements apart from capsules and tablets was prevalent, and that was the moment of change for me. After extensive research, trials & errors, and years of toil until 2021 with the launch of Caim by årelang™ – nutrition as a delightful confectionery. It is scrumptious and healthy, making it India’s 1st Candyceutical™ company that offers gummies and chocolates as potent health supplements.
Nikita further stated that all their formulations are backed by strong research to create healthy alternatives which are sugar-free, delicious, and a perfect treat to serve your tastebuds.
Where does your interest in entrepreneurship come from – how did you start?
I was born in a business family where my passion for business was probably inherited from. My first venture began at the age of 15 when I had just passed high school, and since then, I have never looked back. Until I turned 24, I was a founder of 2 successful entities, post which I joined an MNC that was setting its roots here in India. Pumped with a zealous passion for entrepreneurship, after working for 20 years with a Nutraceutical pioneer, I geared up to settle my brainchild named Caim by årelang™.
Give us insights into the significant offerings of the company. And how does the company support people with its offerings?
Currently, our top 5 formulations are available in the market and utilize only potent plant-based ingredients that cater to solutions dedicated to deficiency lead health challenges. All our formulations are research-based and created under phytochemical science.
Synthetic vitamins and minerals are never an option we suggest as it ceases your body’s natural ability making it dependent on supplementation. We generate products backed by research on the exact micronutrient proportions your body needs and how they can be accelerated naturally.
We use only high-grade plant-based extracts that naturally absorb into your system without using any synthetic chemical alternatives. We source our extracts from the best extract manufacturers in India that offer us bioactive that enable us to produce the most effect and result oriented formulations.
Our top products include:
Rekindle for Men: Natural testosterone boosters in the form of sugar-free chocolates for enhanced stamina and mood.
Rekindle for Women: Natural estrogen balancers in the form of sugar-free dark chocolates for Menopause and PMS discomforts.
Restore your Sleep: Melatonin-free sugar free dark chocolate supplements to help induce deep sleep.
Replenish with Greens: Sugar-free gummies that boost fibroblast production for natural collagen and elastin production.
Replenish with Phytos: Sugar free gummies that help in glutathione production to improve immunity and release stress.
What makes your company stand out in the market?
We are India’s 1st Candyceutical™ company that utilizes only potent plant-based nutraceutical supplements for making dark chocolates with chocolate ganache centres, that helps cope with specific nutrient deficiencies in the human body. We are extremely conscious about providing solutions in various forms of confectionery, to make supplementation not only fun to consume but also highly bioavailability to the body, making the formulations result driven. One of our ethos is ‘your body first’ so we work closely with the science of the body’s mechanisms to enhance the body’s functions without using any synthetic chemical-based actives in the formulations.
Our USPs are:
We are India’s 1st Candyceutical™ companyAll our formulations are scientifically formulated and completely science-backed.
Not only do we use clinically tested and proven ingredients, but our formulations are clinically proven over trials.
We provide simple solutions for basic deficiencies led by modern lifestyles
All ingredients used are 100% plant-based potent bioactives through isolation post extraction.
Our research allows for us to monitor the quantities of each ingredient in our formulations for optimal absorption to provide the exact amounts the body is able to absorb without liver stress.
Our formulations follow the fundamental principle of using ingredients that help encourage the body to work the way it was meant to work. We optimize on the synergies of the ingredients in the formulation to optimize their roles in the absorption and utilization of the formulation, creating pathways to take the ingredients to the site of action. Vitamins and minerals obtained from natural sources are easier to absorb as compared to those taken in supplements holding their synthetic alternatives. For e.g., Glutathione is an important nutrient for immunity boosting. Taking synthetic Glutathione supplements hampers the normal process of digestion, absorption, metabolism, and action at the receptor site. Caim by årelang™ provides you with the richest natural sources of ingredients that would boost the Glutathione production in your body without the stress that synthetic glutathione would impose on your liver.
How do women feel in a male-dominated industry? Have you experienced a different attitude because of gender?
I worked in the male-dominated industry for over 20 years, which had its rough patches when I had to justify my potential constantly. Though managing a position in a boardroom full of men was daunting, it probably was not as tough as the many women stalwarts that have broken the glass ceiling and paved the path of women across industries. Personally, I did not face as many challenges on the basis of gender bias. Men across industries have evolved to recognize that women come with strengths and I feel today it is the strengths and experiences of a person that matters more than their gender.
What do you think is the toughest problem for businesswomen?
The toughest challenge for any women with a career is the work-life balance and overcoming the guilt of being ok when they are not able to cope on occasion. Despite all advances in outlooks, women dominating proof that ‘what men can do, women can as well’, evolution of the business world to accept women as worthy equals, at the end of the day the domestic life for a woman still demands a lot of her involvement in the running of the house, kids homework, PTA, planning kids schedules, caring for ailing parents, and in some homes even cooking the meals is expected of their working daughter-in-law. What we need now is men stepping up to the challenge of ‘we can do anything a woman can do’ and shoulder the responsibilities of their domestic lives together.
What’s a day in your life like as an entrepreneur?
That’s a real question now! Every morning, I have a list of to-do’s in my head, and morning coffee works as a planner to chalk out my whole day’s plan. I had to create 4 partitions of work priority such as urgent, urgent & important, not urgent but important, and not important. For me, each day brings a set of challenges that polishes me to witness a better version of myself.
How do you keep your clients happy and satisfied?
Listening to our customers – really listening to their pain points and understanding their challenges gives us a wider perspective on their needs and expectations. We are constantly modifying our approach based on feedback we receive from our clients. We provide our customers timely updates, information, progress on orders, discounts for returning customers and above all a very result-oriented product which they absolutely love.
Though the statistics of women entrepreneurs in India are rising, women’s ambitions are often doubted in our society. Is it difficult for women to start a business in India?
Quite the contrary – I haven’t seen a time in history where women entrepreneurs have been more encouraged. The government policies have turned to help and aide women in business, more rebates, more access to funds, lowered interest on borrowings. Even VCs and funding houses love, encourage a woman’s entrepreneur spirit.
How do you achieve a balance between your personal and professional life?
It would be wrong to say that I have acquired a work-life balance. The whole thing is more about prioritizing your work, planning, and setting definite goals that are possible to achieve. I avoid stressing out and space out my time span properly to manage multiple roles simultaneously. I always prioritize family, and having a good social life is vital for relieving stress.
What is your future agenda to keep growing in the market?
We aim at achieving a new breakthrough for supplementation and have pipelined 25 more formulations to offer our customers innovative confectionaries in an upcoming couple of years. We can infuse more flavours and variations as per the customer’s requirements.
Caim by årelang™ is the first ever brand offering by årelang Naturals® that is helping millions of people to switch to plant-based supplements. We identify your deficiencies and infuse natural remedies according to your physical requirements.
Our immediate goal of course is to be able to reach our audiences, educate them on the goodness of the products, provide information to them on how their body works and hopefully clear up their myths on nutrition. We are hoping to be able to generate a loyal customer base that loves the product.
As a source of inspiration for many, what would your advice be for female entrepreneurs planning to enter the business world?
Be true to your venture and stay focused on your goals. Starting a company is hard, growing a new company is harder and running it is the hardest, but don’t let anyone tell you that you cannot do it.
- Keep your team small and, initially until the sales and the money starts to come in, keep the motivation levels high within your team.
- Expect days where you feel like you are not getting anywhere but don’t lose hope – keep reminding yourself of why you started and keep working toward your goal.
- Always celebrate the small wins – be it your first customer or when your first shipment of ingredients comes into your warehouse, because recognizing the small victories of your business will boost your morale as well as your teams and will give you a new surge of energy that you and your team will need to get to your next small victory.
Follow your dreams and never give up.
