I still remember the burst of sweet and tart flavors as I bit into Indian jujube fruits plucked fresh from trees near my childhood home in Jhansi. We called these vitamin C-rich Indian jujube dates ber in Hindi, counting the days to monsoon when branches would droop with the ripe, red oval berries. India is home to a vast bounty of indigenous superfoods that have sustained our ancestors for millennia, like the antioxidant-rich Indian jujube/ber.

Indian superfood ready for the limelight 

As the world’s youngest nation with 50% of our population below age 25, the time is ripe for startups to harness the goodness of native fruits into innovative health products. India will commemorate its 75th Republic Day this year. India’s millennials and Gen Z care deeply about what they eat, seeking snacks that are nutritious yet planet-friendly. This is why a startup like Abrosaa that sustainably sources ber from small farmers to craft healthy chocolate thins, granola crackers, fruit spreads and more, resonates strongly with the youth.

By reinventing a nostalgic fruit like ber into convenient nutritious snacks, we provide the perfect solution for young Indians balancing busy lives with wholesome eating. The global potential for taking homegrown superfoods from India to the world is limitless!

Years later, as an entrepreneur exploring potential superfoods, my mind wandered back to these nostalgic fruits loaded with antioxidants. Could the humble ber, which grows abundantly across India’s arid regions, offer nutrient-dense snacking options to health-conscious consumers? I decided to find out with our food startup Abrosaa.

Superfood Ber fruit’s Journey From Brainstorming to Delicious Products

After extensive R&D on the Indian jujube’s nutritional properties, our team at Abrosaa felt convinced that this was a fruit ripe for reinvention. While jujubes are nutritious raw, we experimented with recipes to unlock their versatility as guilt-free healthy snacks and desserts. 

Late nights at our Jhansi production kitchen were fueled by passion (and lots of coffee!) as we crafted the first commercial batch of jujube products in India – decadent dark chocolate embedded with tart fruit pieces, roast seed crackers with a subtly sweet glaze, fruit cheese spreads perfect on toast, spicy chutneys to spice up snacks, and vitamin C-rich juices. 

We conducted station trials and pop-up tasting sessions to refine textures, flavors and packaging until we achieved products that made consumers go “wow!” Moms loved the healthier chocolates made with fruit insides instead of sugar syrup. Adventurous teens enjoyed jujube chili masala blends as dips with nachos. Corporate clients ordered gift hampers with assorted superfruit chocolate thins, seed crackers and spreads for staff – the perfect healthy gift.

Empowering Superfood ber fruit Local Farmers with Sustainable Livelihoods

Once production scaled, our next step was ethically sourcing jujubes. We collaborated with the UP Horticulture Department to plant 3,000 Indian jujube saplings across acres of arid farmland around Jhansi. This boosted local ecology while creating a sustainable supply chain.

Abrosaa also partners with over 250 marginalized farmers and tribal foragers to procure wild jujubes. Our field agents provide training in intercropping jujubes with other cash crops. This allows farmers to maximize land yields. We’ve enabled several women breadwinners to earn livelihoods from jujube collection – helping them break free from the shackles of poverty.

To revive organic farming, we launched model orchards on 5 acres of degraded soil near Jhansi. Applying principles of agroforestry helps improve soil nutrients and moisture retention. The luscious green orchards serve as incubation sites for innovating future fruit-based healthy snacks!

Gaining Global Recognition at World’s Largest Startup Event ,Slush

From the humble surroundings of our Jhansi production center, brought the delightful opportunity to represent India’s food startups at Slush 2023 – the leading startup event held in Helsinki, Finland. 

As I stepped into Messukeskus Convention Center, rubbing shoulders with 5,000 diverse founders and 3,000 global investors, I was filled with optimism about the future of Abrosaa. Our mission to sustainably cultivate the Indian superfruit while empowering tribal women resonated strongly at this mega global platform for startups. 

I had the privilege of connecting with social impact funds and food sector VCs during the conference who were excited to support a woman-led organization innovating with indigenous fruits. Slush also gave me fresh perspective on strategies to scale our jujube products internationally. 

(Feedback videos by Europeans inserted here)

I’m excited to integrate the stellar feedback and expansion tips gained at this global entrepreneurship hub into Abrosaa’s upcoming product launches and corporate gifting verticals.Beyond fundraising, Slush gave me new perspective on how we can scale our nostalgic ber (jujube) chocolates, spreads, juices and superfood hampers across India and overseas. I’m excited to integrate the feedback and best practices gained here into our product development and corporate gifting vertical.Beyond gaining global exposure at Slush 2023, I had the opportunity to connect with inspiring founders and investors from India who are shaping the future of business. It was heartening to meet the likes of ——. 

Such meaningful conversations with industry stalwarts have expanded my thinking on how Abrosaa can co-create the future of fruit-based snacking along with key players across India’s F&B ecosystem, from farm to table.

Craving Guilt-Free Ber Superfood Snacks? Get In Touch!

If your company seeks a healthy twist on snacks,juices and cookies to gift clients/staff this festive season, I would love to sample our product range with you! Our jujube delights evoke nostalgia while catering to modern nutrition standards – the perfect gift for Indian palates.

You can also explore buying our individual bestsellers made from indian superfoods like fruity ber dark chocolate ,ber masala chatkara, ber juice,Ber fruit spread and more at our shop

Let’s leverage the glorious Indian superfruit to spark a snacking revolution!