Heena Karia Thakkar and Mishal Thakkar believed the time was right to disrupt the snacking space.
Armed with the belief and sufficient data to prove that the snack market in India was moving in a healthier direction, they transformed their business Corvus International Foods LLP, which began in 2016, by introducing new products, packaging, branding, and flavors under the brand name "Whistle."
“By and large, healthy foods have always been perceived to be boring and as something of a sacrifice by customers,” says Mishal. “Our product was named Whistle to break this perception and make healthy snacking identifiable with happiness.”
Based out of Mumbai, all Whistle products are manufactured in-house, giving the brand absolute control over the quality. The product range currently includes roasted makhana, roasted amaranth puffs, and roasted chana chor. Their aim is to pick ancient superfoods and reintroduce these to millennials by converting them into tasty, ready-to-eat snacks that are perfect for people on the go.
Originally distributing to just 10 stores, Whistle is now on the shelves of 300 stores across Mumbai and Pune. They started using WhatsApp to be able to communicate with their team in a quick and cost-effective manner. They have created various groups based on where the sales team is based and get daily updates from them.
“The ease of setting up groups and backing up data, and the ability to send photos efficiently are useful features,” says Mishal. “The ability to track sales persons in real time and capture the attendance of workforce are features I like best,” he says.
With WhatsApp helping Whistle streamline their operations, the team can devote their attention to turning superfoods into super snacks.