Making Wholesome Food Accessible, Here's Saneesha Rao

After studying and working in Games Development in the US and then living in Bogota, Colombia as an artist and sculpter, Saneesha Rao came back to Hyderabad in 2014 with an urgent appetite for home food. This craving soon dawned into a realisation for her and her husband Gopi Lingala, both of whom also had hectic lifestyles, that home cooked is often not the healthiest.

Leanspoon - International Cuisine

Saneesha, who was also pregnant at that time, says, "Both of us are from computer science background and not the most health conscious people there is. But even we felt that nutritious, wholesome and tasty food shouldn't be so inaccessible for people who don't have the time to make it at home."

This led to the inception of Leanspoon, a preventive healthcare startup, which relies on a nutritionist advice for every client, in order to customise a meal for them

A person's health history and fitness goals are kept in mind while helping them choose their diet. For every 10-week cycle, a person is free to choose from Indian, International, Salad/Sandwich section which showcases a variety of options.

"We first appointed a couple of nutritionists with multiple PhDs as our technical advisors. And because we wanted to an HAACP certification for our kitchen, we hired a chef who has worked with the Emirates Airlines and Taj Hotels, to produce the highest quality of food in the most hygienic environment, " she adds.

More than 50 per cent of Leanspoon's support staff - from Nutritionists to Human Resources and Admin staff are women

Most of them look up to Saneesha for mentoring and career advice. Leanspoon is planning to expand to two more cities this year and conducting a market analysis for the prospective demand for their products in other cities. Having launched in only July last year, the startup has a growing list of corporates and hospitals as their clientele. It gets well over 1,000 orders every month. Because of their work in hospitals, sometimes the couple have to pitch in a few hours on weekends as well.

"It helps that we are working right in front of each other so we are able to somewhat maintain our work-life balance and spend time with each other," she adds, smiling.

Read More by Amrita Paul