Is it time to start taking your immune system seriously?

I drink warm water with tulsi drops before I go to bed. I repeat the practice when I get off my bed. I wouldn’t elaborate here on what all I consume post getting off my bed. This write-up is not meant to give an account of what I eat in a day. You might want to question me why I started it off like that then. Well, no matter how cliche this phrase might sound, I will use it: In the times of the ongoing pandemic, we have experienced some new normals in our lives. And one of such new normals I have identified myself closely with is ‘health consciousness’. Having a weak immune system is a cause of concern for all during this pandemic. Although the virus is affecting everyone equally, people with certain immunodeficiencies are claimed to be at a higher risk. But whenever I see people, including myself, growing conscious of what they eat all of a sudden, I see the need to sustain this practice.

With a lot of speculations going around on the possibility of more pandemics in the future, it is time people start working on their immune systems on a regular basis. The practice of consuming dietary elements that have the capacity to boost one’s immune system should be sustained as a new normal. This write-up looks at the opportunities that innovators have in helping to sustain this practice. It also weighs the different concerns the stakeholders might have which were collected through a survey. The piece further tries to resolve some of these concerns that you would encounter as you proceed. Some of the questions that deal with the significance of a strong immune system and the ideas around it were discussed with some nutritionists. This shall also be highlighted as we move on.

Defining the problem: Let’s ZOOM IN a little bit.

If someone was to state the problem looking at the situation, the instant response to defining the problem would be: People do not consider eating immunity boosting food items and therefore develop the deficiencies.

But if we hold on, and reanalyze the situation, we realize this problem is much bigger than people not eating such dietary elements. To make this clearer, have a look at the chart below:

Of all the respondents who attempted this question, we notice that about 73.8% of them did consider including certain immunity boosting elements in their diet. Although 96.4% of the total respondents felt that having a strong immune system can help them stop falling sick often, the respondents who identified themselves as ‘extremely’ health conscious remained 26.5%. The difference in the figures is huge. This is exactly where the components of our problem lie.

I know that’s getting too numerical. Bear with me for 3 more sentences. We will avoid digits as much as we can. In an attempt to identify the possible components of the undefined problem, the following question was put forth and got the responses as you notice below:

Some of the major components that came up through these responses were:

1. A busy lifestyle.
2. Laziness or lack of motivation.
3. High cost of such products.
4. Lack of resources.
5. Lack of options in the market.

All these options highlight a common theme: A misconception of what immunity boosting elements are. These elements are being equated with expensive supplements that exist in the market or something that needs a lot of effort to prepare. And that defines the problem more specifically.

So where do you see the role of entrepreneurs and innovators here?

Entrepreneurs have immense opportunities in this sector ranging from creating content on the significance of immunity, to nudging people to consume immunity boosting food, to actually taking action and providing people with such food items. The idea here is to focus on the point of taking action and coming up with a food-based start-up that caters the following:

1. Providing the people with one ‘immunity booster’ snack on a regular basis.
2. Make low-cost immunity boosting snacks available for all.
3. Making the process of preparing these simple and easy to follow.
4. Treat the cause of many illnesses, which is a weak immune system, than treating the consequences that follow.

To make this clear, we will divide the idea into counterparts and reflect on each:

IDEA

Coming up with a food-based start-up that provides only ‘immunity boosting’ snacks. You might ask why just snacks and not complete meals. The idea is to do ‘more with less’. Following one of the principles of Jugaad Innovation, we realize that everyday meals in Indian food specifically provide people with some basic nutrients. The goal is to strengthen this by providing a small snack pack that complements the normal diet.

MOTIVE

The motive is to provide people with essential immunity boosting elements in order to prepare their body internally for situations like one we are facing today.

PLAN OF ACTION

1. Gauging interest

Before building on this, a group of people were surveyed on whether they would be interested in buying immunity boosting snacks if they had a chance to. The results are as follows:

While 46.8% reported their interest in buying these, 37.7% remained uncertain. 15.5 % reported disinterest.

The reasons reported for the hesitation were as mentioned below:

1. Hygiene related concerns.
2. Preference given to home cooked food
3. Cost related concerns

One interesting factor to note here is how hygiene is now being identified closely as an essential for good health. The dynamics have changed from the figure on the left to the one on the right of the screen.

2. Based on the interest and concerns, looking out for possible rough framework for the solution:

A rough framework towards implementing the idea was to make low-cost immunity boosters based on some of the suggestions provided by the respondents as well as the nutritionists I had a chance to interact with. Some of the suggestions included:

1. Dr. Sarita Dimri suggests Mix of watermelon seeds, pumpkin seeds, flaxseeds, til as few low-cost solutions.
2. Some of the respondents suggested using fruits like orange, guava, green leafy vegetables, etc to prepare these snacks.
3. In conversation with Dr. Rajeshwari, who is a practicing nutritionist in New Delhi, it was noted that crispy vegetables which are oven dried serve as good elements for immunity.

There were certain more suggestions that were brought up in the survey.

In terms of how these snacks would be delivered, the respondents were given choices to which most agreed on it being provided both in small outlets as well as home delivery. In terms of the frequency of delivery, most responses inclined towards once to thrice a week. Although in my conversations with the nutritionists, it was reported that consumption of these elements on a daily basis is essential. But it would suffice to say, at least in the Indian context, that the pulses and vegetables our meals include, compensate for it.

Points to be considered: To delve slightly deeper into it, it was noted that different areas might vary in their taste preferences. So a common snack might not be workable. Also, as mentioned by the nutritionists, the requirements for these elements vary across age groups. Hygiene concerns were also noted as one of the barriers.

In the next stage, it was analysed how these concerns could be resolved.

3. Resolving some of the concerns and addressing pitfalls in the rough framework:

1. Addressing concerns related to variation in taste and preferences:

Considering how localities vary in terms of preferences, it would be better to involve local businesses in different areas to cater to the needs better. These local businesses have a fairer idea of what the residents demand. When the respondents were asked in the survey if they think this would be a better idea, 65.7% responded with a ‘yes’ and 28.6% with a ‘maybe’. The concerns remained of how hygienic these businesses would be.

One way out of this would be involving women entrepreneurs who operate small tiffin /lunchbox services from home. With no intention to make this sound gender biased, but there is a sense of reliability and assurance when specially women take up these works and that too if it is from home. As we saw in the Jayaashree Industries case, bringing in women helped them plummet the sales. Although it must be marked here that the reason in that case study had more to do with comfort in having women around considering the stigma around menstruation, here it is more about getting home cooked snacks by women that ascertains a sense of hygiene and freshness.

The other idea is to have vendors in localities who can make these snacks on the spot with the material provided by the people. These could serve as ‘immunity boosting stalls’ wherein people have the choice to design their own boosters with the materials available on the stalls or the ones they provide.

About 54.4% of the respondents were found completely in favor of the idea. These stalls could further be incorporated in malls and other public places for people to design their own boosters.

b. The variation in requirements across age groups and more:

As reported in the conversation with Dr. Sarita and Dr. Rajeshwari, the requirements of these elements vary across age groups. Considering the amount of nutritional differences, the age groups can be framed and snacks can be provided according to the requirement,

To make this process smoother, it was ideated that having a application to keep a track of the details would be good:

1. Region of residence.
2. Members and age groups in the family.
3. Any known allergies to specific food items, if exhibited.
4. Choice of receiving the snacks: on the spot making, getting already prepared ones, purchasing from outlets, etc.

The purpose of this application is also to remind the user to consume one such ingredient in a day. This application would also inform them on the ‘booster snack’ of the day and how it is prepared. The idea is to cater to that population also which is reluctant of purchasing anything from the market. Content on how to prepare the booster snack of the day would help in catering to this section as well. This content can be also used to verify the hygiene levels by putting up videos of the making process of the snacks a person receives. This would establish an initial sense of trust and reliability. While for the ones who reported laziness, lack of motivation, busy lifestyle as main reasons for not consuming these snacks, the application would provide delivery options.

c. Providing these snacks to the bottom of the pyramid as well:

Consider the rates of malnutrition in the lower strata, it is imperative that these booster snacks are provided to the ones who cannot afford good nutritious food. The idea here is to collaborate with schemes like midday meals provided by the government to help build the immunity of the needy who cannot afford to treat the consequences of a weak immune system. These booster snacks could even be provided at ration shops with the other necessities. (include the margins- Principle, Jugaad Innovation)

4. The final framework and some comments:

With the discussion above, we have tried to find some possible solutions to some of the concerns. This framework is still in the ‘ZOOM OUT’ phase and shall remain so until the plan is actually implemented. The final framework would look like a network of small entrepreneurs working on providing immunity boosters to residents across different localities. With the aspects addressed in this write-up, we have covered the pointers of frugal innovation:

1. Affordability: providing low-cost immunity boosters.
2. Simplicity: Use basic food items available at home easily.
3. Quality: Promised in terms of the nutritional values of elements used and the attempt at making the process transparent through the application.
4. Sustainability: The model promises sustainability in terms of materials used. The booster snacks will have basic elements. The snacks will be provided based on the number of members in a family. Extra units won’t be allowed to prevent wastage and also to encourage people to stock less (an attempt at nudging people to buy often).We have all seen how Chyavanprash bottles are stocked for years and left in corners. The idea here is to instill a habit in people that makes them consume these snacks on a regular basis.

So we come to the end of this write-up after discussing the new normal, the problem surrounding this new normal, the ideas for innovators, the responses of the stakeholders and their concerns around the mechanism of the idea, the possible solutions to the concerns raised, and finally the framework we see after all the discussion. Immunity boosting initiative should be taken at the earliest to start a practice of leading a healthy lifestyle.

As a token of gratitude for giving time to this long post, I will leave you with three tips from two of the practicing nutritionists I had a chance to talk to: Dr. Sarita and Dr. Rajeshwari.

http://cdn-img.health.com/sites/default/files/styles/400x400/public/migration/images/healthy-eating/colorful-vegetable-table-400x400.jpg?itok=jjkIcOB-

1. Include colorful fruits and vegetables in your diet.
2. Have sprouts, juice of Giloy to start building your immunity.
3. Besides having the right food, follow and maintain a strict sleep cycle to see the best results.

No matter whether it was intended to be a dietary blog post or not, I guess it started and ended on a similar note.