Embrace the Goodness of Honey Minus the Sticky Fingers with Honey Twigs! Eating Honey Has Never Been Easier

Source honeytwigs.in

14/04/2021 Newest

Honey is one of the most versatile kitchen ingredients that finds its way not just in cooking but also in skincare, haircare, and is a boon for several health conditions. If you're someone who always thought using honey was sticky business then Honey Twigs has a neat way to dispense this golden elixir, and to make it portable. Read on to find out more.

Table of contents

The Goodness of Honey!
Is There an Innovative Way of Relishing Honey?
Q&A with Paras Fatnani, Co-Founder of Honey Twigs
What to Buy from Honey Twigs: 3 Must Haves
The Process of Creating an Innovative Product
How Best to Eat Honey and Other Sweet Notes

The Goodness of Honey!

Source Honey Twigs

With a fresh wave of interest in health worldwide, people have started taking better care of their health and are keen to know what goes on their plate. With that knowledge comes the desire to replace certain foods with healthier ones, often starting with staples like sugar. Honey is a natural substitute.

It's use goes back several millennia and it has been called liquid gold, food of the gods, and closer home it is one of the Panchamrita, or the five foods of immortality. Being held in such high esteem the world over, the estimated virtues of honey sometimes reach mythical heights, but many of its properties are scientifically backed. Honey is anti-bacterial and rich in antioxidants, making it useful in treating colds and sore throats, and as an immunity booster. Coupled with it's delicious taste, those reasons alone make it a good addition to your diet.

Is There an Innovative Way of Relishing Honey?

Source Honey Twigs

We all know that honey is beneficial for health, and that replacing sugar with this liquid gold can only do good things for us, yet eating it is not always easy. It drips, it is sticky, and even the smallest of jars of honey cannot be simply tossed into a bag the way a sachet of sugar can. Hence switching to honey means that you still need to rely on sugar from time to time. At least you did, until now.

In our quest to hunt down the purest and most delicious indigenous honeys available in the Indian market, BP Guide came across what is probably the most innovative way to package honey - in single serve, one teaspoon measure twigs. The slim, clear tube is made of a biodegradable material, is easy to rip open and is super portable. And that the honey is all natural, antibiotic free and sustainably sourced, only sweetens the deal.

Five reasons why we like Honey Twigs

high quality, all natural honey
completely free of antibiotics and sustainably sourced, supporting ethical bee farming
clear packaging that allows you to see the honey, and is also biodegradable
portable enough to go in a lunch box and even a purse
easy to use as there is no need for spoons, and does not get your fingers sticky

With so much to like, BP Guide decided to find out more about the people behind the brand. It was started by co-founders Paras Fatnani and Jigar Mehta, one with a background in higher education and the other in theatre. The two first met when studying for their masters in marketing in London in 2008. Another meeting years later in 2015, this time in Delhi, paved the way for Honey Twigs. At the time Fatnani was working for QS, a body that ranks universities worldwide, and Mehta was the head showcaller at Kingdom of Dreams which launched the first 5D theatre in India.

We decided to have a tête-à-tête with co-founder Paras Fatnani.

Q&A with Paras Fatnani, Co-Founder of Honey Twigs

Co-founder, Nectwork Foods Private Limited

Paras Fatnani

Paras Fatnani is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder at Nectwork Foods Private Limited. The company aims to help consumers adopt healthier lifestyles by making small changes in every day habits. It offers easy to use, healthier alternatives in convenient and innovative packing solutions. The brand of Honey Twigs is a part of the Nectwork Foods family.

Interviewer BP Guide

Tell us about yourself and your background.

Co-founder, Nectwork Foods Private Limited Paras Fatnani

We started this business since 2015. While my cofounder and the whole team was in India, I was based in the UK. Till recently I had a job as well, but last year I felt the time was right and I resigned from my commercial role at QS where I had been for eleven years. There was a choice, if I was going to do this, the risk was the lowest at that point. Now my entire commercial interest has moved to Honey Twigs and it's been quite an interesting change moving to India after this long.

Interviewer BP Guide

Why choose honey as a new line of work?

Co-founder, Nectwork Foods Private Limited Paras Fatnani

Both my co-founder are I are foodies. We did our masters together back in 2008 and we were catching up when I was in Delhi in 2015. He used to work in entertainment at the Kingdom of Dreams but he was very excited about doing something on his own, and being a foodie, food was something we started talking about. His masters dissertation was on honey and we decided to look at something simple yet effective around it.

The first and foremost thought when thinking about being healthy was replacing the two evil brothers somehow - processed sugar and salt. We decided to go down the sweet route. Honey was an instant first click - a healthier natural alternative. We spent about six months and did a survey of about 3000 individuals to figure out if there was a real problem we could solve. We found 3 key challenges consumers face while using honey. We went back to his university dissertation, a honey cafe concept for inspiration where these twigs were actually testers.

We understood the three most challenges people faced with honey. For one, there is a lot of mess with honey as it spills. The second thing that everyone talks about is purity. What does pure mean? It means there isn't enough trust in a product. The third was portability.

Interviewer BP Guide

The Honey Twigs that you have were testers in a masters dissertation?

Co-founder, Nectwork Foods Private Limited Paras Fatnani

The Twigs were testers. We put our heads together to see why can't they be a product. We started R&D and made a few prototypes. Initially we had thought of this as a B2C business and when we launched we were doing farmer’s markets.

Then we got approached by Cafe Coffee Day for a solution to their honey wastage problem. It wasn’t something we had thought about, but if you go to a cafe or hotel you see a 28-gram jar and most times people use a teaspoon and the rest goes to waste. Our packs were designed as teaspoon packs. That's how the whole B2B world opened for us. Based on feedback we further refined the product to make it attractive as well as effective. If you look at the pack today they are transparent so you can actually see the honey inside.

Next we tried to solve the mess problem. There is a small tear on the top so all the honey will come from one side, and that's a controlled pour. We spent a lot of time creating the pack so that it is convenient and mess free.

Source Honey Twigs

While convenient, what about all the packaging that goes into making single serve packs of one teaspoon honey?

The packs are made of oxo-biodegradable laminates, a food grade plastic that takes 36 months to start biodegrading.
The company is currently in R&D to make even more sustainable packaging
It is working with Nepra, a waste management firm, to become a plastic neutral company

Interviewer BP Guide

What are you trying to achieve with this brand?

Co-founder, Nectwork Foods Private Limited Paras Fatnani

We are trying to help people move to a healthier lifestyle by making small changes in everyday habits. And I think we ourselves want to be those examples. Me and my co-founder have really tried to make these changes in our own lives. I think trying to work on a mission is very important for us. Health and quality of life remain at the center of a lot of what we are trying to do.

Interviewer BP Guide

Speaking of lifestyle, where do your interests lie?

Co-founder, Nectwork Foods Private Limited Paras Fatnani

I have been an entrepreneur at heart for a long time, this is my third venture. While I was working at QS I had the support and freedom to venture into other verticals. I have been passionate about working on new business ideas. I led a digital agency for a while, then moved into event management for a bit. I am a travel buff and have been to 62 countries to date - many of them, to be honest, was because of work but I think over the last couple of years I have found the joy of travelling. Especially now you appreciate it more because you can't. Running is something that I am passionate about. I used to play cricket professionally but due to injury, I had to choose business over the sport at some point. Over the last decade soccer has taken over, sport is a key thing that I make time for. It really helps to leave your mind for a while and be there and then.

What to Buy from Honey Twigs: 3 Must Haves

Himalayan Multiflora Honey 10 Twigs Pack, 80g

Source honeytwigs.in

If you are a honey lover then you will instantly fall in love with the Himalayan Multiflora sachets and if you don't love honey then you've ought to try this to change your mind. The product comes in a pack of 10 Twigs. It is a single-serve sachet with 80 grams of pure honey for you to carry with you and enjoy any time you want. Buying the pack will get you unadulterated Multiflora honey made by combining the nectar from various flowers. The pack is available for Rs.70 here.

You can also buy it in a pack of 30 Twigs and enjoy it with your tea, coffee, cereals, waffles and many more. The 30 sachet pack can be bought for Rs. 200 from Honey Twigs.

Vanilla-Infused Honey 10 Twigs Pack, 80g

Source honeytwigs.in

Another one of Honey Twigs wonder products is the Vanilla Infused Twigs which comes in a pack of 10. It has the best natural Vanilla powder sourced right from Kerala which gives that beautiful flavour of vanilla with the sweet taste of Honey. It is a great way to enhance the taste of your desserts and increase their nutritional value. The shelf life of this pack is 12 months and you can buy it for Rs.120 here.

Cinnamon-Infused Honey 30 Twigs Pack, 240g

Source honeytwigs.in

Adding Cinnamon to anything enhances the flavour of anything you make and add it with honey creates an exquisite flavour not to mention the health potion it provides you and your family. The Cinnamon Infused Honey Twigs pack brings you the best Ceylon Cinnamon powder added with honey which gives you a delicious sweet and spicy flavour to each twig. The pack contains 30 Twigs and can be bought for Rs.295 from here.

Where Can You Find Them?

www.honeytwigs.in
Also at Food Hall, Nature’s Basket and Amazon

The Process of Creating an Innovative Product

Interviewer BP Guide

Tell us about your infused honey. How are these infusions made?

Co-founder, Nectwork Foods Private Limited Paras Fatnani

Very simple, they are pure vanilla and pure cinnamon added to the Himalayan multiflora. So it's just a composition of natural products, we don't add any preservatives at all. The beauty of honey is that it technically does not have a shelf life but as per FSSAI norms, we have kept it at 18 months. When you do an infusion you have to do shelf-life stability, so as a proprietary food it goes down to 12 months. We were okay with that because as long as it has health benefits for people and we focus on the taste, and if it is natural as well then there is no harm.

We also have four different honeys now - Himalayan multiflora, natural lychee, cinnamon-infused honey, vanilla-infused honey and we are about to launch a lemon-infused honey and turmeric-infused honey.

Interviewer BP Guide

What is your process and how do you introduce new products?

Co-founder, Nectwork Foods Private Limited Paras Fatnani

We work with bee farmers and beekeepers across certain states in India, our largest source is in the Himalayan region. The honey is procured from them and we ensure that there are no antibiotics used in that process.

As I said earlier, we wanted to solve the problems around using honey. After making it convenient, we moved to the qualitative aspect and decided all our honey will be antibiotic-free. Every batch is lab tested from inception and the quality standard maintained. The third was portability, (demonstrates by squeezing tube) as you can see I can squeeze it hard and it will not break. I can put it in my pocket or bag and use it as and when I want.

We first understand market demand and look at the need for the product. Once that is established, we work the right partners to procure the raw material. Quality assurance is a key step in this process and we ensure everything goes through a thorough test before being packed for our customers. And lastly once the products are ready, we take it to market with the help of our stellar distribution partners.

Interviewer BP Guide

What was it like for you to shift from education to honey manufacturing?

It was a big decision after 10 years in the corporate world and a 6 figure job to come to zero and start from scratch. I didn't take that decision lightly at first, to say it very openly. I spent about a year thinking about it but I said if I wasn’t going to do it now I was never going to do it.

Co-founder, Nectwork Foods Private Limited Paras Fatnani

It’s extremely exciting as I feel the principles of businesses are not different. The few challenges I faced were due to a new work culture, the shift was about adapting to a new style. The buzz is very different and I love getting up in the morning, there is a drive that you’re doing something you are passionate about.

Building the right team is important, so half of my excitement comes from the people I work with. My co-founder is a hardcore product person. The fact that I have known him over a decade and we knew from the get-go what our strengths and weaknesses were, that affected my decision.

When you think about honey do you think anybody is innovating? It is such a nascent stage. Today we are present in India, Bahrein, and South Korea, and we are in talks to launch in the UK. We see this as a global business, not as an Indian consumer business alone. India is a very price-sensitive market so our belief is we would make a product in India for the world. That excites me.

Interviewer BP Guide

Can you give our readers some tips on how to judge quality of honey.

Co-founder, Nectwork Foods Private Limited Paras Fatnani

There are certain myths that we need to break, the first is the crystallisation of honey. Many times when honey crystallises people say that it has sugar. Pure honey crystallises because it is natural for it to crystallise. There are some home tests people do to gauge if it is pure honey. One such test is to pour honey in some water, the thread will go down and settle at the bottom. If it completely dilutes then you know there is adulteration. But these are at home tests and guidelines at best, they cannot be compared to lab tests or provide confirmed proof of quality.

I would say, in principle look also at something like consistency. If a brand can give you the same colour, the same taste, the same everything every time, there is a process behind it. I don't deny that there can be standardisation but I don't think you can make it taste exactly the same if it’s a natural product.

Interviewer BP Guide

You spoke of trust regarding the purity of honey. How can a consumer have that trust in Honey Twigs?

Co-founder, Nectwork Foods Private Limited Paras Fatnani

Quality has been a reason for our success so far because in such a crowded market for us to be able to have the kind of clients that we do - some of our key clients include Starbucks, Cafe Coffee Day, Chai Point - these brands stand for quality and for a new player like us to work with them as their sole provider versus the big guns, that's a testament in itself.

How Best to Eat Honey and Other Sweet Notes

Source Honey Twigs

Interviewer BP Guide

You have come up with very interesting, non-traditional packaging, do you have interesting ideas on how honey can be consumed?

Co-founder, Nectwork Foods Private Limited Paras Fatnani

Today many of our habits revolve around health. Nutritionists often recommend honey, warm water, and lemon in the morning especially for people who are trying to lose weight or improve metabolism. I think this is a great use of our product, a teaspoon straight into a glass, you don't need to worry about all the mess around it.

In terms of innovative ways of using it, when making juices, fresh food or drinks often the sweetener may still be sugar. Replacing that with honey is a quick change someone can make. I think a lot of our food has sugar so it's a conscious choice to replace it. Nontraditional routes would be salads, replace maple syrup with honey on pancakes. When baking at home you can swap sugar with honey.

We have always ensured that we are an innovation-driven service lead brand that works with companies to achieve their goals as well. We don't see ourselves as stand-alone, we see ourselves as a partner to everyone’s health journey.

Interviewer BP Guide

What is the most interesting thing about honey that you found since you started this?

Co-founder, Nectwork Foods Private Limited Paras Fatnani

To be honest, I never had honey before I started this business. And since I did, I think I have become an avid fan not because I am making the product but because I think that just as an immunity booster we do not give it enough credit. It’s always seen as a medicinal remedy, something our grandmothers gave us when we were ill. But It's not a lifestyle product and its health benefits have been underplayed.

What I have learnt is that the benefits that honey has as a stand-alone product are so high but we are yet to use this as an everyday lifestyle product. It is a form of sugar but it's so much healthier. Replacing sugar is not easy as it is in every kind of food that we have, but personally, I have learned that you can live a much healthier lifestyle if you start removing it from small things.

What's next for Honey Twigs?

New flavours that will be called the Immunity Booster Range
Making honey fun for children through a kids range
Launch in a few international markets