Startup interview: Akeel Hussain, Founder, Healthy For You

RTIH gets the lowdown on Healthy For You, a startup whose scan and go technology enables diabetics to make informed nutritional choices at the point of purchase.

RTIH: Tell us about Healthy For You?

AH: Healthy For You is an app-based business for diabetics that facilitates the instant purchase of recommended products in supermarkets, adopting a quick and simple barcode scan technology that uses your smartphone camera.

We help supermarkets provide their diabetic customers with greater clarity on existing ranges and the choice of healthier alternatives online and in-store.

Our mission is to make living with diabetes easier by creating a wider healthcare ecosystem that involves supermarkets and healthcare providers to deliver holistic and comprehensive patient care.

RTIH: What was the inspiration behind setting the company up?

AH: As a pharmacist, I am well aware of the scope of the diabetes problem, there are projected to be over 400 million diabetics by 2030, producing $2.5 trillion in healthcare costs.

It is a diet-mediated disease, yet diabetics report difficulty making the right nutritional choices. Work by Diabetes UK and the wider healthcare community identified deficits in health literacy and language as barriers to healthy eating.

Another key issue was that diabetics felt that selecting products was time consuming and overwhelming (people spend ages looking at the small print on labels to see if it is okay for them or not). There had to be a better way and that was the spark.

“If the calibre of talent we have managed to get onboard prior to raising our seed round is anything to go by, I am sure we are working on something great here. Experienced industry leaders merged with fresh innovative flair and thinking is really a powerful thing”

RTIH: What has been the industry reaction thus far?

AH: We are early stage, so our metrics are slightly different to a more established startup.

As a result, our primary benchmark is users and we have had great feedback through our surveys, focus group studies and signups to our waiting list. We have validated our customer propositions and demonstrated a clear appetite for our product.

Equally, what has been really exciting for us is the emerging openness and receptibility of supermarkets to digitalisation and innovation.

This has been reflected in the Future Supermarket report by Oliver Wyman and Sainsbury’s SmartShop amongst other key developments.

Our technology enables the delivery of highly specialised omnichannel shopping experiences personalised to individual health needs and characteristics. This will build on initial steps and take things to the next level.

Moreover, if the calibre of talent we have managed to get onboard prior to raising our seed round is anything to go by, I am sure we are working on something great here.

Experienced industry leaders merged with fresh innovative flair and thinking is really a powerful thing.

RTIH: What has been your biggest setback/challenge?

AH: In the beginning it was tough as you have to perform many roles as a startup founder. Developing initial value propositions and prototypes was easy because I knew my product.

But on top of that you have to do the marketing, the recruiting and the financials.

Nevertheless, you quickly learn that you can perform any role, but it certainly helps getting in the right people to give you that expertise, advice and strategy.

RTIH: What are the biggest challenges facing the omnichannel retail sector right now?

AH: The pandemic has certainly posed new challenges to retailers and the clearest example has been the growing adoption of e-commerce.

Whilst it is certainly important to provide capital and resources to improve online customer experience, this has neglected development in the bricks and mortar context.

At Healthy For You, we recognise that innovations in both arenas is necessary to build truly effective omnichannel shopping experiences.

Moreover, consumers are increasingly looking for personalisation and the availability of new technologies. This is particularly true of the enormous Generation Z market which accounts for roughly 40% of all customers.

These two effects will certainly restrict those that fail to adapt and embrace these challenges but also opportunities.

RTIH: What’s the best question about your company or the market asked of you recently by an investor and/or a customer?

AH: The best question we get asked is, how are you different to other competitors in the space?

Many of our competitors offer diabetics the ability to log their meals and record their sugar levels. This approach does not help diabetics make the right nutritional choices as the opportunity has already passed.

Our approach helps diabetics select the right products at the point of purchase which makes us fundamentally different to our competitors as we can influence purchases.

Our scan and go technology empowers diabetics to utilise every scan as an opportunity to make small product swaps in an engaging and non-threatening way to best manage their diabetes.

RTIH: What can we expect to see from Healthy For You over the next 12 months?

AH: We will raise funds to complete our product development and launch our services in the UK.

In addition, we will begin our preparations to scale the product throughout Europe and Asia and this is aided by the fact that some of our supermarket partners have stores in these geographical areas, simplifying the whole process and enabling immediate scalability.