Health, Hustle & Balance: The Startup Fixing Nutrition for Busy Lives
Hem Narayan and Prashant Paliwal, both ex-leaders at Cult, are now on a mission to make nutrition effortless with Nuvie. Read more about their journey here.
Some co-founders meet at college. Some bond over late-night brainstorming sessions. But for Hem Narayan and Prashant Paliwal, their startup journey began in Cult- the fitness pioneer in the startup ecosystem.
Both ex-Cult employees, both passionate about fitness, and both obsessed with the idea of building something meaningful- their paths were bound to cross. But neither of them expected that a casual conversation about protein smoothies would one day turn into Nuvie, a brand dedicated to making nutrition easy, tasty, and accessible.
Nu = Nutrition. Vie = Life (in French)
Nuvie offers protein-packed milkshakes that are not just delicious but also sugar-free, lactose-free, and powered by prebiotics.
How it All Started?
Hem's story starts in a small town in Bihar. A people-person at heart, he thrived in social settings and loved building things from scratch. However, after landing a Pre-Placement Offer (PPO) at a multinational company, he found himself deeply unhappy. “My mental health was all over the place,” he recalls. He wasn’t built for a corporate cubicle- he craved something more dynamic.
That’s when he decided to leave behind the corporate world and jump into the chaos of startups.
He joined Ola when it was still in its early days, working on-ground to expand its presence across new cities. "I remember placing stickers on cabs in some distant town," Hem laughs. "And you know what? I was happier there than sitting in an air-conditioned boardroom making PowerPoint decks."
But as Ola scaled, so did the paperwork- something Hem had little patience for. So, he moved on. His next stop was Cult, where he helped scale the brand from one city to fifteen. And when Cult grew bigger and the operations became more bureaucratic?
He moved again. "I love the zero-to-one journey, the hustle, the hands-on work. The moment a company gets too big and paperwork takes over, I know it’s time to go," he admits.
Prashant, on the other hand, comes from an army background- discipline and resilience were ingrained in him from childhood. Though he pursued engineering, creativity was his true calling. His first job was supposed to be at Grofers, but fate had other plans- he got fired before his joining date! That unexpected twist led him to NestAway and then Cult, where he found his passion for fitness and product development.
And, more importantly, that’s where he met Hem.
A Shared Passion that turned into an Idea
The two worked closely at Cult, training and speaking to hundreds of customers. Over time, one key insight kept emerging- fitness takes years to show results, but nutrition is the foundation. It’s the one thing that could make a real difference from Day 1.
Prashant’s obsession with nutrition started at home. His wife, a consultant with a hectic schedule, struggled to find healthy food that also tasted good. As a certified nutrition coach, he would recommend high-protein, fibre-rich meals, but let’s be honest- most “healthy” food isn’t exactly delicious.
So, they started experimenting.
What began as trial-and-error smoothie-making at home quickly turned into an idea with serious potential. Could they create a product that was both nutritious and delicious? And if yes, why keep it to themselves?
That’s how they landed on Nuvie, their brand dedicated to making healthy eating effortless.
They knew they were onto something, but before scaling, they needed validation. So, they ran a 45-day program with 55 people. The results? 70% saw a significant improvement in their health. That was the aha moment- they had something real.
They brought in an experienced food scientist and spent months perfecting their formulation. But building a food brand wasn’t easy.
The Highs & Lows of Building a Food Startup
Product development was a nightmare. Formulas that worked in the lab didn’t always work in production. Sometimes, entire batches and hundreds of litres of product would go to waste. "I used to criticise food brands as a consumer," Prashant admits, "but being on the other side? I realised just how incredibly hard it is to get a product right."
Then came the struggle with investors. Even with a unique product, convincing investors in a market dominated by big players wasn’t easy. That’s when they leaned into storytelling- positioning Nuvie as nutrition for life’s balance, a philosophy rooted in their own journeys.
The hustle paid off!
Today, Nuvie is in over 200+ Cult centres across India, live in 100+ retail stores and has signed contract with every single quick commerce channel for onboarding. “Catching eyeballs in the fitness community was a huge milestone for us,” says Hem.
Prashant, meanwhile, has found another unexpected role. He’s now a fitness influencer on Instagram. “Not something I planned, but hey, if it helps spread the message, why not?” he laughs.
Retail shelves and quick commerce are next on the horizon, and with every milestone, the dream of making Nuvie a household name feels more tangible.
How do They work as a Team?
Every successful startup needs a strong co-founder dynamic, and Hem and Prashant’s partnership is a perfect balance.
Hem thrives on on-ground execution and team-building.
Prashant loves research, strategy, and product development.
They trust each other’s judgment and give each other space to make decisions in their own domains. “We might have strong opinions, but at the end of the day, we go deep, analyse the nuances, and choose the best path forward,” Prashant explains.
And when burnout hits? They climb mountains, go on long runs, and travel. Because balance isn’t just their brand’s tagline- it’s how they live.
What If They Weren’t Building Nuvie?
It’s a fun question, one they don’t think about often- because they’re all in.
But if they had taken different paths?
Hem imagines himself as a restaurant chef, crafting dishes that bring people together. “Maybe that’s my retirement plan,” he laughs.
Prashant, on the other hand, would still be deeply involved in fitness, probably a health coach by day and a beer brewer by night.
For now, though, the focus remains crystal clear: creating a brand that helps people live healthier lives without compromising on taste.
The road ahead will be unpredictable, filled with challenges and unexpected turns. But if there’s one thing they’ve learned from their journey, whether at Ola, Cult, or now at Nuvie- it’s that the highs, the lows, and the chaos of a startup are what makes the ride worthwhile.
At Razorpay Rize, we love seeing founders who don’t just dream big but take action to solve real problems. Hem Narayan and Prashant Paliwal are doing exactly that with Nuvie. Having led and scaled Cult, they’ve spent years understanding what it takes to build a healthier lifestyle- and how hard it can be to stick to good nutrition. Instead of just talking about the problem, they set out to fix it.
With Nuvie, they’re making healthy eating effortless through great-tasting, protein-packed, gut-friendly nutrition that fits into everyday life
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