Samsara Nutrition: Flavor first. Nutrition built in.
- KLS
- Apr 23
- 6 min read
For the 240th feature of our "Together Talks" campaign, we collaborated with Samsara Nutrition and Founder, Sravanti Balaji.
"Together Talks" feature 240: Samsara Nutrition presented by KLS - Your Trusted Shipping Solutions In The USA
What separates you from your competition? What have been the biggest challenges? Goals for upcoming year + Next phase of the company?
What have you learned since becoming an entrepreneur? What aspect of entrepreneurship do you appreciate the most? Share a decision that you made that was detrimental? What is your why?
Story of how it was created?
I started Samsära Nutrition when I was a few months postpartum with my twin boys.
Prior to that, I had been working in tech, and I was going back and forth on whether to return to that world or start something new.
At the time, I was making protein bars for myself because I needed something nourishing and convenient—but I really disliked all the options available on the market. It felt like every flavor was the same: chocolate, vanilla, peanut butter, chocolate chip.
When I looked in my own pantry, I realized I was naturally reaching for ingredients I had grown up with—things like chai spices, mango, and other flavors that felt familiar and meaningful to me.
So I started making protein bars using those ingredients.
I began sharing them with friends and family, and they loved them as well. It became clear to me that there was a white space in the protein bar market. While there had been a lot of innovation around macronutrients, there hadn’t been much evolution culturally or in terms of flavor.
That felt like the right opportunity to build something different.
What separates you from your competition?
There are other bars out there that offer mango or chai flavors, but they don’t necessarily have a cultural grounding behind them.
For us, being an Indian-inspired protein bar brand is core to what we do.
It also comes down to how we achieve our nutritional profile. We use whey protein, and we sweeten our bars with allulose, which allows us to maintain significantly lower sugar levels compared to many other protein bars on the market.
That distinction matters—especially for South Asians, who statistically face higher rates of diabetes than many other groups. Often, when people receive guidance from their doctors, they’re told to increase protein intake while reducing sugar.
We see this across generations—people in my parents’ generation, as well as people my age dealing with prediabetes—who are looking for better snack options but don’t see products that resonate with them.
While some brands may offer one or two similar flavors, they often lack both the cultural perspective and the health-conscious formulation that define our approach.
We think deeply about what it means to create something that reflects both identity and wellness.
What have been the biggest challenges?
One of the biggest challenges has been formulation.
It’s incredibly difficult to create a bar that isn’t too dense, that has an enjoyable texture, and that people genuinely want to finish. Getting that balance right has taken a significant amount of trial and error—well over 30 iterations.
Supply chain has also been a challenge. While it’s not at the level of disruption seen during COVID, building and maintaining a resilient supply chain is always critical.
Another major challenge has been design and packaging. Our bar is small, but there’s a lot we want to communicate—brand story, flavor, and key nutritional callouts like protein, fiber, and sugar.
We went through six major packaging revisions. Each time, we were navigating the tension between highlighting the brand, showcasing the flavor, and including functional benefits.
Ultimately, we decided that brand and flavor are the two most important elements—they’re what capture attention on a shelf. From there, we rely on that initial curiosity to encourage customers to learn more about the nutritional profile.
Goals for upcoming year + Next phase of the company?
For the remainder of the year, we’re focused on strengthening our online presence—particularly DTC and Amazon—so that we feel confident in those channels before going deeper into retail.
That said, we’re still open to being stocked in specialty retail environments.
We see DTC as a space to iterate—on both flavor and packaging—until we feel fully ready to scale more aggressively in retail.
Looking ahead, we’re also interested in launching seasonal flavors, especially around Diwali in October. Creating something that aligns with cultural moments feels very important to us.
Beyond that, we’re staying focused on winning with our core SKUs. Those may evolve over time, but for now, we want to remain disciplined and execute well within this format.
What were your concerns to transition to starting your own business?
The biggest barrier for me was financial.
Coming from a tech background, I was earning a strong income, and it’s difficult to walk away from that stability to pursue something that likely won’t pay well for a long time.
At the same time, I felt a strong desire to take on a new challenge and build something of my own.
I had spent the past decade working on other people’s ideas and other startups. It felt like the right time to invest that energy into my own vision.
Interestingly, having young children created a unique window. I’m not yet tied to school schedules or structured routines, which gives me flexibility to focus intensely during this phase—often working when they’re asleep.
That’s how I approached the transition.
What have you learned since becoming an entrepreneur?
I came into this with an engineering background, which doesn’t directly translate to CPG—so I’ve had to learn everything from scratch.
Operations, marketing, finance, pricing, margins—it’s been a full immersion.
That said, engineering gave me a strong foundation in systems thinking, which I’ve been able to apply across the business.
Another unexpected shift has been social media. Before starting this, I had never really used it or shown up publicly online. Now, I’m active on platforms like TikTok multiple times a day.
It wasn’t something I anticipated, but it’s proven incredibly valuable—for connecting with wholesalers, retailers, and others in the industry.
It’s pushed me outside of my comfort zone in ways I didn’t expect, but I’m grateful for it.
What aspect of entrepreneurship do you appreciate the most?
I appreciate that the responsibility ultimately sits with me.
That level of accountability makes me care deeply about every aspect of the business—from trademark processes to margins to supplier relationships.
It’s challenging, but it’s also incredibly fulfilling.
Share a decision that you made that was detrimental?
Early on, I made the decision to switch co-manufacturers.
I had initially partnered with a turnkey provider that was helping with food science and scaling the recipe for mass production. However, I started to have concerns about both product quality and communication.
Walking away from that relationship was financially difficult, and I took a significant loss in the process.
In the end, it worked out—I found a better partner who could accommodate lower minimum order quantities and with whom communication felt much stronger.
But it was a hard lesson. I wish I had done much more thorough due diligence upfront—seeking referrals, validating their track record, and entering the relationship with clearer expectations.
What is your why?
Protein bars have traditionally been marketed toward the fitness community—people focused purely on function.
Somewhere along the way, I think we lost the idea that functional eating can also include joy.
Food should nourish you, but it should also be something you enjoy. Flavor is what brings people back—it’s what makes food meaningful.
And yet, so much of what we eat today is reduced to numbers: grams of protein, grams of fiber.
I think we need to take a step back and ask: Does this food make me feel good? Do I actually enjoy eating it?
If we can return to those questions, I believe we’ll have a healthier and more balanced relationship with food.
That’s my “why.” Yes, I’m building a protein bar company—but it’s really about helping people feel full, satisfied, and happy with what they’re eating.
Do you have a moment that brings you the most joy?
One moment that stands out was attending Expo West.
I didn’t have a booth—I simply walked the floor and shared samples with people in the industry that I had never met before.
I’ve shared the product with friends and familiar faces before, but this was different. These were industry professionals—people with a more critical perspective.
Seeing their reactions and watching them genuinely enjoy the product was incredibly validating.
In CPG, the bar is high, and the audience can be tough to impress. That experience brought me a lot of joy.
Piece of Advice
A friend recently shared something with me that really stuck: your network is your net worth.
Relationships matter deeply—especially in this industry.
Taking the time to build and nurture those relationships is never wasted. Whether it’s other founders, retail buyers, or industry peers, those connections are what open doors and create opportunities.
You can’t invest enough time in networking and building genuine relationships.
In Closing
KLS wants to thank Samsara Nutrition and Founder, Sravanti Balaji, for today's "Together Talks" feature. Follow along for their journey with their social handles below!
Comments