Apeejay alumna and entrepreneur showcases healthy food products at G20 Summit

Mr Somveer Anand, CEO, Innovation Mission Punjab, G20 Amritsar; Interacting with visitors at G20 Summit, Amritsar

Shriya Maini, a young foodpreneur from Jalandhar, showcased her business at the G20 Global Summit held at Khalsa College, Amritsar, one of the first destinations to host the grand event. The college successfully hosted an educational summit on the occasion alongside an exhibition.

An alumna of Apeejay College of Fine Arts (ACFA) and Apeejay Institute of Management & Engineering Technical Campus (AIMETC), Shriya launched her startup Immuno Eats amid the pandemic, to innovate with healthy millet-based sweet treats and savouries with no sugar or oil or preservatives. She uses ingredients like nuts, healthy seeds, raisins, dates, and natural oil produced from nuts to get a perfect combination of flavour and nutrients in her products.

“One of the professors from Punjab Technical University (PTU), Dr Mrigender Singh Bedi, whom I had met at a millet mela in Amritsar, contacted me and invited me to be part of PTU’s showcase at the prestigious summit,” Shriya, a PTU alumna, shares. “I was thrilled to exhibit my millet-based products! Dr S K Mishra, Mr Navdeepak Sandhu, Dr Mrigender Singh Bedi, Mr Tarun Kanodia and Ms Gazal Sharma were a constant support during the event.”

Talking about the experience, she adds, “The Summit gave me the opportunity to interact with people from diverse backgrounds. Simultaneously, I was introduced to the latest research and innovations being done in different fields, apart from interacting with other startups. All in all, it was a great learning experience.”

(From top right to left) With Professor Shalini Bharat, Director, Tata Institute of Social Sciences; With SSP Chandigarh, Kanwardeep Kaur & Manisha Chaudhary; with Mrs Shubha Thakur, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture

After two years of thorough research on healthy eating habits, Shriya set out on a mission to encourage people to adopt a healthier diet without compromising on taste and satiating sugar cravings. To make her products, she came up with unique recipes which were formulated over time through trial and error.

While the exhibition was meant to spread awareness about new products, Immuno Eats was among the only two businesses out of “80-90 stalls” that also sold their products, the 24-year-old entrepreneur mentioned. “The exhibition was opened to the public on the second and the third day. A lot of people showed interest in my product and were keen to buy it. Overall, I got a great response from the visitors.”

Following the Amritsar exhibition, Shriya also participated in the G20 Summit held in Chandigarh.