Founded in 2017 by Gaurav Aggarwal as a subsidiary of pharmaceutical manufacturing firm Lasons India, the brand’s initial concept was based on general nutrition and wellness, but has since evolved to focus on condition-specific supplementation.
Aggarwal, who is also the director of Lasons India, has been in the business for the past 20 years, with Lasons exporting to over 90 countries and supplying to major brands in the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, food and feed industries.
Specialising in specifications
Speaking to NutraIngredients-Asia, he said: “The nutritional value of India’s food is decreasing, because of pollution, low-quality ingredients, and insufficient nutrients. This means there is an increasing nutritional gap.
“There is also a lack of suitable supply, even though the nutraceutical sector is growing. We understand market demands and the supply gap, as well as the need for new formulations for the Indian market. That’s why we started OneLife.”
Since being established in August last year, the brand has drawn on Lasons’ extensive R&D resources to develop a wide variety of dietary supplements, each for a specific health benefit and / or condition.
Apart from the more generic fish oil and multivitamins, OneLife has supplements for a long list of health concerns, such as a berry-based powder to support immunity and skin health, and capsules to alleviate complications caused by varicose veins (Varico Life).
Aggarwal said, “The great thing about the feedback we get is it gives us the opportunity to conduct R&D to develop new products. We had a customer whose wife needed something to deal with varicose veins, and that’s how our Varico Life came about.
“It contains a unique herbal formulation that helps to reduce the pain and inflammation caused by varicose veins, and can also improvement blood circulation.”
He added that OneLife’s goal was to provide for the health concerns of consumers across all life stages, both in terms of condition-specific supplementation and in the area of preventative healthcare.
Ingredients and information
Ingredient-wise, OneLife uses mainly botanicals and herbs in its formulations, while also relying on its pharmaceutical resources to manufacture synthetic sources of vitamins and minerals to maximise bioavailability and overall health benefits.
Aggarwal said, “My first priority is to provide consumers with products made from organic, natural ingredients, but if those sources cannot provide sufficient nutrition, or if there are no natural sources for what the consumer needs, we tap into our R&D resources to create synthetic alternatives for the sole purpose of increasing the health benefits.
“Our ingredients are always tested and found to be safe and effective. We also make sure all our formulations are FSSAI-compliant, especially in terms of ingredients used and dosages recommended. We try to work as closely as possible with the FSSAI to ensure none of our products violate their standards.
Education is another priority for OneLife, whose official website not only contains an e-store, but a blog filled with health and fitness advice. The blog entries are written by certified nutritionists, dietitians, personal trainers and even healthcare professionals.
Aggarwal said, “A lot of people don’t know about the products available and what their functions are, and the idea is to educate the consumer on the health issues people are facing, as well as to provide solutions to those problems.
Distribution to developing nations
Presently, OneLife’s products available at its online store, and in health food stores and supermarkets in India.
The brand has plans to launch next year in other countries, with a focus on South East Asia — particularly Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam.
Aggarwal said: “In some ways, these developing countries are like India, in that consumers need to be educated, and there are nutritional and supply gaps to be filled.
“These markets are still young and developing, and they need better sources of information and ingredients, something we feel we are well equipped to provide.”