Mumbai: Ashish Bajaj, former executive at Ola, has turned entrepreneur with the launch of fresh staples venture 10on10 Foods, aimed at reshaping India’s atta market through a focus on freshness, traditional processing, and faster delivery. The Bengaluru-based startup has raised ₹2 crore in pre-seed funding from a group of angel investors.
The venture has been founded by Bajaj along with his former Ola colleagues Avinash Jain and Mohsin Ali. The startup seeks to rebuild India’s staples ecosystem around freshness, speed, and nutritional transparency, addressing concerns around the shelf life and processing of packaged flour products.
For Bajaj, the idea behind the venture emerged from a personal experience after his son was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, prompting him to look for genuinely fresh and minimally processed atta in Bengaluru. The search revealed that many packaged flours are milled months in advance, which can lead to oxidation and a loss of natural oils, flavour, and nutritional value.
The concept was further shaped during a conversation at a Bengaluru dosa stall, where the founders discussed why roadside vendors often deliver stronger taste recall than established brands. They concluded that freshness and immediate consumption, rather than long storage cycles, play a critical role in food quality.
Speaking about the launch, Ashish Bajaj, Co-Founder, 10on10 Foods said,“India doesn’t have a staples problem. It has a freshness problem. For decades, the industry optimized for scale and shelf life. Somewhere along the way, we normalized eating food that’s months old. In a country where staples are part of every single meal, compromising on freshness comes at a nutritional cost. At 10on10, freshness isn’t incidental – it’s engineered into every step of the supply chain.”
Highlighting the brand’s approach to traditional processing, Avinash Jain, Co-founder, 10on10 Foods, added, “We’re not entering the staples category. We’re rebuilding it. Traditional stone grinding preserves the complete nutritional profile of the grain — including the bran, germ and natural enzymes that are often lost in industrial milling. Fresh whole wheat atta with intact bran and germ can retain up to 45% more nutrients compared to the pre-packed flours widely available in the market.”
The company has secured ₹2 crore in pre-seed funding from several angel investors, including Vikas Katoch, entrepreneur and CEO of Adomantra and Adotrip; Sumit Maheshwari, CFO at Odessa Technologies; and Shashikant Shenoy, Partner at Uniqus Consultech, among others.
Guided by its mission “Healthy You, Better All,” 10on10 Foods aims to transform how Indian households consume staple foods. Its operating philosophy, “Processed Traditionally, Delivered Instantly,” combines stone milling with a technology-enabled supply chain to ensure grains retain their taste, texture, and nutritional value while reaching consumers quickly.
