Rize, founded in January 2024 by young entrepreneurs Dhruv Verma and Sahil Manrala, is a Gurgaon-based direct-to-consumer brand that distributes energy bars and chocolates with no added sugar, preservatives, or artificial sweeteners. All of their items are sourced from the highest quality standards, guaranteeing the best flavor and quality.
Now, startups are becoming more and more popular among students who seek to devote time and energy to self-employment. Dhruv Verma and Sahil Manral, two divulgent fitness and health enthusiasts who are of 21 years of age and have known each other for more than one decade, live in the same housing society. They both were raised by single mothers. They eat, study, work, and attend the gym together.
Sahil is a graduate of Culinary Education, which certainly supplements the preparation of Rize goods. Similarly, Dhruv has a degree in real estate and urban project management.
Chasing the dream that’s been superimposed on them by the consumer culture, the young guys, friends since childhood, and regulars at the gym decided to start something meaningful. The seed that lit up the Rize flame, where it was born, was the fact that the co-founder Dhruv discovered that there was a void in the Indian market for caffeine-infused energy bars in India. Caffeinated drinks, or coffee, which is believed to be a natural energy booster, are the inspiration for the founder of the startup. Based on it, he intends to come up with a healthier substitute for it.
The co-founders were in college when they decided to create Rize. They studied the nutritional values of various substances and foods during breaks from their studies in college. The 21-year-old entrepreneurs spent about Rs 2,000 researching how the bars were created before attempting to make them at home in the kitchen.
According to an interview with Startuppedia, Dhruv Verma observed, “The majority of the manufacturers were above budget because we did not have adequate finances at the time. The journey began when we began assembling the ingredients and preparing them in the kitchens of our houses. We investigated the ingredients of the bars available in the markets. We then considered alternate recipes for replacing some of those elements with healthier alternatives.”
Due to a shortage of cash, these young entrepreneurs originally attempted to persuade manufacturers to produce tiny quantities of their perfect energy bars. After running pillar to post, they were able to persuade one, and production began. They borrowed approximately Rs. 10 lakh from their parents to fund this.
The creators announced that they have brought Sunny Leone on board as an investor and brand ambassador, asking for Rs 45 lakh in exchange for 6% stock and valuing their brand at Rs 7.5 crore.
According to Startuppedia, they remarked, “People don’t take young entrepreneurs like us seriously, but we were determined to show them otherwise. We realized that capturing people’s attention was essential for promoting our items. We ran a few offline initiatives on campuses, setting up stalls to raise awareness.
Rize, a direct-to-consumer brand, was conceptualized in April 2023 and debuted on January 31, 2024. The brand used influencer marketing to reach its intended demographic.
