When Ice Cream Is Good For You: The Get-A-Way Story

How did it all begin?
It was honestly my children who had started working out at that point and were on diets that were high in protein. They came up to me one day after gym and asked if there was any way I could make a dessert with whey protein in it so they can consume it better. I’ve always been a good cook so I immediately took this up as a culinary challenge. I decided to make some home-made ice cream with whey protein added to it and Get-A-Way(Get-A-Whey at that time) was born. 

How did you convince customers that this dessert was actually good for them?
It was extremely hard to convince people how an ice cream can be healthy. At first, we got our friends and family to try them. They were all surprised how an ice cream with zero added sugar can taste so good! With customers, it’s been a long journey. Honestly, it was about educating them about ingredients, how protein is important in your diet and so on. In the first 3 months of starting the business, people tried our ice creams and loved it so much they recommended to their peers too. Over time, the business grew by word of mouth and because of the quality of the product.

How did you go about developing the product and perfecting the ice cream recipes? It must have been challenging to balance protein with yumminess of an icecream!
It started off as a kitchen experiment but when we decided this needs to be taken to the market is when we started thinking on the manufacturing level. We got a food technologist on board to help us get the nutrition right and ensure we don’t compromise on our home-made recipe. With no sugar, it was an even bigger challenge to ensure sweetness of the ice cream. It took a lot of iterations and about 6 months of R&D to finally get it right.

Why should people incorporate more protein into their diet?
Protein is the building-block for our bodies. To maintain or increase the strength in our bodies, we all need to consume more protein. Each person should have about 0.8-1 g of protein per kg of their body weight. It helps the body repair cells and grow new ones. Most of the vegetarians in India are 60-70% devoid of this protein. Most people don’t realise that protein can help them feel fuller for longer, thus aiding weight loss.

The Indian diet allows for consumption of protein via legumes and dals. Why would someone need a product like Get a Way?
While there are a variety of sources for protein in the Indian diet, it is not enough. To give you an example, a bowl of dal is 5 to 10g of protein. So even if you eat three to four  bowls of dal (which isn’t possible for a normal person), you still won’t meet your daily protein requirement of 50-60g per day. Get-A-Way is an add on to your daily diet, where you can get 10-14g of protein per 125ml tub of ice cream and still enjoy eating a dessert. It is not an either or situation but more to compliment your existing eating patterns.

Tell us about running a business with your children. How has the experience been? How has your relationship evolved as a result of it?
It has been a phenomenal experience. I learn so much from them every day. It has helped me open up my avenues to generational ideologies and new ways of getting things done. Our relationship has only strengthened since we started doing business together.

How did being on Shark Tank impact the business?
Our appearance on Shark Tank India was a huge success story for us. It gave us the avenue to get our story out there, educate people about our product and with three sharks backing us with funding, it gave us huge credibility as a homegrown brand. The six months that followed after the episode was aired were brilliant in terms of sales for us and the growth trend continued as our success story was aired in season two again.

What plans for the future? What can we look forward to?
We are looking to build a lot more categories in the health space. We love desserts ourselves and really want to build in more products that are healthier than the ones we eat in the market. We have recently added pastries which are 50% less in sugar, ice cream bars which are just 100 calories and cheesecakes which have zero sugar and are keto friendly. We are also looking to expand beyond current geographies and reach to people in all parts of India with our innovative products.

Explore Get A Way’s range of products here.