What Are Indian Children Really Eating? | A Conversation with Troovy Founder Mansi Baranwal

Why would a successful corporate mother leave her job to start a snack brand for children?

That was one of the questions I wanted to understand when I sat down with Mansi Baranwal, the founder of Troovy Foods, to talk about children’s nutrition.

Because behind Troovy wasn't just the idea of making another snack. There was a bigger question: if children have so many food choices today, why are so many still missing essential nutrients?

And that became the starting point of our conversation.

We talked about chips, biscuits, ketchup, food colors, preservatives, protein, sugar and the ingredients that parents often overlook when they pick up a packet from the supermarket.

But as our conversation went on, something much bigger became clear.

The problem isn’t simply that Indian children are eating too much junk food. It is that many children are eating enough calories, sometimes more than enough while still missing some of the nutrients their growing bodies actually need.

And that is a much more complicated problem.

India is facing a dual burden of malnutrition. Children can struggle with nutrient deficiencies and poor growth while childhood overweight and obesity are also rising.

Mansi highlighted this during our conversation, noting that around 80% of Indian children have some form of micronutrient deficiency, while around 25% of children from wealthier households are still short for their age. At the same time, millions of children are overweight or obese.

Think about that for a moment.

A child can be eating plenty of food and still not be getting enough nutrition.

That is what makes this conversation so important.

The paradox of the modern Indian child’s diet

We often look at whether a child is eating enough. But “enough food” and “enough nutrition” are not necessarily the same thing.

One of the things Mansi highlighted was this strange nutritional contradiction: 

Children today have access to more food choices and variety than ever before, yet many are still not getting enough protein and essential micronutrients. 

And this is where I think we need to change the way we think about childhood nutrition.

A packet of chips can provide calories.

A sugary drink can provide calories.

A biscuit can provide calories.

But growing children need much more than calories. 

They need protein to support growth and muscle development. 

They need iron, zinc and other micronutrients. 

They need fiber. 

They need a variety of foods that provide different nutrients.

So a child can have a full stomach and still have gaps in their diet.

Mansi described this as part of the reason she became interested in changing the way children eat. Her own journey into Troovy began when she noticed how often her son Vihan was reaching for packaged snacks. 

Instead of simply telling children that these foods were “bad”, she and her husband Aditya began looking at whether packaged snacks themselves could be made better. Vihan eventually became what she goes on to describe as the “voice of the kids” in the market.

And I think that distinction matters. Because telling a child, “Don’t eat this,” is easy.

Creating something they actually want to eat that is also nutritionally better? That’s much harder.

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Our children are surrounded by packaged food

Mansi also brought up another major change: the increasing presence of packaged food in Indian households.

As incomes and lifestyles have changed, packaged foods have become increasingly accessible and convenient. The discussion during our podcast referenced a five-fold increase in packaged food consumption and a similar increase in the salty snacks market over the previous decade. A 2017 Centre for Science and Environment survey of urban Indian children was also discussed, with 53% reported to consume at least one packaged snack or sugary drink every day.

And here’s something I found particularly interesting.

We tend to blame the school canteen.

Or the birthday party.

Or the child asking for chips while travelling.

But Mansi made a very simple observation: packaged snacks often enter a child’s diet through the home itself.

Look inside a typical kitchen pantry.

• Biscuits

• Namkeen

• Puffs

• Sugary drinks

• Flavored milk mixes

• Breakfast cereals

• Chocolate spreads

And sometimes the same foods that are marketed to parents as convenient or nutritious become everyday foods for children.

That’s where the frequency matters.

I’m not saying a child can never eat a packet of chips.

I’m saying that an occasional snack and a daily dietary pattern are two very different things.

So, what is actually inside that packet? This was one of the most interesting parts of our conversation.

Mansi and I went through what can go into a typical packaged snack.

Depending on the product, you may find:

• refined starch base

• oil

• salt

• seasoning

• flavoring compounds

• flavor enhancers

• colors 

and other functional ingredients.

She pointed out that palm oil can make up a significant proportion of some packaged snacks with figures of around 30% to 45% being discussed during our conversation. 

We also discussed ingredients such as silicon dioxide (INS 551), MSG (INS 621) and other flavor enhancers used for texture, seasoning distribution and taste like INS 627 (GMP), INS 631 (IMP), INS 364(ii).

Now, here’s where I want to be careful.

The presence of an ingredient on a label does not automatically mean that the food is poisonous.

Nutrition isn’t that simple.

The dose, the overall diet, the regulatory limits, the frequency of consumption and the characteristics of the individual all matter.

We also discussed ingredients such as TBHQ (INS 319) and certain food colors. Mansi pointed out that some colors used in packaged foods in India such as Sunset Yellow (INS 110), Tartrazine (INS 102) and Allura Red (INS 129) have faced greater scrutiny in other countries. For example, Sunset Yellow is among the colors covered by warning requirements in the UK, where labels on foods containing certain artificial colors must carry a warning about possible effects on children’s activity and attention. Yet these colors can still be found in products sold in India.

The point isn't that every food containing these ingredients will harm your child. Some concerns come from laboratory or animal research, and those findings should not automatically be translated into “this ingredient will cause disease in your child.” But, as Mansi and I discussed, it is worth paying attention to what goes into the foods children consume regularly.

That distinction is important. Fear isn’t nutrition education.

But neither is blindly accepting every marketing claim on the front of a packet.

What I want parents to do is become better label readers.

The four things I look at on a food label (Troovy's Advice)

During our conversation, Mansi and I discussed a very practical way of looking at packaged foods.

First, look at the base.

Is the product primarily built around something like whole grains, millets, dal, makhana or nuts? Or is refined starch one of the major ingredients?

Second, look at the oil.

What oil is being used? and how prominent is it in the ingredient list?

Third, look at the additives.

You don’t necessarily need to panic when you see an INS number. But if a product has a very long list of colors, flavor enhancers and other functional additives it is worth asking yourself how frequently your child really needs to eat that product.

And fourth, look at the nutrition table.

Don’t just look at the word “healthy” on the front.

Look at protein.

Look at fiber.

Look at sugar.

Look at sodium.

Look at the serving size.

And remember that ingredients are generally listed in descending order by quantity. So the first few ingredients can tell you a lot about what you’re actually buying.

That little exercise can completely change the way you shop.

Can a packaged snack actually be better? This is where Troovy’s approach became particularly interesting to me.

Mansi wasn’t arguing that children should never eat packaged food. Instead, her argument was essentially: if children are going to eat packaged snacks anyway, why can’t we make those snacks better?

What Does a Better Snack Look Like?

During the podcast, Mansi and I also looked at some of Troovy’s products and, more importantly, how they were formulated.

We looked at the ingredients, the oil used, protein, fiber, sugar and the additives that go into making a packaged snack. For example, Troovy’s Crunchies use a mix of makhana, jowar, chana dal, soy protein, ragi, quinoa, rice and corn, along with rice bran oil and dehydrated vegetables. The product provides around 12 grams of protein per 100 grams and is baked rather than fried.

We also looked at their Troovy Potato Chips, which use vacuum cooking and around 12% oil, compared with roughly 35% in a conventional chips packet. The wafers also provide around 12.8% protein.

What I found interesting was that Mansi wasn't presenting one ingredient as the magic solution. The focus was on reformulating the entire snack while still making sure children would actually want to eat it.

And that, I think, is the bigger challenge.

If Troovy can rethink how a familiar snack is made, the question is: why can't more brands do the same?

And that is a much more realistic conversation to have with parents.

Then we took a break...

One of my favourite moments from the shoot wasn’t actually part of the formal discussion.

And, of course, what happens when you bring a nutritionist, a food founder and a production team together?

We ended up eating the snacks we had just spent all that time talking about. And honestly, I think that made the conversation even more delicious..

Because nutrition doesn’t happen in a laboratory.

• It happens when you’re hungry.

• It happens when your child comes home from school.

• It happens when you’re rushing to work.

• It happens at birthday parties.

• It happens during travel.

• It happens when your child says, “I want chips.”

That’s real life.

So I’m not interested in creating a world where parents feel guilty every time their child eats a packaged snack. I’m interested in helping parents understand what they’re buying and how often they’re serving it.

One of the strongest points Mansi raised was that we cannot talk about children’s food only in terms of avoiding “junk”. We also need to talk about what we are adding.

Protein should be present regularly across a child’s diet. During our conversation, we discussed simple Indian ways of doing this: 

• adding besan to parathas

• using paneer or chana fillings

• including pulses

• adding an egg alongside foods such as poha.

The same principle applies to micronutrients.

• Iron

• Zinc

• Magnesium

And a wide variety of vitamins and minerals. This is why dietary diversity matters so much.

Instead of asking only, “How do I stop my child from eating chips?”

Ask:  “What else is my child eating?”

• Are there vegetables?

• Are there fruits?

• Are there pulses?

• Are there nuts and seeds?

• Are there whole grains?

• Are there good protein sources?

• Is there enough variety?

These are much better and useful questions.

We don’t need perfect children. We need better food environments.

One thing I took away from my conversation with Mansi is that the responsibility cannot sit entirely with children.

Children are children.

They are naturally attracted to foods that are salty, sweet, crunchy and exciting. The environment around them matters.

• Parents decide what comes into the pantry

• Schools influence what is available during breaks

• Manufacturers decide how products are formulated

• Marketers decide how those products are presented

And consumers ultimately influence what succeeds in the market.

Mansi told me about Troovy’s broader ambition: 

Not simply to create a separate category of “healthy snacks”, but to eventually see packaged snacks consumed by families become healthier across the board.

That’s a much bigger goal. Because ideally, we shouldn’t have to search for a tiny “healthy snack” section in a supermarket. The entire category should get better.

So what should parents actually do?

Start simple. Don’t try to eliminate every packaged food from your child’s life overnight.

Instead, look at frequency.

If a packaged snack is being eaten every day, ask whether it can sometimes be replaced with fruit, nuts, homemade food, a pulse based snack or another nutrient dense option.

When you buy packaged food, turn the packet around.

• Read the first few ingredients.

• Check the protein.

• Check the fiber.

• Check the sugar and sodium.

And don’t let a big “high protein”, “natural” or “made with grains” claim stop you from reading the rest of the label.

Most importantly, build variety into the overall diet.

A child doesn’t need a perfect meal every time they sit down to eat. They need a consistently good food environment over time.

And I think that’s where my conversation with Mansi really landed.

This isn’t about creating fear around food.

It isn’t about saying that every packaged product is bad.

And it certainly isn’t about taking away every snack that a child enjoys.

It’s about asking a better question.

Not just, “Is my child eating enough?”

But: “Is my child getting enough of what they actually need to grow?”

Because a full stomach isn’t necessarily a well nourished body.

And if we want healthier children in the future, we have to start looking beyond calories and start paying much closer attention to the quality, variety and nutritional value of the food we put in front of them.

And that, ultimately, was the conversation I had with Mansi.

Not how to make children stop eating snacks. But how we can make the food environment around them a little better. 

And that left me with another question: if Troovy can make better choices in a category children already love, why can't more brands try to do the same? 

Because the goal isn't to take snacks away from children. It is to make the choices available to them a little better.

If you’re looking for better snack options for your children, Troovy offers a range of snacks made with a focus on better ingredients and nutrition, without compromising on taste.

And if you need help figuring out your child’s overall protein and nutrition needs, my team of certified dietitians at the Qua Nutrition Signature Clinic can assess their diet and help build a personalised nutrition plan.

Start Your Personalised Diet Plan: click here