Workout.lk together with Hatch will be hosting a webinar on Sunday, 5 July, with an eminent panel of health professionals and health entrepreneurs coming together to share insights and trends from the growing health food industry, celebrate young startups spearheading good work in the organic food and beverages community, hear their success stories and pitfalls, and learn how healthy eating can be made sustainable.

The panellists 

The keynote speaker will be Shanez Gunatilaka, a US-certified natural health professional and a Swiss biological medicine practitioner with a special interest in gut and digestion-related issues. Entrepreneurs from the health sector who will be weighing in and sharing insight include Shehani Rasaputra from JustGoodness.co, Medhini Igoor from Us on Earth, and Ronali Perera from RAW Organic Juices. The panellists will look to create dialogues on topics like creating profitable businesses in this sector, the increase in demand for health food post Covid-19, trusting the diverse marketing claims you see, competing with mass-market products, and how to start a health food venture and what support there is within the industry. The global organic food and beverages market is expected to reach $ 320 billion by 2024. While the sector is still very small and fragmented in Sri Lanka, there has been growing interest in organic chemical-free farming and planet-friendly practices over the past few years. The pandemic has also generated a much greater interest in organic food and healthy living. More and more people are taking an interest in food as preventative medicine, and also to the emotional and physical impact of eating and living healthy. 

The team behind Good For You, Good For Planet

The webinar is co-organised by Workout.lk and Hatch in collaboration with outreach partners The Good PR and Lanka Business News.  Workout.lk is an independent startup that aims to inspire active living and give access to credible health and fitness resources and experiences, all in one comprehensive platform. Via its online and offline platforms, Workout.lk collaborates with professionals across the network to curate workshops, corporate seminars, outdoor excursions, inspirational content, and publish a free print magazine (Workout MAG).  Workout.lk has been spearheading health advocacy events since 2018, looking to inspire active living and make it easy for consumers in Sri Lanka to lead healthy lives and ultimately reduce the prevalence of non-communicable diseases. They ensure to provide unbiased, credible, and ethical information to end-users and actively discourage marketing and advertising that is unhealthy or detrimental to health and uplift industry standards and become a catalyst for positive growth across the segment in the long run. Hatch is the brainchild of two visionaries who saw the potential for exponentially growing the Sri Lankan GDP through the creation of a platform designed to improve and develop the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Sri Lanka. Hatch is more than co-working spaces. It is a supportive space where young entrepreneurs can meet and learn from others where the focus is on collaboration and support. During the lockdown, Hatch organised many events related to sustainable diets, telemedicine, biotech, and more. Good For You, Good For Planet is aimed at health enthusiasts and anyone who is keen to explore the industry or build their own startup. The webinar will also include a Q&A session for those who wish to consult with the panellists on specific topics. Participants can sign up via the following link to reserve a spot: https://forms.gle/UNhkrVN73bjqikwj9