Losing weight for some people is an ideal and, alas, it stays an ideal when the challenges of sticking to a diet become nightmares to be avoided. So, when Ahmed Fouad el-Abd saw the flaw in the ‘one solution for all’ school of thought behind heavily advertised diets, he decided year ago to launch the OHealth website and help clients alter their eating habits and improve their quality of life.
EG: Why did you start and what’s the passion behind your business?
AF: As I worked for more than five years in one of the biggest US companies in biologics, I found through my journey that food habits and lifestyle play key roles in our health.
So, I decided to help individuals in changing their bad food habits through diet and lifestyle modification plan.
We help users gain weight, lose weight, or we set customised plans for cancer patients, diabetics, hyperlipidemic (high cholesterol).
EG: What is your background?
AF: I’m a pharmacist. I have an MBA from George Washington University and an MSc in biotechnology. I am currently studying health counselling.
EG: What are the issues you are solving and what is your value proposition?
AF: I’m solving major weight-related issues arising from various diseases and disorders. In addition to unhealthy habits like emotional eating, we help those who are overweight.
So our value proposition is setting a full plan for users starting with consultation, diet plans, food preparation and delivery, as well as follow-up to guarantee the results.
Usually clients (We don’t like to call them patients.) find it hard to stick to a diet plan, so we refer them to therapists.
Consequently, we have succeeded in making a real impact on health and lifestyle in Egypt, make people’s lives healthier, and help them reduce expenses, especially those suffering from obesity and chronic diseases.
EG: Tell us more about the process, users, and the business model.
AF: We start with our client. We have our own school of wellness triangle (right health food, mental health assurance, efficient fitness) through integrative nutritionists who take the history then design a customised plan for the client and give them options for meals subscription.
The client comes to us through our customer service, during which we start collecting his or her data.
Our nutritionists then get back to them and invite them to a clinic meeting for body analysis.
Based on the analysis, a customised plan is set according to the report of the in-body test and the medical history. Our revenue stream is subscription-based as our clients pay on a weekly, bi-weekly or a monthly basis.
EG: What are your main challenges?
AF: Expanding outside Cairo. Another challenge is the logistics of our meal deliveries as our kitchen is based in the industrial area of New Cairo, which is rarely covered by couriers. Moreover, we still find difficulties in funding opportunities.
EG: What are your achievements and coming plan?
AF: We have around 2,000 subscriptions so far. Our plan is to start implementing the concept of shared kitchens for brands serving healthy food.
Also, we are aiming at launching our application. In addition, we want to create our own offline outline offering our services for hospitals and malls.
EG: Do you see the ecosystem
is helping you?
AF: Yes, I’m networking and getting the talents in health techs with their referral and experience.
