Healthy Tiffin, a San Jose-based company has quickly grown into a movement that marries Ayurvedic science, homestyle, regional Indian recipes / Healthy Tiffin

In a world of rushed meals and frozen deliveries, Healthy Tiffin offers something rare—food that’s fresh, healing, and deeply personal. Established by Sonu Kilam in 2024, the San Jose-based company has quickly grown into a movement that marries Ayurvedic science, homestyle, regional Indian recipes, and conscious eating into every bite. We interviewed Sonu Kilam to learn more about Healthy Tiffin. Here are some highlights from our interview. 

How do you ensure your ‘mom-style’ and Ayurvedic meals genuinely resonate with the diverse tastes and health philosophies of the Indian diaspora? 

Sonu Kilam: At Healthy Tiffin, we don’t just cook like moms; we cook with their unwavering purpose—to nourish, protect, and heal. Every single meal is made from scratch, fresh each morning, using clean, organic, non-GMO, locally sourced ingredients. No preservatives, no shortcuts, no compromises. Just pure, powerful food rooted in Ayurvedic science and generational wisdom, crafted to fuel energy, restore balance, and awaken vitality. 

We proudly honor the richness of Indian cuisine, not just the familiar, but the forgotten. Our rotating menu features iconic comfort foods, including Marathi usal, Rajasthani gatte, Punjabi rajma chawal, temple-style sambar, and Gujarati dal, alongside lesser-known treasures such as Bihari chokha, Mangalorean nurge gassi, Pahadi jhols, and Naga kharzi pulao. Each week is a nutritional masterclass, a full-spectrum plate of macros and micros, with meals mindfully portioned between 350 and 650 calories. 

Our approach to Ayurveda isn’t abstract; it’s alive in every bite. We integrate sattvic, functional ingredients like ash gourd, ivy gourd, bottle gourd, fenugreek leaves, moringa, beetroot, and amla, not just as vegetables but as medicine. These are chosen for their cooling, cleansing, and rejuvenating effects, designed to support digestion, immunity, and longevity. 

And what truly separates us is how we cook. Our chefs are restrained from the ground up, shedding commercial kitchen habits like high-flame cooking, pre-made gravies, heavy oils, and excess sodium. Instead, they slow-cook with surgical precision and soulful care, treating each spice as therapy and every dish as a sacred act, just as it’s done in a traditional Indian home. 

How does Healthy Tiffin replicate the freshness, nutritional balance, and comfort of a home-cooked meal without freezing or microwaving? 

Sonu Kilam: The magic lies in how we cook and how quickly we deliver. Nothing at Healthy Tiffin is ever frozen or stored overnight. Each meal is prepared fresh from scratch, packed either in insulated steel containers or eco-friendly, zero-plastic, plant-based disposable containers, and delivered to our customers within 1 to 3 hours warm, just like Mumbai’s legendary dabbawalas. 

We follow Ayurvedic principles to ensure every meal is balanced, light on the stomach, and packed with nutrition. According to Ayurveda, the highest nutritional value and life energy, or prana, is found in meals that are freshly prepared and eaten the same day. Moreover, our rotating weekly menu is not only diverse but also intentional. We cook to measure based on the exact meals ordered, which means no bulk prepping, no leftovers, and no food waste. This is how we respect our ingredients, our farmers, and the people we feed. 

 

 

Some meals made by healthy Tiffin. / Healthy Tiffin

How have you adapted the traditional dabbawala model in the United States? 

Sonu Kilam: We were inspired by Mumbai’s legendary dabbawalas and brought that same spirit to the U.S., powered by smart logistics and technology. Meals are delivered directly from the stove to your doorstep, with no warehouses and no middlemen. We control the entire process from start to finish, ensuring freshness, consistency, and speed. It’s a system built with care, precision, and the same deep sense of responsibility the dabbawalas are known for — just adapted for a new country and lifestyle. 

Beyond food, how does Healthy Tiffin support the well-being of the Indian community abroad? 

Sonu Kilam: Tiffin is just the beginning. At Healthy Tiffin, we’re on a mission to help our community reconnect with the wisdom of our roots and live healthier, more balanced lives. We support local community events and provide clean, nourishing meals to senior homes, expecting mothers, and families who need extra care. We also work closely with nutritionists and lifestyle coaches to deliver personalized meal plans tailored to their clients’ health goals. Our upcoming website and mobile app will take this vision even further, offering tools to support a complete lifestyle rooted in Indian traditions and Ayurvedic wellness. Our goal goes beyond food — we’re here to support your health in every sense: physical, emotional, and cultural. 

As you grow, how will Healthy Tiffin maintain its high standards of freshness, traditional methods, and personalized service? 

Sonu Kilam: At Healthy Tiffin, growth is rooted in purpose, not pressure. We’re scaling with intention by setting up regional kitchens, allowing us to prepare every meal fresh, locally, and deliver it the same day, with no freezing, warehousing, or long-haul shipping. 

We’ve received tremendous interest from cities across the U.S., and while we’re not ready to name them all just yet, expansion is well underway. What matters most is that every new kitchen will carry the same core DNA, rigorous team training, high-quality local sourcing, and a deep respect for traditional Indian cooking methods. 

What would you like our readers to know about Healthy Tiffin? 

Sonu Kilam: Healthy Tiffin didn’t begin as a business; it began as a calling. I started this journey with one core belief: that food is not just fuel, it is preventive care, daily medicine, and an emotional bridge to home. What began as a deeply personal mission has evolved into a movement that is redefining how Indian communities abroad perceive food, health, and tradition. 

However, what truly sets us apart is our intention to bring awareness back to the act of eating. We’re not just here to deliver convenience; we’re here to foster a deeper connection to your body’s rhythms, promote your long-term health, and cultivate your inner vitality. This is food designed to support longevity, balance your gut, sharpen your mind, and elevate your mood. In a world overloaded with quick fixes, we believe real wellness starts with what you eat every day. At the heart of it all, we’re not just serving meals; we’re serving care, culture, and a return to the wisdom we almost forgot.