Ashwin Bhadri: CEO of Equinox Labs, Food, Water & Air Testing Laboratory

Interview with Ashwin Bhadri, CEO of Equinox Labs, FSSAI Approved & NABL Accredited Food, Water & Air Testing Laboratory

Mr. Bhadri is a national-level speaker on the subject of Food Safety. He is also a national resource for the FSSAI, the body that is responsible for the regulation in the food industry in India.

He has spoken on Food Safety, FSSAI, Hygiene, HACCP, and food companies using Science and Technology to enhance their businesses. He also has well-documented conversations with founders of established businesses.

Mr. Bhadri is a serial entrepreneur and deeply believes in continuous learning. He makes it a point to learn a new thing daily, irrespective of how small it might be. He also encourages open communication and leadership and speaks in a powerful yet simple manner.

With his vision and Equinox’s working culture, Equinox Labs is one of India’s top FSSAI-certified Food, Water, and Air Testing Laboratory, and also the country’s largest Auditing Agency.

It has been providing testing and auditing services for 17+ years now, serving the industry’s top brands.

Tell us a little about yourself

Ashwin Bhadri: I’m Ashwin Bhadri, CEO at Equinox Labs. I did my schooling in Mumbai, went to Austin to pursue my Degree in Computer Science from the University of Texas, followed by a MBA in McCombs School of Business.

I returned to India to work as a Manager (Customer Support) at my father’s water testing company, Aquatech Industries.

Eventually, I went on to start my company, Equinox Labs, with a mission to make Food, Water and Air quality in India safer for everyone!

Can you provide an overview of Equinox Labs and its role as India’s leading Food, Water & Air Testing Lab?

Ashwin Bhadri: Equinox Labs was founded 17 years ago with a sole mission of making Food, Water and Air quality in India safer.

We have served 60,000+ clients to date. At Equinox Labs, we focus on innovation the most, which helps us come up with new services for our clients to make their lives easier.

Whether it is helping them comply with the latest FSSAI regulations or assisting them to make their processes efficient, we always aim to add value to our clients’ businesses.

Our dedication to helping our clients, and even companies who are not our clients, has been a major reason that catapulted us to being India’s leading Food, Water and Air Testing laboratory!

As the CEO of Equinox Labs, what is your vision for the company? How do you ensure that Equinox Labs maintains its position as a leader in the industry and continues to deliver high-quality testing services?

Ashwin Bhadri: I envision Equinox Labs to be a global leader in the Food, Water and Air testing & auditing space. It is my personal goal to make food, water and air in the world safer for everyone as I had lost a dear friend due to improper food hygiene.

One philosophy that we follow at Equinox is Fail Forward Fast. It means that we fail fast, learn from our mistakes and move ahead so that we can innovate more.

I always encourage Equinoxians to share their mistakes openly so that others can learn it, and it is usual at the company to hear more about failures than success stories!

In the realm of food, water, and air testing, what are some of the key challenges that Equinox Labs helps its clients address? How do your services contribute to ensuring safety and quality in these areas?

Ashwin Bhadri: The major challenge that our clients faced was keeping up with the ever-evolving nature of FSSAI regulations.

We launched Compliance Cloud, our first ever SaaS product, to help our clients overcome the problem. Another key challenge that our clients face is with the third-party auditors.

Sometimes, the third-party vendors use substandard quality materials for cost-cutting and amassing profits for themselves.

With our vendor auditing services, we help our clients put an end to the pressing issue. One more area where we offer peace of mind to our clients is auditing.

If a client wants to expand business in other cities, we assign a Resident Quality Auditor who is stationed at the organisation to ensure that all processes are standardised.

How does Equinox Labs stay updated with the latest regulatory requirements and industry standards in food, water, and air safety? How do you ensure that your testing processes are aligned with the evolving regulatory landscape?

Ashwin Bhadri: Equinox Labs has more than 300 domain experts and 500+ auditors who ensure that not a single FSSAI regulatory update goes unnoticed.

As soon as we receive the notification, we send out information to our clients to comply with the latest norms at the earliest. That is how we ensure that we are always in sync with the regulatory landscape.

Equinox Labs places a strong emphasis on customer service and support. How do you ensure that clients receive personalized attention and assistance throughout the testing process?

Ashwin Bhadri: We are known in the industry for our customer-centric approach in all our processes. We offer doorstep sample collection and always work with our clients in loop.

If we feel that a certain service is not applicable to them, we recommend our clients to not invest time, money and effort in doing so. If an error occurs during the testing phase but realise it later, we proactively call the clients to let them know that we erred.

Undoubtedly, that is one of the major reasons why our clients place their trust in us! We also advise brands that our starting out to do things that are beyond our scope of service, like food photography, website designs, etc. just to help them grow.

Could you shed some light on any future plans or expansions that Equinox Labs has in store? Are there any new markets or testing services that you plan to explore?

Equinox Labs is currently preparing to tap the international markets. We are progressively inching towards our mission of making Food, Water and Air on Earth safer for everyone!

What are your success tips for young and aspiring entrepreneurs?

Ashwin Bhadri: The market is welcoming for anyone who is honest, transparent and hardworking! I would advise young and aspiring entrepreneurs to remain strong and consistent.

There will certainly come a point in time when you will feel like packing up everything and giving up. However, remember why you started out in the first place and keep going! Success comes to only those who strive for it!

Read more Success stories of Indian entrepreneurs, Women Entrepreneurs & startups stories at SugerMint. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn