Co-Founder. IIAN
Disha Jolly
"Disha Jolly is a Functional Nutrition Coach & Counsellor and the Founder of Disha’s Functional Foods – the first brand to introduce readily unavailable functional foods in the country. Today, she is one of India’s leading and most well-known gut health experts.
Driven by the desire to make a telling difference to every life, Disha incorporates her multi-faceted skills, multi-industry experience and a gentle personal touch to lead her clients towards a health-conscious life. She has always been in tune with her gut since childhood and believes that our gut and dietary habits are the answer to all ailments.
After completing her dual degree in communications & economics from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA, Disha joined Starcom Worldwide, the media arm of Leo Burnett in Chicago. It was here, while working on advertising for Pillsbury and other well-known food brands, that her tryst with functional foods, health and wellness began.
Upon realising that her true passion lay in understanding how food can be used for promoting health & wellbeing, Disha set out to explore the realm of food habits, their impact on health and historical evolution. Her quest for knowledge took her back to her roots in India first. Thereafter, she travelled extensively to different countries like Germany, Italy, France, Greece, Austria, Turkey, China, Nepal, UAE, Korea, & Australia – studying their cultures, eating habits, functional foods, and the impact of food on the mental and physical health of the population.
Fascinated by everything from ancient Indian recipes such as Fire Cider to Turkish, German & Korean fermented foods, Disha began experimenting and perfecting her own probiotic recipes at home. The result was the launch of her highly successful brand, Disha’s Functional Foods, in 2017. This won the brand the coveted milestone of being the only brand in India to supply a range of authentic fermented foods and other gut health-related foods.
In 2018, she also curated a complete health menu for the restaurant Smokey’s BBQ & Grill in Khan Market, Delhi, to promote the concept of healthy eating outside one’s home. In a nutshell, Disha’s Functional Foods has been able to boost the accessibility and popularity of functional foods in India.
This was a stepping stone for Disha to expand her repertoire of skills and pursue specialized knowledge in the field of functional nutrition, health and wellness coaching. Thus, she became a certified Functional Medicine Health Coach from the prestigious FMCA and began her expert nutrition coaching practice. In addition she has done extensive workshops with Dr Perrry Nickelston on the Lymphatic System and is in the process of being certified as a Functional Nutritional Counsellor from Andrea Nakayama’s Functional Nutritional Lab . She also holds a Master’s and Advanced Herbalist Diploma, and is an Advanced Ho’oponopono Practitioner and a Heart Math Certified Practitioner.
Today, Disha is dedicated to empowering her clients with individualized functional food programs. Her products are extensively recommended by well-known medical doctors & functional practitioners as part of holistic healing diet programs for various ailments. Currently, she is working with Potenza Wellness as their Functional Nutrition Coach & Counsellor
Disha is now playing a leading role in bringing certified online health coaching to India’s mainstream through the International Institute of Applied Nutrition (IIAN). As part of a team of India’s leading experts and nutritionists, Disha is curating the state-of-the-art course curriculum for a unique certified applied nutrition coaching course. She believes that it can equip the youth with the skills to transform India’s health outcomes and pursue a rewarding career."