"I have been researching diabetology and endocrinology for the last nine years," Ramchandani said. "The research followed me here to MSU and through all of that, I wanted to help people with hypercholesterolemia, or irregular blood glucose, improve their lifestyles."

In 2021, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) found that 537 million adults 20 years or older have diabetes, and that number is only expected to rise. Of those adults, 51 million are living in North America. Hypoglycemia is often present in patients with diabetes but is not limited to those living with the condition. 

"Hypoglycemia is low blood sugar and any candy or carbohydrates that you might have can cause a blood sugar spike, which is very harmful for diabetics and even for non-diabetics," Ramchandani said. "That’s a very risky situation."

With a double minor in business and entrepreneurship at MSU, Ramchandani realized she could help people beyond her family who are going through this underrepresented everyday struggle. 

"I decided to create something that would help increase blood sugar without causing the spike and I formulated the recipe at home with my mother," she said. "When we saw that it was actually helping people, I decided to turn it into a venture."

Ramchandani, an international student from India, brings a strong track record of ambition with her. In her freshman year she self-published a book through Amazon and has always wanted to be involved in the medical field. 

"I wanted to go into medicine due to my interest in diabetes," she said. "But I want to research and invent something to help instead of being on the business side of the medical industry, and I was also passionate about business separately."

While studying within her major and minors, she continued her research on the side and founded her startup, T100 Pro Bars, about a year ago. The startup was selected as a Baylor University Top 50 team in the U.S. and Ramchandani will be presenting her pitch at the WomanUp and Forward Mid-Michigan contests. 

"Being a student entrepreneur and being an international student, there’s a lot on the plate and a lot on the line," she said. "You just show up as your 100% at every one of your commitments and it takes a lot of passion to really want to make this work."

On her team is marketing junior Blake Johnson as the chief marketing officer. According to quotes shared by Ramchandani, Johnson has been diagnosed with diabetes for 18 years now and is combining his experience with his passions to contribute to the startup. 

Computer science junior Aadhaya Makkar is the chief financial officer of T100 Pro Bars and describes Ramchandani as her best friend. Advertising management junior Shirdula Maheshwaran is the chief people officer for the startup and has a passion for health and wellness.

While the bars do appeal to a diabetic audience, Ramchandani said the bars also promote a healthier standard of food that strays away from diet culture and specific body standards perpetuated by the media. 

"Our mission is to remind our youth that health is not about sitting in a template or having our bodies look a certain way, but about serving our inner self and being as healthy as we can," Ramchandani said.   

The power bars are not yet launched, but Ramchandani hopes to have the product on the market by the end of April. An intent-to-buy list has been started by the team for when the product does launch. She said she hopes to gain support from the medical community at some point in the future as her product is 100% natural. 

"It has absolutely no refined or artificial sugar," she said. "It’s an authentic Indian recipe."