Welocity Genetics
Did you know that your regular morning cup of coffee might be a high-performance fuel for your best friend but a literal ‘slow-down’ trigger for you? Recent studies have indicated that genes can impact up to 72% of the variation in how people respond differently to exactly the same exercise or diet. In an era where ‘one-size-fits-all’ health advice is rapidly becoming a thing of the past, literally a modern-day myth, the global wellness industry is undergoing a seismic shift toward a proactive, data-driven era of personalization. As chronic lifestyle diseases have reached a record high especially in India, the true leaders are those who are looking beyond temporary trends to the very blueprint of human life – our DNA.
Meet Welocity Genetics, a trailblazing technology-driven genomic wellness initiative incorporated in October 2016 that has spent nearly a decade redefining preventive care. At the helm is Stan Serrao, Founder & CMD, a visionary leader whose background in science provided him with the analytical foundation for his deep dive into the field of wellness way back in 2004. Driven by an insightful thought that ‘illness starts with an ‘I’ but wellness starts with a ‘we’, Stan transitioned from nutraceuticals to the cutting-edge field of nutrigenomics after realizing that biological variations and uniqueness dictate specific health outcomes. His journey is one of relentless advocacy for self-awareness, evolving Welocity Genetics from a bold idea into a market leader that bridges the gap between complex science and daily lifestyle choices.
Welocity Genetics functions as an integrated health system, using advanced microarray DNA Sequencing methods, currently examining more than 225 genetic traits or the Phenotypes, from a simple saliva sample. Their flagship program provides any health-conscious individual – irrespective of the age, healthy or sick – an exhaustive 150-page DNA report that covers everything from your dietary response to lifestyle disorders, from your sleep patterns to physical fitness and from your digestive health to organ health. They also provide an extremely unique DNA test for students between 3 – 19 years which scientifically dwells on IQ, EQ, Personality profile, skills & talents to nutritional deficiencies and sports profile to map one’s health risks as well as academic career strategies. Through their much-appreciate academic institute WIGNET, the company has already certified over 1,000 professionals, ensuring that gene-based wellness is supported by a knowledgeable community of experts rather than just complex algorithms.
In the spotlight is Stan Serrao, Founder, Chairman & Managing Director, in an interview of our prestigious ‘The Pioneers and Market Leaders in Gene-based Personalized Wellness Solutions 2026’ edition. Learn from his insights and valuable lessons as an entrepreneur to excel and make it the best company. Stay tuned and learn his tale of success.
Prime Insights: Can you introduce your organization and share its mission in the field of gene-based personalized wellness?
Welocity Life Sciences Pvt Ltd. was incorporated in October 2016 but with an unavoidable break of 2-3 months due to demonetization, we could begin our core operations only in May 2017. From the very beginning, our vision has been obvious – to build a healthier society through mass awareness and prevention. Our trademarked tag line is ‘Welocity Genetics: Healthy People – Healthy Nation’, reflects exactly that.
We position ourselves as pioneers and market leaders in gene-based personalized wellness solutions. Though it’s a bootstrapped venture, we are not a typical startup – we’ve been in this space for nearly a decade, consistently building awareness and expertise.
Our approach is rooted in a simple belief: if you want to contribute to building a healthy nation, you cannot have patients in every household. Today, unfortunately, diseases like of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular conditions and cancer are increasingly common. We aim to change that narrative by helping people understand their bodies better – scientifically and proactively.
Prime Insights: Could you please share your personal journey and what drew you to this field?
I come from a science background, actually Physics, chemistry, and mathematics and not biology. My journey into the world of wellness began in 2004, when I first understood what ‘wellness’ truly means.
Wellness starts with ‘We’, while illness starts with ‘I’. This simple distinction struck me deeply. Wellness is about holistic living – experiencing physical, emotional, psychological, financial, social, intellectual well-being. It’s not just the mere absence of disease.
As I explored further, I realized that while we academically study a wide range of subjects in school – history, science, mathematics – we rarely take the time to understand our own body. That gap fascinated me.
Between 2004 and 2010, I worked with a wide range of wellness initiatives engaged in intellectual distribution of wellness through mass awareness campaigns and physical distribution of wellness by way of distributing various nutraceuticals and dietary supplements. However, I noticed something intriguing – people responded differently to the same products. That’s when I discovered personalized nutrition through genetics.
In 2010, I encountered genetic testing concept from the US, marking a significant turning point. It made complete sense – if every individual is genetically unique, how can one solution work for all? That realization eventually led to the founding of Welocity Genetics in 2016.
Prime Insights: What inspired the foundation of your company, and how has your journey evolved in this emerging domain?
The core inspiration was simple—there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ when it comes to human health.
Today, social media is full of advice – what to eat, what to avoid, what lifestyle to follow. While most of it comes from a place of concern and for arguments sake, let’s say every advice is correct, the real question that one must ask is – what is right for me? Will everything work for you? Obviously not.
You cannot rely on trial-and-error method when it comes to your health. That’s where nutrigenomics and genetic wellness comes into play. It helps you understand your genetic makeup – your hereditary strengths and weaknesses, allowing you to make informed, personalized decisions.
Over the years, we have not only built solutions but also contributed significantly to awareness around genomics in India, which was relatively unknown when we started.
Prime Insights: What key services or solutions do you offer in genetic testing, personalized health, and preventive care?
We primarily operate in two major segments.
1. Advanced DNA Testing Program:
This is a comprehensive DNA testing Program, designed for anyone who wants to explore genomic wellness by understanding their genetic strengths and weaknesses. The process is very simple – just a 2 ml saliva sample collected at home.
We provide a nationwide at-home testing kit, supported by multilingual video instructions. Once the sample reaches our corporate office, it essentially undergoes advanced genetic analysis.
The outcome is a detailed 150-page DNA report covering 225+ genetic parameters or phenotypes across 14 powerful panels and 5 summary panels, that include:
- Your Dietary Response
- Your Nutrient Metabolism
- Your Fitness Profile
- Your Lifestyle Disorders
- Your Metabolic Response
- Your Digestive Health
- Your Addiction Risks
- Your Sleep Pattern
- Your Allergies
- Your Personality Profile
- Your Neurological Profile
- Your Organ Health
- Personal & Professional Genomics
- Your Genes & Impact on Your Family
This is followed by a personalized counseling by our experienced and well-trained genetic counsellors, and a 30–35-page hyper-personalized actionable gene-based solutions with doable recommendations focused on:
- Gene-based diet plans or healthy eating
- Fitness optimization
- Lifestyle modifications
Additionally, we provide one year of wellness helpdesk support, ensuring continuous guidance through personalized coaching, resources, and regular follow-up sessions to help individuals maintain their fitness goals.
2. Student Genomics Program:
This program is designed to help children / students between the age of 3 – 19 years to understand their natural strengths and opt for a academic career as per their DNA.
We analyze:
- IQ and EQ Levels
- Talents and skills
- Academic Strengths
- Personality Profile
- Diet & Nutritional Profile
- Fitness & Sports Profile
- Addiction Risks
- Health Risks
Unlike an aptitude or psychometric tests, this assessment is a genetic-based insight into a child’s potential. Is cognitive skill your strength or creativity? You can trace it to your genes.
Today, academic or career decisions are often based on the 10th grade marks – science for toppers, commerce for average scorers, and arts for others. We believe this approach is fundamentally flawed. A child scoring 99% could be an exceptional artist having traits of creativity.
Our goal is to help students align their careers with their natural abilities – leading to both success and fulfillment.
Prime Insights: You also have an academic division. Could you please tell us more about that?
Yes, we have an academic institute called WIGNET – Welocity Institute of Genomics, Nutrition, & Entrepreneurship Training.
Through this initiative, we offer certification programs such as:
- Certificate Course in Nutrition (CCN)
- Certificate Course in Nutrigenomics (CCNG)
These programs are designed for:
- Medical professionals (Allopathy & AYUSH)
- Nutritionists and dieticians
- Fitness coaches and wellness enthusiasts
- All Alternative healers or simply wellness enthusiasts
So far, we have rigorously trained and certified 1000+ professionals in multiple batches, with ongoing programs gaining strong traction.
Our objective is not just to provide services but to educate and build a knowledgeable ecosystem around genomic wellness.
Prime Insights: A common question – if you identify genetic health risks, do you also treat them?
That’s a crucial question – and one we hear often.
We are fundamentally not a medical treatment company. We do not prescribe medicines or recommend surgeries. Our focus is on preventive and root-cause-based wellness.
Modern medicine often works on symptoms – it provides quick relief, which is obviously necessary. But it doesn’t always address the underlying cause.
For example, if someone has chronic digestive issues, they may take antacids regularly. This may suppress the symptoms but it may not necessarily solve the real problem.
For instance, through genetic analysis, we may discover that the individual may have gluten, lactose, or caffeine intolerance. Instead of lifelong medication, we recommend simple lifestyle changes – like replacing wheat with alternative grains.
This approach is about understanding your body scientifically and making informed choices, rather than relying on quick fixes. Even the medicines can be prescribed with data-driven genetic insights.
In short, genetics provides clinically validated data points for every health and wellness professional to administer their line of treatment with personal and targeted approach.
Prime Insights: Could you briefly explain the technology used in your genetic testing process?
We use advanced technologies such as Global Screening Array (GSA) and Next Generation Sequencing (NGS).
These are microarray-based technologies that help extract comprehensive genetic data from a simple 2 ml saliva sample.
Our bioinformatics team then analyzes this data and converts it into a well-structured, easy-to-understand report, in a common-man language without medical jargon, along with actionable insights tailored to the individual.
Prime Insights: How would you define your overall philosophy toward health and wellness?
Our philosophy is rooted in 3 Ps – predict, prevent and prevail. For this self-awareness is important.
Health is not just about avoiding diseases – it is about achieving the right balance across every sphere of life for ultimate happiness and fulfillment. The human body is the most sophisticated and mesmerizing system, yet we often ignore understanding it, which can lead to missed opportunities for improving our overall health and well-being.
Through genetics, we encourage people to embark on an inward journey – to understand their body, respect its uniqueness, and make smart decisions accordingly.
Ultimately, the more you comprehend yourself, the greater control you wield over your life and health.
As Stan Serrao rightly puts it, “The question is not what is good – but what is good for you?”
Prime Insights: How do you educate your customers about the benefits and limitations of gene-based personalized wellness solutions?
We are very clear in our communication and claims – we do not position our solution as a magic pill. Genetic testing does not mean that everything will automatically be solved.
It provides scientifically validated, data-driven insights. Based on these insights, individuals need to take action. Our recommendations are practical and actionable, but implementation is the key.
For instance, if someone consults a nutritionist, they typically receive a diet plan based on their academic knowledge and experience. While that may work for many, it is still, to some extent, a form of educated guesswork because it is not biologically personalized.
With genetic testing, we remove that guesswork. We can identify what your body is intolerant to, how you metabolize nutrients, and what kind of diet truly suits you. This leads to faster and more precise results.
However, the limitation is simple – knowing is not doing. If a person chooses to ignore these recommendations, the science cannot help them. Similar to a diabetic being told to abstain from foods that might spike their sugar levels, the consequences are clear if they continue to consume it.
Prime Insights: What key challenges have you faced in building awareness and trust in this relatively new industry?
There have been a few significant challenges.
The first major one was the COVID-19 pandemic. The initial months severely impacted our operations due to our entire model’s reliance on saliva-based testing. We had to slow-down, which created financial strain, but we ensured our team remained intact.
Secondly, there is still a lack of mass awareness in India. People tend to rely more on curative healthcare – they wait for a problem to occur and then address it, rather than focusing on prevention.
Another challenge is pricing perception. Many compare genetic testing with regular pathological tests, without realizing that genetic testing is a one-time, lifetime investment, whereas other tests are repeated periodically.
Prime Insights: How do you collaborate with healthcare professionals, researchers, and institutions to strengthen your offerings?
We believe in an integrated healthcare system and hence are actively working towards building a strong ecosystem.
People naturally rely on medical doctors for health advice, which is absolutely valid. However, it’s important to consult the right specialist. For genetic insights, one must consult someone professionally trained in genetics.
We are making continuous efforts to educate and sensitize healthcare professionals – including doctors, nutritionists, and wellness experts – about genomic wellness. As mentioned earlier, through our academic initiatives, we have already certified over a thousand professionals.
Our vision is to expand this network significantly, creating a knowledgeable ecosystem that can guide individuals more effectively.
Prime Insights: What trends do you foresee shaping the future of personalized wellness and genomics by 2026 and beyond?
Genetic testing will soon move from being an option or luxury to becoming a necessity.
Globally, we are already seeing regulatory shifts. For instance, the US Food and Drug Administration mandates clinical genetic testing before administering certain medications.
In some countries, DNA testing is conducted at birth or even before marriage to assess potential genetic risks.
In the future, genomics will play a critical role in preventive healthcare at a national level, helping reduce disease burden and healthcare costs to the government exchequer significantly.
Prime Insights: What are your expansion plans in terms of technology, market reach, and product offerings?
Our primary focus is on building a stronger ecosystem.
We aim to educate and certify more professionals, enabling them to integrate genomic insights into their existing practices – whether they are allopathic doctors, Ayurvedic practitioners, or wellness coaches.
India, with its large population and rising healthcare costs, has immense potential for genomic wellness. By integrating genetics into mainstream healthcare, we can significantly reduce long-term medical expenses and improve quality of life.
Prime Insights: What differentiates your organization from other players in the personalized wellness and genomics space?
Our biggest strength is our experience and understanding of the Indian consumer mindset.
Over the years, we have experimented with various approaches and refined our offerings accordingly, such as tailoring our wellness programs to address specific health concerns prevalent in the Indian population. Our services are deeply rooted in personalization, which is the essence of genetics, allowing us to tailor our offerings to meet the unique needs and preferences of each individual consumer.
Beyond business, we are driven by a larger purpose – to contribute to a healthier society and nation. We are also focused on building professionals and creating entrepreneurial opportunities through our platform, which includes providing training programs and resources to help individuals develop their skills in the genetic testing field.
Prime Insights: How do you ensure the accuracy, reliability, and scientific validity of your genetic testing and reports?
We work with NABL-accredited (National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories) and CAP-certified (College of American Pathologists) laboratories, ensuring that our data meets both national and international standards.
Our experienced team of genetic experts carefully curates the reports, processing the raw genetic data with high precision. We validate each report multiple times before sharing it with the client.
Additionally, our counselors are rigorously trained to interpret the data and provide accurate, meaningful guidance.
Prime Insights: What role do AI, data analytics, and bioinformatics play in enhancing your solutions?
Technology plays a crucial role, especially in data processing, analysis, and report generation.
AI helps in structuring large datasets, building algorithms, and delivering standardized insights. However, there are areas where AI cannot replace human expertise – particularly personal counseling and emotional understanding.
Personalization requires empathy and human connection, which remains irreplaceable. So, while AI enhances efficiency, the human touch remains central to our approach.
Prime Insights: How do you address concerns related to data privacy and ethical handling of genetic information?
Data privacy has been one of our top priorities.
We follow a strict data protection policy, where even lab technicians do not have access to personal identities. Samples are processed using barcode number systems, ensuring anonymity.
We do not share or misuse any data, and all stakeholders involved are bound by confidentiality protocols.
Prime Insights: Can you share an example of how your solutions have positively impacted individuals?
As I mentioned earlier, our solutions are not treatments per se, they are insight-driven transformations.
The biggest impact we see is awareness. People begin to understand their body better and connect the dots regarding their health patterns.
Many individuals have made meaningful changes – improving their diet, adjusting fitness routines, and modifying their lifestyle. Some have even optimized their workout timings based on whether they are naturally more active in the morning or evening.
These small but personalized changes have led to a number of testimonies like weight management, improved energy levels, and even anti-aging benefits.
Prime Insights: What advice would you give to individuals considering gene-based personalized wellness solutions?
If technology allows you to understand your body scientifically and predict potential risks, you might as well use it for your advantage. It makes logical sense to use it.
Think of it like weather forecasting. Earlier, disasters caused massive damage due to lack of information. Today, with predictive technology, we can prepare in advance and minimize losses.
Similarly, genetic testing allows you to predict and prevent health risks, rather than reacting after the damage is done, by identifying potential genetic disorders and enabling proactive health management
strategies.
When science and technology come together, they empower individuals to live healthier, longer, and more informed lives.
