Healthy eating with proper diet is not a status symbol anymore. The increasing numbers of health-conscious people are well aware of its importance. But good food and a healthy diet are not about green vegetables and fresh fruits only, and thanks to True Elements, people are more conscious now about the healthy breakfast food and dried food products. It is becoming a great alternative to sumptuous yet healthy meal. Currently, True Elements is one of the well-known brands which is fulfilling the everyday ‘healthy food need’ of thousands of health conscious people all around the world. It is an FMCG (Fast-moving consumer goods) company and the model is the same as any other foods company.
A Stalwart Foundation
Puru Gupta and Sreejith Moolayil are the men behind the great venture of True Elements. They have been in the same industry for more than 7 years now and thus have that apt knowledge. Previously, they had worked with numerous multinationals including Procter & Gamble, ITC, Cognizant and Tata Motors, with more than a decade of experience with each of them.
The journey of the brand started as an e-commerce and distribution business, but gradually evolved into a private limited company. The idea was to own the customers and for that they acquired other brands through various initiatives. This is how True Elements was born in January 2016. However, the team quickly realized that it also needs to build trust which is beyond the product to the customer to ensure that, they are trying to connect them to the story behind the products.
Currently, True Elements is one of the few brands that have more than 10 products as Amazon Choice or Bestsellers on Amazon, and are also one of the first few brands to be certified as “100% Wholegrain” by the Wholegrain Council of USA.
The Strategy and Principle to Create a Difference
Business is a lot about principles and mindful strategies and less about the rat-race to stay ahead with a gimmick. The duo knows it prominently and thus shared their understanding in the most transparent manner, “we strongly believe that anyone who joins us essentially standing for the same value system that reflects the brand. These include being True to its core, True to nature and being genuine and transparent in all communication.”
What makes the brand unique is its promise of being true to the nature, wherein each of its products is 100% Natural, devoid of any preservatives or additives. While each of the products has a clear functional benefit, it strongly emphasize the right taste and price, keeping in mind that it is ‘taste first and then the rest of the attributes’. They are digitally stronger than many other brands, due to the learning curve and are already present in 1000+ stores offline and continue focusing on that.
Services to be Distinctive
For them the customers are superior and they live by it. They add “We have benchmarks on customer experience internally that measure not just our average rating but also the customers who love us and those who hate us. We also assess through sentimental analysis, what language customers use while talking about/to us. One of our initiatives, reflecting the level of customization we offer, is Make My Muesli – in which a customer can make, using different dry fruits, base, seeds & nuts, a personalized Muesli – just the way you can personalize your Pizza.”
Being Usher to the Entrepreneurs
The entrepreneurs are coming with a lot of new ideas and they have the potentiality to create a difference, but they must be level-headed. According to the stalwarts, every entrepreneur defines his/her path, which would be true for anyone attempting to start on their own, and adds “My only advice would be, continue working on whatever they believe is right, but at the same time, keep iterating. There is a fine line of distinction between passionate and obstinate. In my experience, most entrepreneurs struggle when they believe they know almost everything and are unwilling to learn further.”
The visionary
As Puru and Sreejith have taken the task to aware the world with tasty diet food, they believe that Healthy and Natural Foods are poised to grow rapidly, with increasing stress levels and limited time. They say, “Customers need to be educated on what is right, and how to select the right brand/products. As the choices increases at the hand of the customers, they need to be more discerning and equipped with the right information to take a more rational call. If we have to move to Tier-2 markets, rather, to India-2 consumers, brands need to be affordable and bust the myth of “Health” being expensive and not tasty.”
Creating a Strong Future to Stay Ahead
They believe that if they continue to focus on their current plans which are to stay natural, yet innovative and tasty, 100Cr is achievable in the next 3 years. The brand aims to be present in key category stores in the retail market and continue to be the category leaders in the online space. Industry-wise, while the breakfast cereal category is somewhere between Rs.800-Rs.1000 Crores, growing at 27% CAGR, the snacks category (specifically, the specialized traditional snacks) is approximately Rs. 6000 Crores+. Specialized Grains are a separate category as well. Nonetheless, overall health foods category spread across these sectors and would be a combination of a portion of all three.
Thus the only vision of True Elements is to be the best in the market by catering the healthy food with utmost dedication and customer satisfaction to be a name equivalent to the healthy and diet food.
Source :-The 10 Best Customer Friendly Food Startups in India
