True Elements Revolutionizes Indian Breakfast with 100% Transparency and Clean Label Integrity

In the world of packaged food, "healthy" is often just a marketing slogan. Labels are filled with cryptic numbers, hidden sugars, and preservatives, leaving consumers to guess what they are actually putting into their bodies. For years, the Indian breakfast market was dominated by global giants who optimized for shelf life and taste over nutritional integrity.

Enter Puru Gupta and Sreejith Moolayil, the Co-founders of True Elements. By applying "first-principles thinking" to the food industry, they have built India’s most trusted clean-label brand. True Elements doesn't just claim to be healthy; they prove it through extreme transparency—offering 100% whole grain products with zero preservatives, zero added sugar, and a digital traceability system that allows customers to track every ingredient back to its source. Their journey, which recently culminated in an acquisition by Marico, is a masterclass in building a brand on the bedrock of authenticity.

From a "pivot of conviction" in 2016 to becoming a 100 Crore+ household name, Gupta and Moolayil’s journey is a blueprint for the "clean label" revolution in India.

The Problem: The Subjectivity of "Health"

The founders identified a fundamental flaw in how food is marketed. "Health" is a subjective term—what works for weight loss might not work for diabetes. Brands often exploit this ambiguity by making loud claims while hiding the truth in the fine print. The "genesis" of True Elements was to remove this subjectivity by being strictly objective: No chemicals, no fakes, just food.

"While people are talking of health, health is very subjective... what we did is apply true visionary, fundamental, and necessary principles," the founders explain. They realized that the market was full of products that claimed to be "good for weight loss" but were actually loaded with hidden sugars and processed grains.

The Solution: Extreme Transparency and Clean Labels

True Elements differentiates itself by being the only Indian brand to provide a "Clean Label" guarantee. They removed all preservatives and artificial additives from their stack, focusing on regional Indian grains like millets, poha, and jowar. They didn't just translate global recipes; they built a product portfolio that respects the Indian palate—offering savory, familiar tastes without the chemical baggage.

"What we do is 100% whole grain... no preservatives, no added sugar," says Gupta. Their technology intervention allows customers to scan a pack and see the entire supply chain, building a level of trust that global conglomerates have struggled to match.

Implementation: The Pivot to Private Label

The brand didn't start as a manufacturer. Initially, they were a platform selling other brands' healthy products. However, they soon realized that they couldn't control the quality or the "truth" of the products they were selling. In 2016, they made a radical decision to shut down the marketplace and launch their own brand, despite having limited resources.

"We realized that it requires a lot of education to customers... we decided to stop all outsourcing and start our own production," they recall. By bringing manufacturing in-house and focusing on high-velocity items like oats and seeds, they built a sustainable D2C engine that prioritized "value over marketing."

The Human Side: Entrepreneurship as "Inner Drive"

For Gupta and Moolayil, entrepreneurship is a "drive from within." They view the journey as a series of daily challenges that require an almost obsessive focus. They believe that a startup team should be built on "culture over competency"—finding people who share the vision of building an honest, lasting brand.

They also debunk the myth of "instant success." "You will fail every day... but you have to continue moving the goalpost," they advise. This long-term commitment, rather than a focus on quick exits, is what ultimately made them attractive to a strategic partner like Marico.

Future Vision: Putting Sourdough and Millets in Every Home

Looking ahead, True Elements is leveraging Marico’s massive distribution network to reach Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets. Their mission remains unchanged: to put 100% honest, whole-grain food in every Indian home. For the founders, the acquisition isn't an end, but a new chapter in scaling "truth" at a national level.

Key Takeaways for Founders

• Transparency is a Moat: In an era of misinformation, being the most honest brand in the room is your strongest competitive advantage.
• Product First, Marketing Second: Don't spend money on ads if the product isn't demonstrably better. Quality is your best retention tool.
• Build for the Local Palate: Global trends are good, but sustainability comes from creating products that fit into the consumer's daily, familiar habits.
• Hire for Culture: You can teach skills, but you can't teach belief. Find people who are as obsessed with the problem as you are.

With an unwavering commitment to authenticity, True Elements has rewritten the rules of the Indian food industry. For Puru Gupta and Sreejith Moolayil, the journey is a proof that when you stop trying to sell and start being truthful, the world eventually buys in. By bridging the gap between taste and integrity, they are feeding a healthier, more transparent India.