“All it takes to get via is an iota of hope. We had been in a position to persevere via the worst of circumstances and get again up every time we failed due to that four-letter phrase. Giving up was not an choice as we had chosen this path for ourselves,” shares Sreejith Moolayil.
Beginning your individual enterprise is a dream harboured by many. A increase in startups up to now decade has made this a viable profession alternative for college kids at the moment, with many trying on the prospect with rose-tinted glasses.
However how tough is it to actually run and scale a profitable enterprise?
Ask Sreejith Moolayil and Puru Gupta, brothers-in-law and co-founders of True Parts, a wholesome meals model. They’ll take you thru a story that spans 13 years, 3 startups, a number of roadblocks, monetary troubles, and far more.
What stands out is their perseverance and never-say-die perspective that helped them climate many a storm, and emerge profitable.
The genesis for the Pune-based enterprise was rooted in private loss. Each the founders misplaced a liked one on account of a power illness. The analysis adopted by its trials led to conversations round well being and diet, and the realisation in regards to the significance of a wholesome life-style.
This realisation gnawed on the duo a lot that they determined to stop their comfy company jobs and create a startup targeted on preventative healthcare via wholesome breakfast and snack choices. Began initially as an aggregator of wholesome meals corporations, they pivoted to company wellness options, earlier than lastly discovering their ‘ray of hope’ within the type of True Parts in 2017.
Over the previous seven years, the model has been one of many large gamers within the wholesome snacking market, with Marico buying 54% fairness stake within the startup in 2022. With a presence throughout 50 e-commerce channels, 12,000 retailers and promoting seven lakh merchandise a month, right here’s how these MBA graduates constructed the enterprise.
‘Handle your well being earlier than it’s too late’
Sreejith (46) hails from Kerala, with a socialistic ethos, and moved to Pune for his MBA (Grasp of Enterprise Administration) in Human Sources (HR). It was in 2002 that he was launched to Puru, his spouse’s cousin. Funnily, Puru was tasked by his sister to vet his brother-in-law!
Puru (43) grew up all throughout the nation because the son of an Military man. After an MBA in advertising and marketing, he labored at Procter & Gamble earlier than quitting in 2011, whereas Sreejith too had a cushty job at Cognizant.
In a free-wheeling dialog, the duo shared that since 2006, that they had harboured a dream of constructing a model. It was kicked off throughout Puru’s internship in China the identical 12 months, the place he assessed enterprise alternatives for Indian corporations within the neighbouring nation.
Sreejith in the meantime had a black guide of concepts, and each assembly between the duo inadvertently concerned discussing viable choices.
“Puru satisfied us (my spouse and me) to maneuver to China as he felt that it was an awesome place to begin a enterprise. We moved there for a 12 months in 2010 however realised that it wouldn’t be possible to scale a enterprise there,” Sreejith, COO of True Parts, tells The Higher India.
Nonetheless, he learnt an vital lesson in China. The Chinese language had superb meals habits. “They cook dinner meals accurately, eat proper, and most significantly, eat meals on the proper time. We do all three improper,” he provides.
This realisation, coupled with the health-related challenges at their home solidified the necessity to create a change on this sector. Puru misplaced his father to most cancers, whereas Sreejith’s father-in-law died of coronary heart illness.
“We realised as a household that we by no means gave significance to preventative healthcare. We solely handle our well being when it’s too late, or when some parameters are off the charts. Why will we react so late? We might have taken care of it earlier,” shares Puru, CEO of True Parts.
After 5 years of brainstorming, Puru stop his job in 2011 and began engaged on creating consciousness about well being and the significance of consuming the suitable meals. The primary firm that the duo began was known as ‘Wholesome World’ — an aggregator of wholesome meals manufacturers.
“We needed to guarantee that folks handle their well being earlier than it will get too late. We began by creating consciousness and a marketplace for manufacturers that promote wholesome meals,” shares Puru with The Higher India.
The duo made an inventory of such manufacturers after which began approaching them, providing to create a distribution channel for them. Puru leveraged his FMCG (Quick Shifting Client Items) background to create a distribution framework for ‘good for you’ manufacturers, whereas Sreejith used his HR expertise to get entry into company cafeterias.
They began by establishing kiosks at IT corporations with a mission to alter their snacking selections. In addition they created wholesome hampers for occasions like marathons.
Six months after launching the enterprise, Sreejith additionally stop his job to scale the enterprise. Nonetheless, the duo confronted their first failure, as they realised that the company kiosk mannequin wasn’t going to work.
“The variety of folks choosing wholesome snacks was very much less. Those that needed to eat wholesome acquired their dabbas from residence. Folks coming to cafeterias weren’t taken with their well being,” shares Sreejith.
Six months in and Rs 30 lakh down, they confronted a making an attempt time. Pondering on their toes, they determined to pivot their enterprise mannequin, from company kiosks to company wellness options. “We had a whole lot of merchandise in our portfolio together with a company connection. We provided corporates full wellness options, from medical checkups to consciousness programmes and meals,” shares Puru.
On the identical time, in addition they began promoting the merchandise on-line on platforms like Amazon, which had simply launched in India. Whilst their buyer base elevated and their product portfolio elevated to over 400 manufacturers, one thing was amiss. Basically, they had been educating folks on well being whereas buying clients for different manufacturers.
Why not create their very own model?
With this thought in thoughts, they approached just a few of the smaller manufacturers they labored with and requested them if they might promote their merchandise underneath a non-public label. A number of suppliers agreed and that’s how True Parts was born.
Over the following two years, True Parts scaled greater than Wholesome World, which made the founders pivot for the third and last time. They picked up the top-selling merchandise from Wholesome World and launched them via True Parts in 2016.
It will be one other 12 months earlier than they might liquidate Wholesome World and fully deal with constructing True Parts, which is a multi-crore model at the moment.
Born in July 2017, True Parts affords a variety of merchandise — breakfast objects like rolled oats, muesli, granola, and shakes; seeds like chia, pumpkin, flax, sunflower, watermelon, seed mixes, and path mixes; peanut butter, dry fruits, berries, millets, millet flours, and snacks.
They moved from a non-public label to manufacturing one hundred pc of their very own merchandise in 2018 from their sprawling manufacturing facility in Pune, the place over seven lakh of their merchandise are manufactured every month. Their bestsellers are oats, chia seeds and muesli.
‘Holding on to a ray of hope’
This 13-year journey has been removed from easy. The duo pumped in additional than Rs 50 lakh within the preliminary few years and didn’t draw a wage for the primary few years. For the following three, they drew Rs 15,000 monthly.
As they tried to rescue their bleeding companies, they had been confronted with dire monetary conditions, which escalated in 2016-17. “There was a time after I didn’t have cash to pay my son’s college charges, and needed to borrow cash for a similar,” recollects Sreejith.
Did they ever take into account quitting?
“No” comes the reply in unison.
“When you stop a company profession, you’ll be able to’t return. We simply had a sliver of hope that we stretched, main us right here at the moment,” smiles Sreejith.
With no cash and payments piling up at residence, the duo picked up consulting jobs to make sure some money movement at residence. One other aspect including to their woes was the truth that they had been associated, with many advising them to not do enterprise collectively, as it could bitter the connection.
However they stored at it, as they had been positive of their imaginative and prescient — making folks realise the significance of well being earlier than it will get too late.
Their challenges continued whilst True Parts picked up, as an investor hung them dry simply earlier than the lockdown in March 2020. By this time that they had over 100 workers and salaries to pay.
“As a precept, we’re true to our workers and don’t lower salaries. However COVID-19 was a troublesome time as we didn’t have cash. We requested our workers personally as to who could be okay with a deferment of wage, and we had been simply overwhelmed by the response. Their wholehearted willingness and belief in us pulled us via and we paid everybody’s salaries within the subsequent three months,” shares Sreejith.
They share that in each disaster, it’s a glimmer of hope that has stored them going.
Making a model that may outlive them
The entire thought of making their very own model was in order that it could present worth to folks, on the identical time outliving the founders. This led to Marico buying about 54% fairness stake within the firm in Could 2022.
“We needed to decide on a companion who would align with our imaginative and prescient and perceive well being. We each had been additionally clear, proper from the start, that we needed to create one thing that may outlive us. This acquisition would assist our goal come true and make ‘True Parts’ a family model,” provides the COO.
In at the moment’s aggressive wholesome meals area, the founders imagine that their differentiation lies within the transparency with regard to their merchandise. All their merchandise have full components listed behind them and an choice to hint the ingredient’s journey from farm to fork on their web site utilizing the product identify and batch quantity.
The founders share that their startup rests on 4 pillars — “True to our meals (diet), true to our phrase (transparency), true to our planet (recycle), and true to our households (folks).”
“We’re fully sincere about what we put in our merchandise by naming all of it on the pack. We be sure that we even point out components that aren’t obligatory as a result of that’s what we stand for,” shares Puru.
They’re a plastic-neutral model, whereby all of the plastic that they’re utilizing is recycled. “We course of about 30 % immediately, whereas we’ve a companion who processes the remaining. It’s transformed into biofuel and equipped to rural Maharashtra,” shares Puru.
True Parts is a licensed ‘Clear Label’ model by the Clear Label Venture, US, and one hundred pc complete grain model by the Complete Grains Council, US.
With a presence constructed round 300 cities in India with over 300 workers, supplying to over 5 lakh households each month, the duo are working in direction of their mission of offering wholesome meals choices to Indians. They’re clear on their answer — clear meals — the explanation they steer clear of merchandise like protein dietary supplements.
What’s their message to budding entrepreneurs?
“Don’t overthink, simply begin up. There’ll by no means be an ideal time. Dive in with a childlike mindset, and similar to youngsters do once they fall down, rise up and check out once more. It’s okay to fall down and fail. Shun the necessity for validation and concern of judgement,” shares Puru.
For all the kids who imagine that you could reach a 12 months, Sreejith has some phrases of knowledge. “Nobody arrives in a 12 months, it takes a minimum of six years. Don’t hand over earlier than these six to seven years and don’t be afraid of taking place to zero,” shares Sreejith.
Edited by Pranita Bhat, Photos Courtesy True Parts
If you happen to discovered our tales insightful, informative, and even simply pleasant, we invite you to think about making a voluntary cost to assist the work we do at The Higher India. Your contribution helps us proceed producing high quality content material that educates, conjures up, and drives optimistic change.
Select one of many cost choices beneath in your contribution-
By paying for the tales you worth, you immediately contribute to sustaining our efforts targeted on making a distinction on the planet. Collectively, let’s be sure that impactful tales proceed to be instructed and shared, enriching lives and communities alike.
Thanks in your assist. Listed below are some incessantly requested questions you may discover useful to know why you might be contributing?
