India’s first certified clean label brand, True Elements, has incorporated a traceability component for all its products down to the ingredient level to provide an added measure of assurance to consumers looking for cleaner, healthier products.
True Elements CEO and Co-Founder Puru Gupta believes that the firm is one of the first clean-label breakfast and snack (together known as “nashta” in India) brands in the country, and also lately became the first Indian food brand to be certified as both clean-label and 100% whole grain.
True Elements is the first food brand in India to be a recipient of the Clean Label Project certificate. This certification involves its products being tested for more than 130 harmful environmental and industrial contaminants present in food, as the company is currently present across 13 categories and across 65 products and has some 200+ SKUs that fit into the 8am-11am-5pm time buckets.
Since the pandemic hit India, consumers are even more sensitive about what they consume and are more aware of the impact it will have on themselves and the environment, so they are now keener and more open to substituting their fried snacks with healthier alternatives.
Between 2020 and 2025, the clean label food market in India is expected to grow by about 7.5%, which is the highest growth rate amongst all countries in the APAC region, driven by the market’s now inclined towards health-oriented and sustainable products.
The brand currently caters to over one million consumers and is particularly well-known for its 100% wholegrain certified breakfast cereals range, which means the grains are unprocessed and retain all nutritional content.
To maintain the credibility of its clean label branding in a market such as India, where the adulteration of various foods is rampant, True Elements has also opted to introduce a traceability element in its products to boost its consumers’ trust.
True Elements created its traceability tool with the lack of trust that consumers had in packaged foods in mind – the tool traces the journey of each ingredient used in our products beginning with sourcing and allows consumers to track the minute details about their product in an easy and transparent manner.
“The tool has [won] awards and global recognition, in addition to being a major trust builder – Amongst others, some reports that consumers have seen enormous value in include those on raw materials, internal quality checks, packing and ingredient sourcing. They see great value in getting access to every little detail in a transparent manner and with just a few clicks.
The firm’s traceability tool is available on its website, where consumers can trace their products by entering the product name and batch code to see the entire journey of the product down to the ingredient level.
True Elements also sells gluten-free whole oat grates; multigrain flakes that boast higher fibre content than regular corn flakes in addition to being sugar-free; customizable muesli where consumers can choose their own base, toppings, and sweeteners; as well as four flavours of plant-based baked granola.
Despite already having over 200 SKUs in its portfolio, the firm is still planning to innovate and add many healthier products in the coming months.
The company innovates around key ingredients like millets, oats, seeds, flakes, etc. that are 100% natural and wholegrain, and has developed a robust mechanism to track and record customer reviews on Amazon and other marketplaces to build insights and product development and improvement roadmaps.
We have made some popular local regional favourites healthy, such as Masala Oats Kanda Poha, Oats Upma, Multigrain Dalia, Oats Pongal, and more. This is in addition to western nashta such as pancakes made from oats and jowar (sorghum) flour. The company has several market-first product offerings, especially within the oats category, and recently entered the dessert market with a Vegan Dessert Mix. Over the next five months, it will be rolling out 30 more products.
True Elements is a more digital-first brand with some 75% of its revenue coming from e-commerce channels including Amazon, Flipkart, BigBasket, and more, but is also present in large local retailers including Spencers, Apollo, and Wellness Forever, as well as key mom-and-pop stores and over 10,000+ regular general trade outlets across India.
It is currently available in international markets like the USA, Dubai, Nepal, Mauritius, Singapore, and Maldives, and plans to deepen its presence in the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) cluster of countries in the next few quarters.