The Whole Truth's ₹600 Cr game 🍫
A clean-label brand that is all the "rage" in just 5 years.
Welcome to the 232nd edition of the GrowthX Newsletter. Every week, I write two pieces that go to over 100,000 product, marketing, business leaders & ambitious founders in marquee internet companies around the world. If you haven’t subscribed yet, I would recommend doing so - I promise to change the way you think about business growth.
The Whole Truth Story ✨
The company clocked ₹36 Crores in revenue last year and has seen a 900% growth in the last 3 years. A rare brand that is not only showing ingredients at the back of the pack but also at the front. So what’s the secret sauce behind this rapid success?
But first, what’s cooking in this space?
India’s food market is growing at the world's fastest rate of 20% while the global average is ~3-4%. Yes, you read that right. India’s per capita spending on health foods is expected to 2X by 2026.
The market is expected to be huge, so huge that it is expected to match India’s massive footwear industry in size i.e. $30 Billion. The ecosystem is so bullish that big startups like Yoga Bar & True Elements are getting acquired by giants like ITC & Marico.
What did The Whole Truth crack then?
Cracking Trust with Quality.
Shashank, being a fitness freak, saw a big gap in the market and noticed that most companies were using misleading claims.
For example - brands using alternatives for “sugar-free” products that still raise blood sugar levels or brands claiming juices to be healthy, which have no less sugar than a regular Coke. The Whole Truth’s game-plan —
Doubling down on R&D & sticking to only natural ingredients.
Using 0 preservatives & chemicals for their products.
Taking the brutal capex call of moving manufacturing in-house.
Sacrificing shelf life by 50% and taking a cost-hit every month because of the 600% higher rate of return from trade.
Mastering the Content Game.
The Whole Truth’s content playbook is a DTC masterstroke — they have a 400K+ online community across multiple formats be it newsletters, YouTube, or Instagram. TWT’s 3 content pillars to communicate with ICPs —
→ Education
→ Storytelling
→ Entertainment
TWT has been a BIG proponent of making customers aware but still all this in a witty way. This playbook has been used by many brands like Liquid Death, OldSpice, & The Dollar Shave Club in the past. But what’s commendable is the execution — Shashank himself is featured in most of the ads, making the brand super-relatable.
Narrow-to-Wide SKU Strategy.
TWT first enters a niche category with smaller TAMs like protein bars, peanut butter, and mueslis. Delivers the highest quality products and creates a loyal set of fans. And ONLY then, enters A wider category with bigger TAMs like whey protein & milk chocolates.
A Genius DTC Framework: Enter Smaller Categories → Create Brand Trust → Generate Word-Of-Mouth → Enter Wider Categories.
Fun fact: their latest SKU i.e. chocolates is now the highest selling SKU —at par with protein bars. Btw, they’re still getting 80% sales online, a channel seems to be working pretty well for their SKU folio.
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