Led by Sequoia Capital India the round also saw participation from existing investors, including Matrix Partners India, Sauce.Vc. Angel, Nitin Kamath from Zerodha, Sriharsha Majety from Swiggy and Jaydeep Burman from Rebel Foods
New Delhi: Food brand, The Whole Truth raised $15 million in its Series B funding round, led by Sequoia Capital India. The brand’s existing investors participated as well, including Matrix Partners India, Sauce.Vc. Angel, Nitin Kamath from Zerodha, Sriharsha Majety from swiggy and Jaydeep Burman from Rebel Foods.
The brand plans on using the new capital to scale up its in-house manufacturing capacity, hiring employees and growing its retail distribution.
Commenting on the funding, Shashank Mehta, Founder and CEO of The Whole Truth Foods said, “From Day 1, we’ve maintained we’re not a food-brand. We’re a truth brand. Fighting to bring truth back to food. To make food real again. And we intend to bring this philosophy to all food categories where consumers are being sold half-truths. From Protein Bars to Chocolates and beyond. With this new fundraise, hence, nothing changes…And we’ll continue to make clutter-breaking, myth busting content that educates consumers. Because what we read and believe, is what we eat and repeat.”
Sequoia India’s Principal, Abhishek Mohan said, “Sequoia Capital India is delighted to double-down on the partnership with The Whole Truth. We have been working with Shashank, Rachna, and team for over a year and a half now and have been very impressed with their product innovation engine, marketing acumen, and overall quality of execution. We are excited about the journey ahead,”
Matrix Partners India’s Managing Director, Vikram Vaidyanathan said, “We’re excited to double down on our investment in The Whole Truth (TWT), and recommit to Shashank, Rachna, and the team. With the launch of chocolates, they’re taking TWTs philosophy and execution to one of the largest categories that can impact millions of people including kids. Privileged to be part of this partnership with Sequoia Capital India, Sauce, and others – looking forward to the journey ahead!”
Sauce.vc’s Founder and Managing Partner, Manu Chandra said, “The potential of this brand lies in its simplicity and universality – that consumers hate being lied to. We backed Shashank when he had just this thought and a protein bar mock-up, and it’s extremely gratifying to see it become such an exciting and loved food brand,”
Since the brand’s series A of funding in July 2021, it has grown 7 times. During the time period The Whole Truth has launched 100% clean label, bean-to-bar chocolates and grown physical distribution to over 10 cities.
Founded by Shashank Mehta, an ex-Unilever marketeer The Whole Truth was started with the aim of introducing transparent, clean and truthful food brand in India. As Mehta struggled with obesity for a major time of his life, he realised that the reason for it was unhealthy packaged good that contained hidden sugars and chemicals. The brand therefore claims to be the only Indian brand to list every ingredient upfront.
The brand’s latest products contain date-sweetened, no added sugar chocolates, they manufacture this product in-house, at its bean-to-bar chocolate factory. Other products that the brand is offering includes protein bars, peanut butter and muesli.
The brand’s products are available at marketplaces, quick commerce platforms and retail stores.
