In a conversation with BW Retail World, Pratik Gupta, CEO & Co-founder of Pluckk, shares how the brand is redefining fresh food retail in India through clean-label innovation, tech-led sourcing, and a strong focus on health, convenience and nutrition
Take us back to the beginning. What led to the creation of Pluckk?
Pluckk started in January 2022 when we identified a clear white space in the fresh fruits and vegetables category. While several new-age brands had transformed adjacent sectors, fresh produce still lacked consistency and trust.
When we went back to farms and studied consumer behaviour, four key issues stood out—freshness, hygiene, chemical or pesticide usage, and overall quality in terms of taste, ripeness and sweetness. Consumers didn’t know where their produce came from, whether it was authentic, or if they were truly getting the best quality.
To solve this, we built a tech-enabled supply chain. We introduced ozone washing to eliminate 99 per cent of germs, enabled farm-level traceability, and developed an organic range with certifications ensuring zero pesticide residue. We also deployed AI-led quality checks and testing mechanisms like sweetness and residue tests.
This became the foundation of our D2C app, offering high-quality fresh produce directly to consumers—and the response was very encouraging from day one.
How did the business evolve beyond fresh produce?
As we scaled, consumer feedback played a huge role. Our customers valued quality but also wanted convenience. That led us to introduce value-added products like cut fruits and meal kits—sambar mixes, pulao mixes, and more.
We also acquired a meal kit company, Cookd, which allowed us to expand into more complex offerings like ramen and Khao Soi kits. Since we were already deeply integrated with farms, scaling these products became efficient and cost-effective.
The next phase of growth came through quick commerce. Platforms like Zepto, Swiggy Instamart, Amazon, Flipkart, Blinkit and BigBasket approached us, and we became a natural fit due to our differentiated value proposition.
Health and nutrition are becoming central to food consumption today. How is Pluckk addressing this shift?
Absolutely—health consumption is growing 2–3x faster than general consumption trends. Consumers today are looking for safe, clean and nutrition-rich food.
We’ve built nutrition as a core pillar. We onboarded nutritionists and even acquired UpNourish to strengthen this capability. Today, our app allows users to shop based on needs—protein intake, skin health, stress, sleep, and more.
We’ve also launched products like plant protein bars, cold-pressed juices, frozen berries and clean-label packaged foods—all aligned with our philosophy of zero preservatives, no added sugar and no artificial additives.
Which products are currently driving growth for Pluckk?
Cold-pressed juices are among our top sellers, followed by frozen berries, which are seeing rapid adoption—especially among Gen Z consumers who are shifting towards smoothies, oatmeal bowls and high-protein diets.
Our plant protein bars are also gaining traction. They are gut-friendly, made with rice and pea protein, and completely free from preservatives or added sugar.
One product that personally resonates with me is our pineapple juice—it reflects our entire value chain. We source the fruit, sell it fresh, offer it cut, and then convert it into juice—giving consumers flexibility without compromising on quality.
You’ve recently entered the ketchup category—a highly competitive space. What was the strategic thinking?
We don’t see ourselves competing directly with legacy brands. We operate in the clean-label, fresh segment. Consumers who come to us are already looking to make that shift.
Ketchup is a high-consumption category, but most options in the market contain preservatives, added sugar and stabilisers. We spent over six months perfecting a formulation that balances taste with clean ingredients—no preservatives, no refined sugar, no artificial additives.
It’s a natural extension of our brand. If you think about it, earlier Indian households used chutneys and pickles. Ketchup has simply replaced those—but it hasn’t evolved in terms of health. That’s the gap we are addressing.
How are you approaching category expansion going forward?
We’re not chasing aggressive diversification. Over the past two years, we’ve added categories gradually and thoughtfully.
Our focus now is on deepening existing categories—juices, dips, spreads, frozen products and nutrition-led offerings. Frozen, in particular, is a big opportunity. For example, frozen avocado solves a real consumer pain point around ripeness and shelf life.
We will continue to innovate, but always within the broader framework of freshness and clean-label food.
What does your distribution footprint look like today?
We are present across 50+ cities, working with over 3,000 dark stores and all major quick commerce platforms.
Offline, we’ve partnered with retailers like Nature’s Basket and Reliance. Going forward, tier II and tier III cities are a big focus. We’re identifying the right retail formats—modern trade, general trade and online—to expand efficiently.
We’re also seeing strong international demand and are preparing to enter markets like the UAE, UK and Saudi Arabia, followed by other geographies.
Finally, how do you view competition in this space?
In fresh produce, there are multiple players across cities—it’s a large market. But in value-added fresh and clean-label products, competition is still limited.
Even in categories like cold-pressed juices, most brands still include preservatives or added sugar. Our approach is fundamentally different—we’re not competing with packaged food brands, but with the idea of fresh food itself, whether it’s homemade or sourced from local vendors.
