From solving a personal nutrition challenge to building a Rs 25 crore ARR brand, Gladful co-founder Parul Sharma outlines the company’s growth journey, product expansion, quick-commerce strategy and plans to become a trusted household nutrition brand
What began as a personal discovery about nutrient deficiency within her own family has evolved into a fast-growing clean-label nutrition business. Founded in 2022, Gladful has expanded from breakfast mixes for children into a broader portfolio spanning spreads, sauces and health drinks.
With annual recurring revenue rising from Rs 5 crore to around Rs 25 crore, the brand is now targeting the Rs 100 crore milestone while using digital-first distribution and quick commerce to deepen its reach across metros and smaller cities. In an interview with BW Retail World, Parul Sharma, Co-founder, Gladful, discusses the brand’s evolution, consumer-led innovation, category expansion and long-term growth ambitions.
Gladful was born out of a personal experience but has since evolved into a fast-growing nutrition brand. Looking back, what have been the biggest milestones in your journey, and how has the brand proposition evolved since launch?
Gladful was deeply personal from the very beginning. Despite coming from the food industry, I discovered that one of my own children was nutrient deficient. As I explored further, I realised this wasn’t an isolated issue—more than 73 per cent of urban Indians are protein deficient. That insight became the foundation of Gladful.
We launched in 2022 with a strong focus on children’s nutrition, particularly solving for busy mornings in Indian households. Our early proposition centred on convenient, nutritious breakfast solutions that mothers could easily incorporate into their children’s daily routines.
One of our key milestones has been evolving from a single-category brand into a broader breakfast solutions platform. While we started with breakfast mixes, consumer feedback led us to expand into spreads and sauces—products that complement the same meal occasions but are typically dominated by less healthy alternatives.
In terms of growth, our revenues have grown 3.5x over the last 12 months, while quick-commerce channels have scaled nearly 5x in the last five months. Today, we serve more than 1.5 lakh units per month, have reached 6–7 lakh families and see close to 40 per cent repeat rates. Our breakfast category is already CM2-positive, and we are now working towards achieving the same for newer categories.
Gladful has attracted investor confidence while expanding its product portfolio. Could you share your current annual revenue run rate, growth over the past year and the key metrics that you track as a founder?
Over the past year, we have seen significant growth. Our ARR has grown from Rs 5 crore to approximately Rs 25 crore, and we have maintained steady month-on-month growth of 20 per cent for the last 13 months. We expect to double the business again over the next 10 months.
As a founder, revenue growth is a key metric, but we also closely track category-wise market share and consumer retention. For instance, in the cheela category, we command more than 40 per cent market share on quick-commerce platforms. In pancakes, we are at around 8–10 per cent, and we are rapidly gaining ground in newer categories such as spreads.
Repeat rates, contribution margins and category profitability are equally important for us as we scale sustainably.
The clean-label nutrition space is becoming increasingly competitive. What has been Gladful’s biggest differentiator, and how are you sustaining that advantage?
Our biggest differentiator is that we don’t lead with health—we lead with habit. Instead of trying to change consumer behaviour, we focus on improving what families are already eating.
Indian households already consume foods such as cheelas, pancakes and spreads. We simply make these products cleaner, more nutritious and free from harmful additives, without compromising on taste. None of our products contain refined sugar, artificial colours, preservatives, palm oil or trans fats.
Another key differentiator is that we build products with our consumer community, not just for them. Every product is shaped through feedback and real usage insights.
While competition is increasing, the market opportunity is massive. Clean-label brands still occupy a very small share of the overall category. As long as we stay focused on Indian food habits and continue building for real family needs, we believe our relevance will only grow across metros and non-metros alike.
Your recent expansion into the children’s health drink segment marks a significant category extension. What is your broader product and channel strategy over the next two to three years, and which categories or geographies offer the biggest growth opportunity?
While metros currently contribute around 35–40 per cent of our revenue, what is exciting is the rapid growth we are seeing in non-metro markets, which are growing at more than 50 per cent. Consumers in smaller cities are actively seeking cleaner alternatives for everyday foods, which is strong validation of the shift we are building for.
Our product strategy is to expand within familiar food occasions, with breakfast being the entry point, and gradually build across adjacent categories such as spreads, milk mixes and beyond. Importantly, once a household adopts a clean-label product for children, it often drives adoption among adults as well. Today, around 35 per cent of our consumers are adults.
From a channel perspective, we are a digitally native brand and believe we can build a Rs 150 crore business purely online over the next few years. Quick commerce, in particular, is playing a pivotal role by driving both trials and repeat purchases, especially in non-metros. Ecommerce platforms further accelerate access and adoption.
What are Gladful’s growth ambitions for the next three to five years? Do you foresee international expansion or additional fundraising as part of that roadmap?
Our long-term vision is to become a trusted household name that families instinctively reach for—not because of advertising, but because of trust in our products.
In the next two to three years, we aim to grow from our current scale to a Rs 100 crore brand. While breakfast remains our strongest entry point, our broader mission is to improve everyday family nutrition across multiple food occasions.
We are also seeing early demand from international markets and are currently running small pilot initiatives. However, our primary focus for the near term is India, where the opportunity is immense.
In terms of channels, we will remain largely digital-first, with a small but strategic offline presence contributing around 5–10 per cent of the business.
Ultimately, every category we enter will adhere to the same principles—clean ingredients, meaningful nutrition and alignment with real family consumption habits.
