India is seeing a fast rise in lifestyle diseases with diabetes, obesity and metabolic disorders growing more common across age groups. There has been a huge increase in awareness around healthier eating but there is one challenge that continues to thwart millions from making lasting lifestyle changes: giving up sugar without sacrificing taste.

Beyond The Sugar, a health-tech consumer brand by three young entrepreneurs from BITS Pilani – Priyanshu Gupta, Pranav Mehta & Aagman, is tapping into this opportunity. The startup is building a whole pantry of zero-sugar food and beverage products with a long-term vision of being synonymous with zero-sugar food and beverages in India. The company has begun with clean-label natural sweeteners, but its ambition is far greater than just sweeteners. 

In this exclusive conversation with Indian Startup Times, founders Priyanshu Gupta and Pranav Mehta share how a deeply personal family health journey inspired the company, why they believe India’s zero-sugar food and beverage market is at an inflection point, how they scaled rapidly within months of launch, and the vision driving Beyond The Sugar’s mission.

Turning a Personal Health Crisis into a Startup Mission

Beyond The Sugar didn’t come from market research like so many consumer brands but from a real life health transformation.

Before the brand launch, the founders had already built Seller Setu, one of the early technology enablers for the ONDC ecosystem. Their platform helped businesses onboard to ONDC and generated nearly ₹6 crore in GMV in six months. However, the founders realised that the business was still very much dependent on the ONDC ecosystem and despite initial success, started exploring opportunities that had more long-term independence.

For Pranav the turning point came when his father was diagnosed with multiple lifestyle disorders like diabetes, hypertension, obesity, fatty liver disease and sleep apnoea. 

Instead of taking medication, he decided to make drastic changes to his diet like cutting out all added sugars and replacing refined grains with healthier options. He lost 12 kilograms in just three months, his diabetes markers returned to normal, his liver improved dramatically and several metabolic conditions reversed.

By closely following this transformation the founders were able to see a much larger problem.

Many metabolic diseases could be reversed by healthier lifestyles, but most people were loathe to sacrifice taste, making it hard to maintain those habits.

That awareness formed the basis of Beyond The Sugar.

Their mission was simple yet ambitious: help people move beyond sugar, without asking them to compromise on taste or clean ingredients. 

Riding the Wave of India’s Health-Conscious Consumer Revolution

The founders feel they entered the market at exactly the right time.

“Post-pandemic, there’s been a dramatic increase in awareness around metabolic health,” they say. Today, consumers are more likely to be monitoring their health metrics with wearable devices, seeking preventive healthcare options and more open to trying healthier food products.

Instead of awareness bubbling up from the ground, Beyond The Sugar is riding a wave of a shifting consumer mindset. 

The founders believe three major trends are fueling this shift:

• Rising awareness around diabetes, obesity, and metabolic disorders.
• Growing adoption of wearable health devices and biomarker tracking.
• Easier product discovery through modern e-commerce platforms.

However, despite increasing awareness, they believe taste remains the biggest barrier preventing consumers from permanently switching away from conventional sugar.

Their strategy is therefore not just about healthier ingredients—but recreating the familiar sweetness consumers already love.

Building More Than Just Another Sweetener Brand

While the natural sweetener market already has several established players, the founders of Beyond The Sugar believe there’s still plenty of room for innovation.

According to them, many existing sugar substitutes rely heavily on ingredients like erythritol or stevia. Although these alternatives have gained popularity, consumers often complain about their aftertaste or remain uncertain about using them regularly over the long term.

Beyond The Sugar has taken a different route. The company has developed products using monk fruit and allulose—two naturally derived ingredients that closely mimic the taste of sugar while offering a cleaner nutritional profile.

But the founders say the vision goes far beyond creating another sugar replacement. Their ambition is to build an entire zero-sugar food and beverage pantry, with products that people can enjoy every day without compromising on taste or worrying about what they’re consuming.

For them, the real differentiator lies in combining great taste with clean ingredients and complete transparency.

Early Validation Came Faster Than Expected

Like many first-time founders, the team wasn’t sure whether Indian consumers would actually pay more for healthier alternatives.

Those doubts didn’t last long.

During their very first offline exhibition in Mumbai, Beyond The Sugar nearly sold out within just two days, giving the founders confidence that they were solving a real consumer problem.

Encouraged by the response, they doubled down on online expansion. What followed was steady month-on-month growth that exceeded their own expectations.

The founders had initially set themselves a target of reaching ₹10 lakh in monthly revenue by March. Instead, the company crossed nearly ₹16 lakh in monthly revenue, highlighting strong product-market fit and growing demand.

They credit this rapid growth to two factors: rising consumer awareness around healthier lifestyles and a product that finally delivers what many alternatives have struggled to achieve—great taste without sugar.

Measuring Success Beyond Revenue

Although the business is growing quickly, the founders say revenue isn’t the metric that excites them the most.

Their bigger mission is to help reduce unnecessary sugar consumption across Indian households while making healthier choices accessible to more than one lakh families.

Supporting that vision, Beyond The Sugar recently raised a ₹1 crore bridge funding round, which will be used to expand its product portfolio, strengthen operations, and accelerate growth.

Winning Trust as First-Time Food Founders

The journey hasn’t been without its challenges.

Coming from engineering backgrounds instead of the food industry, the founders often found themselves answering tough questions from investors who weren’t convinced they had the expertise to build a consumer food brand.

Rather than getting discouraged, they focused on what mattered most—building quality products, listening to customers, and executing consistently.

As the business gained traction, many of those early doubts gradually turned into confidence.

Building the right team also proved difficult in the early days. With limited resources, attracting experienced talent wasn’t easy, but over time the founders brought together professionals who believed in the company’s long-term vision.

How Authentic Storytelling Opened New Doors

One unexpected growth driver for Beyond The Sugar has been the founders’ willingness to openly share their entrepreneurial journey.

Through regular LinkedIn posts and social media updates, they documented both the highs and the challenges of building the company.

That transparency paid off. One LinkedIn post sparked conversations with investors and eventually played a role in helping the startup raise its ₹1 crore bridge round.

Beyond fundraising, their authentic storytelling has also helped attract talent, build partnerships, and connect with customers.

For the founders, transparency isn’t just a branding exercise—it’s part of the culture they’re building.

Building With Conviction

When asked what defines good leadership, the founders don’t hesitate.

For them, everything begins with conviction.

Inside the company, decisions that can be reversed are made quickly, while larger, irreversible decisions are taken after seeking advice from mentors and investors. This approach allows the team to stay agile without making avoidable mistakes.

At the same time, one principle remains non-negotiable: product quality.

No matter how much time or investment goes into research and development, they believe a product should only reach consumers when it delivers both exceptional taste and clean ingredients.

Advice for Aspiring Consumer Brand Founders

Looking back on their journey, the founders encourage entrepreneurs to start small rather than trying to solve an entire industry overnight.

They recommend identifying a focused market opportunity, validating demand as early as possible, and getting real customer feedback before investing heavily in branding or scaling.

In fact, Beyond The Sugar’s own journey began with simple product samples at an exhibition—not a grand launch or expensive marketing campaign.

For them, genuine customer feedback remains the strongest proof that a business is heading in the right direction.

Looking Ahead

As preventive healthcare becomes a bigger priority for Indian consumers, Beyond The Sugar wants to position itself at the intersection of indulgence, innovation, and health.

With an expanding customer base, growing investor confidence, and an ambitious product roadmap, the company is working toward a future where choosing zero-sugar products becomes effortless rather than restrictive.

For Priyanshu Gupta, Pranav Mehta, and their team, the mission has evolved into something much bigger than replacing sugar. They want to help millions of Indians build healthier lifestyles—one product at a time.

Interview By: Arushi Agarwal