When founders become content creators
They double as models, photographers, copywriters and insight miners. Meet early-stage startup founders who are weaving their brands' stories
Suta co-founders Sujata and Taniya Biswas
Image: Suta
Former HUL marketing executive Shashank Mehta founded The Whole Truth in 2019 to offer healthier alternatives in packaged foods. As a consumer, Mehta, who has been through multiple weight-loss cycles, realised that big food brands often tell “convenient half-truths”. To solve that problem, he not only launched a company that could fill that need gap but also decided to feature in the brand’s advertising.
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Recently, The Whole Truth roped in comedian Rohan Joshi to create a series of videos. In the “educational mini-series”, Joshi plays the role of ‘healthy food’ and Mehta plays ‘The Whole Truth’, and they go on to have a conversation that highlights the “hidden chemicals” in packaged foods. In another episode, we see the many ways food is made to look irresistible in ads. For instance, the milk in the cereal bowl is actually glue and the golden honey drizzled on pancakes in ads and in product photos is engine oil.
Mehta tells Storyboard18, when he creates and features in content for his brand, he thinks, “Consumers can feel the honesty”. They see through paid endorsements like influencer or celebrity-laden ads, which are often forced, Mehta believes.
“If a brand is born out of a personal struggle or passion, then the founder can make a powerful difference in the brand’s marketing strategy,” he says.
Community builders
Entrepreneurs Sujata and Taniya Biswas quit their corporate jobs to sell sarees. Growing up, the duo loved looking at their grandmother’s and mother’s saree collections. It took them to “a happy place”. The Biswas sisters started the fashion brand Suta with a mission to make the new generation of women fall in love with sarees, and wear sarees every day and not just for special occasions.
