We aim to redefine food production in India, prioritising purity, taste, and responsibility over speed and shelf life

Frissly began with the purpose of creating a trustworthy alternative to packaged foods that rely on heavy processing and synthetic inputs. Bizz Buzz spoke with Pratap Varma, the company’s founder, a seasoned food-industry innovator with over 15 years of expertise in organic farming, food science, and sustainable nutrition.

“Frissly was founded as an alternative to packaged food by creating a clean, organic, freshly made food ecosystem. An ecosystem where everyday foods and snacks are made using 100 per cent organic certified ingredients, without chemicals or refinements, and also delivered fresh,” Pratap Varma said

What inspired the founding of Frissly, and how did the idea of an organic, freshly made food ecosystem come about?

Frissly started from the ground level, not as a business plan but as a personal idea. It all started with my journey as a farmer. I travelled nearly 1.75 to 2 lakh kilometres and pursued farming for six to seven years to work closely with farmers and understand the practice of agriculture at the ground level.

During extensive travel across agricultural regions, it became clear to me how Indian farming had shifted from organic practices to urea, DAP, and synthetic fertilisers, pesticides, and chemical-dependent methods, and how this reflected a major change in the food we consume today.

To address this issue, we built farm-to-consumer models like Rythu Online and Farmer’s Best, and repeated conversations with families. It highlighted a major gap: the lack of clean, organic, chemical-free snack options for children. We realised, we need an alternate food that can fill a blank space in this highly processed, packaged industry.

Frissly was founded as an alternative to packaged food by creating a clean, organic, freshly made food ecosystem. An ecosystem where everyday foods and snacks are made using 100 per cent organic certified ingredients, without chemicals or refinements, and also delivered fresh.

Frissly promises “100 per cent organic, chemical-free, freshly made food.” How do you ensure quality and authenticity across your product range?

Frissly ensures quality and authenticity through a tightly controlled, end-to-end Small Batch Manufacturing SOP system. All ingredients are sourced exclusively from NPOP-certified organic farmers and suppliers, supported by proper documentation and regular audits.

We follow a strict clean-label approach using whole ingredients and traditional methods, with no refined flours, oils, sugars, or artificial additives. Products are made in small batches and designed for freshness rather than long shelf life, allowing us to avoid chemical preservatives.

Quality is built into our processes, with ISO, HACCP, and GMP-compliant facilities, regular internal checks, and third-party audits ensuring our promise of 100 per cent organic, chemical-free, freshly made food is consistently delivered.

How do you convince your customers that your products are organic?

We don’t try to convince customers through claims or marketing; we let the food speak for itself. Taste comes first; if the food isn’t genuinely delicious, trust won’t follow. We focus on making high-quality, tasty food using whole and clean ingredients, without artificial shortcuts, as a normal standard, not a selling point.

How does the made-to-order model shape the way you produce and deliver food? What have been the operational challenges and benefits of this approach?

The made-to-order model has deeply shaped how we built Frissly from the beginning. Since we don’t use preservatives or chemical shortcuts, our production is designed around freshness, making food in small batches based on real demand. This approach helped us stay true to our clean-label philosophy and ensured better taste, trust, and transparency for customers.

As demand grew, convenience became equally important. To address this without compromising our values, we evolved into a hybrid model. Large and customised orders remain made-to-order, while everyday foods are prepared in small, fresh batches and delivered through our dark stores for a 100-minute delivery model. This model is currently operational in Hyderabad and Bengaluru, with a planned launch in Chennai from January.

Today’s consumer is increasingly health-conscious. How does Frissly respond to evolving preferences like gluten-free, vegan, or low-refined diets?

At Frissly, we don’t chase diet labels; we focus on fixing the foundation of food. Our approach is rooted in clean, honest, and minimally processed cooking using whole grains, organic ingredients, and no refined flours, sugars, oils, or chemical additives. When food is made this way, it naturally aligns with many modern dietary preferences.

Several of our products are naturally gluten-free or plant-based, not as a trend, but because traditional recipes were originally made that way. Our low-refined philosophy comes from eliminating refined inputs altogether, rather than designing food around specific diet labels.

How does your technology platform (app and ordering system) support traceability, freshness tracking, and customer experience? How does sustainability factor into your sourcing, packaging, and logistics strategy? What is the feedback?

At Frissly, technology is designed to support freshness and transparency, not complexity. Our app connects real customer demand with small-batch production, helping us manage inventory carefully and deliver food quickly without relying on preservatives or overproduction.

It also enables ingredient traceability, batch tracking, and clear product information, while offering customers a simple and reliable ordering experience. Sustainability is built into the system through responsible sourcing, minimal packaging, and a hyperlocal dark-store model that reduces transport, storage time, and wastage.

Customer feedback has been very positive, especially around freshness, taste, and trust. High repeat orders and strong word-of-mouth show that when technology quietly supports good food, people notice.

How do you ensure certification and supply integrity for organic ingredients?

Our sourcing network is built on years of working directly with farmers, not on vendor tie-ups. Having started as a farmer myself, sourcing at Frissly is relationship-driven. We know where our ingredients come from, how they’re grown, and who grows them. All ingredients are sourced from NPOP-certified organic farmers, FPOs, and suppliers, backed by proper documentation and traceability. But certification is only one layer.

How have markets like Hyderabad and Bengaluru responded to your offerings, and what differentiates Frissly from the competitors?

Markets like Hyderabad and Bengaluru have responded very positively, especially families looking for clean, trustworthy everyday food. Strong repeat orders and word-of-mouth have been the biggest indicators. Once people experience the taste and freshness, they tend to come back and recommend us.

What sets Frissly apart is that we’re not positioned as a niche organic brand. We focus on small-batch, clean, chemical-free food meant for daily consumption, supported by quick access through our 100-minute delivery model.

Can you tell us about the funding that you have raised? And the plan to raise more?

Frissly has so far been built with the support of friends and family who believed in the vision early on. This allowed us the patience and flexibility to focus on building a strong foundation.

Over the last three to four years, a large part of our investment has gone into research and development—clean-label formulations, whole-grain recipes, preservative-free processes, taste optimisation, and building production systems that work without chemical shortcuts. This R&D was critical to making clean food both honest and scalable.

As we enter the next phase, we are open to raising capital from partners who understand that Frissly is not a quick-play startup, but a long-term ecosystem built on research, integrity, and sustainability. For us, alignment and patience matter more than speed.

What are the challenges that you have faced in building your business?

One of the biggest challenges has been staying true to our principles in an industry that often relies on shortcuts. Making food without chemicals, preservatives, refined ingredients, or artificial enhancers, while still delivering great taste and consistency, is not easy, especially at scale.

At Frissly, we had to train chefs from scratch. Most chefs are trained to depend on additives for consistency and shelf life. We had to retrain teams from the ground up and help them unlearn those habits. Clean cooking demands patience and a deep understanding of ingredients.

Sourcing organic ingredients is also complex due to seasonality and fluctuating availability. Add to that the operational challenges of fresh, small-batch production, planning daily output, managing wastage, and logistics becomes demanding. But these challenges are exactly what define Frissly and make the work meaningful.

How do you envision Frissly in the next three to five years?

We see Frissly playing the role of a clean-eating infrastructure, not just a food brand. Our aim is to build a trusted ecosystem that touches everyday consumption from packaged foods to freshly prepared meals, and from essential groceries to new clean formats.

We want to help normalise clean, chemical-free food so that it becomes the default choice, not a premium or niche option. By combining strong R&D, organic sourcing, clean-label manufacturing, and fast access through digital and physical formats, we hope to make honest food practical for Indian families.

More importantly, we aim to influence how food is made in India—shifting the focus away from shortcuts and shelf life, and back toward purity, taste, and responsibility.