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How Ahana Gautam Quit Her Corporate Career to Build Rs 250-Crore Snack Brand Open Secret
M
Moneycontrol•13-10-2026, 21:38
How Ahana Gautam Quit Her Corporate Career to Build Rs 250-Crore Snack Brand Open Secret
- •Ahana Gautam, an IIT Bombay and Harvard alumna, left her corporate career to co-found the healthy-snacking brand Open Secret in 2019.
- •Inspired by her single mother's resilience and a visit to a Whole Foods store in the US, Gautam aimed to fill a gap in India's packaged food market.
- •Open Secret raised significant venture backing from prominent investors including Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Kunal Bahl, and Sixth Sense Ventures.
- •The company scaled its standalone revenue to Rs 87.5 crore in FY25 while significantly narrowing its net losses to around Rs 7.2 crore.
- •Open Secret secured a Series C funding round in July 2026, bringing its latest valuation to approximately Rs 250 crore.
Key Questions Answered
Ahana Gautam was inspired to start Open Secret after visiting a Whole Foods store in the US, which made her question the lack of preservative-free and healthy packaged food options in India.
Open Secret was founded in Mumbai in 2019 under Immaculatebites Private Limited. The internet-first brand initially targeted children's snacking with an initial product range that included nutty cookies, followed by nuts, chips, and protein-focused snacks.
By FY25, Open Secret's standalone revenue rose to Rs 87.5 crore, while its standalone net loss narrowed significantly to around Rs 7.2 crore compared to roughly Rs 23 crore in FY23.
