Farmley’s Rs 1,000 crore hustle rides on retail push and export play

Farmley, a brand focused on healthy snacking, is charting an ambitious growth path as it transitions from a digital-first startup to a prominent omni-channel player. Farmley co-founder Akash Sharma spoke at the recently-held Indian Healthy Snacking Summit, sharing insights into the brand's evolution, consumer-focused strategies, and big expansion plans.

Sharma addressed a prevalent misconception about healthy snacks: that they lack taste. “When it comes to snacking, it’s really about how the product tastes. We believe sampling is the key. Once customers try the product and find it enjoyable, it naturally spreads through word-of-mouth. Taste comes first, and then packaging or branding reinforces the health value,” he explained.

Farmley has consistently leaned on sampling, beginning with digital channels and now extending into offline formats, including modern trade chains such as Spencer’s, Metro, and Reliance. The brand is utilising sampling to refine flavour preferences in different geographic areas, acknowledging that consumer tastes can differ greatly across regions. 
“Some flavours do better in the South, while others work better in the North. These insights are critical to building products that resonate locally,” said Sharma.

Farmley was initially launched as an e-commerce-first brand on platforms such as Flipkart and Amazon. It experienced rapid growth by leveraging keyword-based performance marketing, particularly for its flagship date-based products. Over time, it evolved into a popular snacking brand on quick commerce platforms. 

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Sharma noted that the brand’s early success was also driven by a focus on relevance—showing consumers products like date bites when they searched for related terms like almonds or dry fruits.

However, the company’s focus has now broadened significantly. “We are no longer just an online D2C brand—over 20% of our revenue now comes from offline channels,” said Sharma. 

Currently, digital platforms still contribute around 70% of total revenue; however, the company is actively pursuing a rebalancing strategy, aiming for a 55:45 ratio between online and offline revenue in the upcoming years. A key driver will be its general trade expansion, with plans to scale from 20,000 to more than 200,000 retail outlets in the next three years.

Farmley’s presence has also grown beyond traditional channels. The brand is now offered on prominent domestic airlines, such as Air India and IndiGo, highlighting the growing demand for healthier snacks during travel. Travel consumption is, in fact, one of the fastest-growing segments for the company.

On pricing strategy, Sharma acknowledged that healthy snacks—especially those based on dry fruits—are often perceived as expensive. But the brand’s focus has been on accessibility. 

Consumers exhibit greater sensitivity to price points than to grammage. If they have Rs 20, they will purchase a healthy snack for Rs 20. "That’s why we offer smaller SKUs that fit different budgets—Rs 50, Rs 100,” he said. 

Although online sales predominantly favour larger packs priced between Rs 150 and Rs 200, the brand expects that smaller packs will encourage impulse purchases in retail settings.

During the Summit, Sharma shared that Farmley’s date bites became the fastest brand to cross Rs 50 crore in sales and Rs 10 crore in offline ARR. The brand is now present in more than 175 Indian cities and has created direct export-import linkages with five countries.

Looking ahead, Farmley has set a revenue target of Rs 1,000 crore over the next three years. Sharma said that a stronger offline push, deeper penetration into general trade, and expansion into global markets will fuel this growth. The company plans to double its team size and build a new state-of-the-art greenfield factory near its headquarters to support production demands.

On the global front, Farmley is eyeing deeper expansion into countries with significant Indian diaspora, such as the US, Canada, and Australia. Currently, exports contribute less than 2% of the brand’s revenue, but Sharma expects this to grow to 5–10% as the company expands its international footprint.

“People are now actively seeking healthier alternatives while travelling or snacking on the go. That’s the shift we’re building for,” said Sharma, summing up the brand’s purpose. From pioneering the healthy date bite category to building a global snacking brand rooted in taste and nutrition, Farmley is gearing up for its next chapter—one that’s powered by accessibility, regional relevance, and scale.

The snacking brand has also unveiled the second edition of its flagship Healthy Snacking Report at the Indian Healthy Snacking Summit (IHSS) 2025. Based on insights drawn from respondents across different age groups, occupations, and cities, the report offers a snapshot of how India snacks today—balancing tradition and innovation, indulgence and wellness, and taste with functionality.

According to the findings, over 55% of respondents said they actively look for clean-label, preservative-free snacks, marking a significant shift towards functional snacking where choices align with health goals. Package preferences have also evolved, with 52% of consumers favouring resealable and eco-conscious designs, highlighting the growing intersection of convenience, sustainability, and hygiene in purchase decisions.

Makhanas and flavourful dry fruits are at the forefront of this change. While roasted and seasoned dry fruits emerged as the most preferred savoury snack format at 36%, Makhanas secured a strong 19%, underscoring their transformation into modern supersnacks. The momentum around makhana consumption finds further validation in the Government of India’s recent proposal to set up a Makhana Board in Bihar under the Union Budget 2025-26. 

Despite the rise of these newer formats, legacy snacks such as chips and wafers continue to maintain popularity (14%), followed by namkeen (10%) and multigrain options like khakhra (9%). In the sweet snacking space, while chocolate continues to dominate, nutty variants such as peanut butter, pistachio, and hazelnut are gaining traction among health-conscious consumers who seek guilt-free indulgence.

Changing lifestyles are also shaping snacking preferences. Nearly 45% of consumers now prefer on-the-go formats such as dry fruit-based desserts and energy bars that offer portability, nutritional benefits, and clean labels—particularly relevant to India’s growing urban workforce, where convenience must also cater to conscious consumption.

Consumer loyalty, once concentrated around long-standing brands, is now dispersing across discovery platforms. While traditional offline retail continues to be the go-to channel for planned shopping, quick commerce and influencer-driven content fuel impulse purchases, especially among Gen Z and millennials. In fact, these younger cohorts place packaged snack orders nearly twice as frequently as older consumers (43% vs 28%). 

Additionally, Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities are witnessing growing traction for regional brands that rely on trust, consistent quality, and local connections rather than national-scale marketing. The report concludes that while taste still dominates as the ultimate driver of purchase, health awareness continues to grow steadily.