Gatih Foods Pvt. Ltd., the Noida-based company behind the food brand Mugdh, has been honoured as “Emerging Food Brand of the Year” at the Achievers Awards 2026, presented at the 18th Edition of Outlook Business Spotlight. The award recognises a young company that has built scale and consumer trust in one of India’s most competitive food categories.
A crowded category with a trust problem
Ghee has a place in almost every Indian home, in daily cooking, in festivals and in tradition. The market is large and fragmented, with national dairies, regional labels and loose ghee all competing for the same shelf.
What unites buyers is a single worry: is it pure? Gatih Foods was founded in 2022 on the view that a brand able to answer that question clearly would earn a lasting place in the kitchen.
“No single brand dominates this category, and the customer is still searching for one she can fully trust,” says Pankaj Kumar Mishra, Founder, Gatih Foods. “We saw that as an open space. If we could prove purity, not just claim it, we would have a real brand.”
The founder’s journey
Pankaj Kumar Mishra was born in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, and studied in Allahabad and Bengaluru before completing an advanced management programme in business strategy at IIM Calcutta. He began his career in consulting and went on to spend six years as chief executive of a listed FMCG company.
In 2022 he left corporate life to start Gatih Foods. He chose to bootstrap the business. The company reported revenue of about Rs 9 crore in its first year and revenue grew to INR 45 cr by FY26, growing through a mix of B2B supply and its own brand.
“Leaving a settled role was not an easy decision,” he says. “But I had seen the industry closely and I knew what I wanted to build: a company where quality decisions are never compromised for short-term numbers.”
Mugdh: made for the Indian palate
Mugdh’s flagship is its Danedaar desi ghee, known for its granular texture, creamy colour and rich aroma. The brand also offers cow ghee, and has extended into honey, saffron, dates and traditional sweets such as rasgulla and gulab jamun.
The positioning is direct: premium quality at a price more families can afford. Mugdh is typically priced a little below established premium labels, which has helped it win first-time buyers who then stay for the taste.
Honey and saffron are two categories where buyers worry most about adulteration, and Mugdh has taken its purity promise into both. Mugdh Natural Honey is 100% pure and lab certified. The brand states that it is tested on the C3, C4, SMR and TMR parameters, the checks used to detect added sugar and rice syrup. Mugdh Saffron comes as hand-picked strands that the brand describes as pure, natural and untouched, packed to take the spice from the valley to the kitchen.
From the farmer to the pack
The brand’s quality promise starts at the source. Gatih Foods procures milk directly from farmers through village-level collection centres and milk collection centres, including in western Uttar Pradesh. Direct procurement gives the company control over the raw material and gives farmers a dependable buyer.
Every batch goes through three stages of quality testing. A QR code on the pack then lets the customer view the laboratory report for that batch.
“A lab report in the customer’s hand is worth more than any advertisement,” says Mishra. “When a mother scans the code and sees the result for the very jar she is holding, that is the moment trust is built.”
Reaching the modern Indian shopper
Mugdh is available through large modern retail chains, quick commerce platforms and e-commerce marketplaces including Amazon and BigBasket. The company is now expanding into general trade to reach neighbourhood stores in smaller cities and towns. Digital marketing has been the main driver of brand awareness so far.
What the recognition means
The Achievers Awards bring together businesses and leaders who are shaping their industries. For Gatih Foods, the title of Emerging Food Brand of the Year marks the shift from a fast-growing supplier to a recognised consumer brand.
“This award is more than an achievement for us. It is an encouragement to keep creating meaningful food experiences and strengthening consumer trust,” says Mishra. “We thank our consumers, our team, our farmers and partners, and Outlook Business Spotlight and the jury for this honour.”
The road ahead
Gatih Foods has three priorities for its next phase:
Brand first: growing the share of Mugdh in the company’s overall revenue.
New categories: growing honey and saffron, and adding more health-led products to the range.
Deeper sourcing: widening the network of farmer collection centres to support growth.
“We want Mugdh to stand for one thing in every Indian home: food you do not have to doubt,” says Mishra. “We are still a young company. The work of earning that trust continues every day.”
