‘No fixed IPO timeline’: The Whole Truth CEO Shashank Mehta on going public and building a transparent brand

Shashank Mehta, co-founder and CEO of clean-label food brand The Whole Truth, said the company has not set a fixed timeline for an initial public offering (IPO), stressing that the decision will depend on achieving the right financial shape before going public. Speaking about the long-term implications of venture capital funding, Mehta said startups that raise such capital eventually have to provide returns to investors. “Once you’ve taken venture capital, that money has to be returned. The options are either to go public or raise very patient, long-term private capital,” he said. However, Mehta clarified that the company is not rushing toward a listing and is focused on strengthening its profit and loss profile before considering an IPO. “We don’t have a fixed IPO timeline. It could be in two, four or even five years — it depends on reaching the kind of P&L shape we want before going public,” he said. He also highlighted transparency as a core philosophy of the brand, saying the company aims to operate with the same openness regardless of whether it is publicly listed or privately held. “Our promise as a brand is that we have nothing to hide. You can see our factory, our people, our P&L, even our recipes. Public or private, we operate with that same level of transparency,” Mehta added.