Gusto Foods is bottling up boldness with ready-to-cook gravies, zesty sauces, punchy juice concentrates, and cheeky truffles—bringing max mojo to every dish.

Ever wondered how global flavours find their way into Indian kitchens without losing their authentic essence? For Priyal Thacker, founder of Gusto Foods, this question wasn’t just curiosity—it became her mission. With a background spanning mass media, strategic marketing at Nottingham Business School, and stints at Saatchi & Saatchi and Zee TV, Priyal’s path to food entrepreneurship is inspiring.

“There was this glaring gap between what global cuisines offered and what was accessible to the Indian home cook,” she explains with a glow in her tone as she discusses the brand she launched in November 2021. Drawing on insights from her husband’s decade-old family food processing business and her own entrepreneurial journey founding Enrico Eyewear within her family’s optical enterprise, Priyal brings a unique blend of marketing expertise and operational knowledge to her culinary venture.

What sets Priyal apart isn’t just her products—it’s her hands-on approach. One day she’s crafting marketing strategies; the next she’s troubleshooting website issues or personally packing orders. For her, no task is too small when building something authentic.

In a virtual chat with TheGlitz, Priyal opens up with gusto on Gusto Foods, sharing how she has transformed it from concept into a rapidly growing brand offering premium products like truffle oil, mustard kasundi, and innovative ready-to-cook gravies.

TheGlitzMedia: What specific global cuisine or flavour experience first ignited your passion to create Gusto Foods, and how did that translate into your initial product offerings?

Priyal Thacker: The spark behind Gusto Foods was the Indian version of international cuisine. During COVID, with so many people turning into home chefs, we noticed a shift—Indians were eager to experiment with bold, global flavours while still holding on to their comfort dishes. That’s where Gusto was born: from a desire to bring international ingredients and inspirations into Indian kitchens in a way that felt familiar yet elevated.

Our first launch was a range of globally inspired sauces—flavours that were trending abroad but already finding their way into Indian homes. We wanted to make them accessible, versatile, and pantry-ready.

TGM: How are Indian consumers incorporating your global flavours into their traditional recipes in ways you never anticipated?

PT: We’ve been constantly amazed by how creatively our sauces are being used to reimagine traditional Indian dishes.

Our Mustard Kasundi, with its familiar Bengali roots, has found its way into dishes like aloo posto—one home cook swapped traditional mustard paste with our version and loved the tangy sharpness it added. It’s also been used to marinate tandoori fish, bringing a pungent twist to classic North Indian fare.

Habanero sauce is popping up in Nepali-style bhuteko bhat, anda curries, and even as a drizzle on biryani. One vendor even added it to keema pav—and the results were fire, quite literally!

Sriracha has taken on a whole new life: in chaat toppings, masala dosa fillings, and even as a base for dips—like a sriracha-kachori mayo that’s surprisingly addictive. We’ve also seen it blended into Maggi and tikka sauces—blurring lines between East Asian heat and Indian masala magic.

What’s exciting is that these sauces aren’t just condiments anymore. They’re ingredients. Indian consumers are confidently layering global flavours into everyday meals in ways that feel intuitive, not experimental. That fusion—that flavour freedom—is everything we stand for.

TGM: How have your experiences at Saatchi & Saatchi and Zee TV shaped your approach to building a food brand that stands out in a crowded market?

PT: Working at Saatchi & Saatchi and Zee TV taught me the value of understanding your consumer before you build for them. I learned how to map markets, create narratives that connect, and plan from the ground up—whether it’s launching a campaign or a new product.

Those experiences instilled a strategic lens and a creative discipline. They gave me the foundation to build Gusto Foods with intention, clarity, and a deep respect for storytelling.

TGM: With your husband’s family’s decade-long experience in food processing and your own background in the family eyewear business, how do these different industry perspectives influence Gusto Foods’ operations and vision?

PT: My husband’s family brought in a decade of food processing expertise—everything from sourcing and supply chains to preserving flavour and ensuring consistency. It gave Gusto a rock-solid operational foundation and the confidence to innovate without compromising on quality.

On my end, coming from a lifestyle-centric eyewear business, I brought a consumer-first lens—thinking about brand storytelling, product design, and emotional connection. I was focused on how our products would live on shelves, speak to our audience, and offer both style and substance.

Gusto Foods, in that sense, is where precision meets passion. We blend the rigour of food tech with the creativity of brand-building.

TGM: What’s your process for deciding which global flavours to introduce next, and how do you balance authenticity with adapting to Indian palates?

PT: It’s a mix of research, instinct, and hands-on testing. We closely track global food trends, social conversations, and what’s emerging in restaurants and home kitchens. But we also stay deeply tuned into the Indian palate—what excites people here, what’s missing from their current cooking routine, and how far they’re willing to go when it comes to trying new things.

We always look for flavour gaps where a global ingredient can uplift an Indian meal without feeling forced. The goal isn’t just authenticity—it’s relevance. It has to feel usable, exciting, and make someone say, “Why didn’t I try this before?”

TGM: From launching in November 2021 to now, what’s been your most unexpected challenge as a founder, and how has it transformed your original vision for Gusto Foods?

PT: One of the most unexpected challenges came after launch—getting people to actually use our products the way we imagined. We assumed adventurous eaters would instinctively know what to do with globally inspired sauces, but even the boldest cooks sometimes hesitate with something unfamiliar.

That taught us how much education and storytelling were needed—through recipes, community engagement, and content—to build confidence. Another challenge was assembling a team that shared our vision and setting up operations to scale smoothly.

These roadblocks shifted our focus: from just creating high-quality products to building a movement around flavour. Today, Gusto Foods is not just about the sauces—it’s about sparking curiosity, encouraging playfulness in the kitchen, and helping Indian consumers feel empowered to experiment.