Fromageries Bel India Pvt. Ltd.

Sales Director ・ 2019-2023

• Part of the India leadership team responsible for launching and scaling ‘The Laughing Cow’ cheese across cities.
• Developed a strategic roadmap, with commercials for a comprehensive Go-to-Market model and sales strategy to launch the brand across all 3 channels including Traditional Trade, Modern Trade & Ecommerce achieving higher market penetration year-over-year.
  • Grew business from INR 6Mn per month in 2019 to INR 28Mn per month in 2022, a growth of 4.7x.
  • Brand presence was increased to 9000 points of sale in Mumbai & Bangalore within 15 months, resulting in a weighted distribution to ~80% of category outlets. Scaled brand to 7 cities by Year 2.
  • Across Mumbai & Bangalore, The Laughing Cow became the 3rd most preferred cheese brand in just 18 months.
  • Market share grew to 6% across MT channels (Nielsen Q4’21) in the first two cities it had entered in.
  • 144% growth in eCommerce in 2022, leading to improved shares across, with that in Big Basket Mumbai at 11%.
  • Redesigned the distribution network across cities leading to savings of 15% in costs.
  • Deployed ready stock sales model to launch a revolutionary Rs.10/- SKU in sachet format across 5000 traditional trade outlets in Mumbai, and scaling it to help generate 11% revenues there.
• Worked as part of the leadership team to scout for potential companies to acquire or form a partnership with.
• Involved in detailed business planning, leading up to the formation of a 51:49 JV between Britannia and Bel.
• Key stakeholder of growth geos business leadership teams responsible for new product development & deployment.
• Ensured optimisation in S&D spends which resulted in savings of INR 6.5 Mn in 2021 against planned budget.
• Onboarded 80 on-roll & off-roll sales persons across cities, and trained them for cold chain operations.
• Responsible for monthly sales & production planning, apart from streamlining of supply chain operations across all cities.
• Ensured all distributors worked on advance payment to manage cash flow and achieve budget forecasting.
• Deployed the SFA tool from Day 1 of sales team set-up allowing real time access to S&D metrics across cities.
• Collaborated & designed a RTM playbook for traditional trade business for global markets to help them accelerate growth.

Umang Dairies Limited

General Manager – Marketing & Sales ・ 2016-2019

• Spearheaded a business turnover of ~INR 2500 Mn comprising a portfolio of value added dairy products, leading a team of 75 company personnel across East, North, West & Central India.
• Arrested a declining CAGR of 8% from FY’12-16; and increased sales from INR 1890 Mn. to INR 2450 Mn in FY’16-18
• Complete ownership of P&L, resulting in net profit of INR 65 Mn in 2018.
• Drove orientation of company towards a customer-first mindset by adding more profitable customers and products, across B2C & B2B segments. Established and improved realisations from private label sales to Modern Trade and Ecommerce clients.
• Overall responsibility for introduction of new products like Paneer, Cow Ghee & UHT Milk using 3P manufacturing.
• Set up and oversaw a structured approach to monthly production planning and weekly reviews for 600 MTs of dairy products.
• Established depots, super stockist and distributor network across all regions to ensure constant in-market product availability.

General Mills India

Regional Sales Manager (North & East) ・ 2009-2016

• Business head for 2 Regions handling turnover of INR 60 Cr through a team of 158 direct & indirect personnel.
• Grew volumes for Pillsbury Chakki Fresh Atta to 1100 MTs per month, with margin growth from -5% to +7%.
• Turnaround of business operations in East Region by focussing on Ready to Cook paste brand Parampara, which grew 2.5 times in 3 years, and the Sweet Snacks portfolio, which grew 3x in same period.
• Launched and scaled volumes for Pillsbury Multigrain Atta by 5.4x, to 35 MTs in 5 years, with a contribution margin of 25%.
• Managed end-to-end S&Dof brands like Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, Green Giant, Nature Valley, Parampara and Haagen-Dazs.

Godrej Hershey’s Ltd.

Dy. General Manager – Sales (North/West) & Trade Marketing Head ・ 2004-2009

• Successfully integrated the sales teams and distribution channels of Godrej Beverages & Foods Ltd & Nutrine Confectionery in North India.
• Developed a structured approach towards planning and effective utilisation of trade marketing spends of INR 310 Mn.
• Instrumental in increasing sales of beverages, confectionery and edible oil businesses of the company year-on-year.