This former Coca-Cola Marketing Head has launched his own food startup with a twist

At a time when India’s food startup sector looks gloomy, Coca-Cola India’s former marketing head Shripad Nadkarni has done the unthinkable. He has joined hands with three other former executives of major consumer goods firms to set up food startup Fingerlix which will sell fresh, ready-to-cook food items like curries, batter and mixes.

Fingerlix is the brainchild of Shripad Nadkarni (Director), Shree Bharambe (CEO), Varun Khanna (VP-Sales & Operations) and Abhijit Berde (Product Development & Executive Chef). With experience in companies like Coca-Cola, J&J and Colgate besides consulting experience, the team is looking to leverage their extensive experience in the food sector.

"The ready-to-cook sector is a white space we're hoping to address; we are addressing convenience and freshness with the brand," Nadkarni, director at Maverix Platforms, promoter of Fingerlix said.

Fingerlix's cuisine, at present a mix of Indian and Italian food with a shelf life of five days, would be sold across modern and general trade and hyper local deliveries. The brand is being retailed in Big Bazaar, Reliance Retail and Hypercity stores in Mumbai. The startup also has a website, mobile app (Android & iOS) and call centre services with home delivery. As for its products, all Fingerlix products are preservative-free.

Post Coca-Cola, Nadkarni had started marketing consulting firm MarketGate in 2005. He later sold the company to Publicis Groupe around four years ago. Maverix has already brought on board brand consultant Santosh Desai as an investor along with a few others.

According to reports, the packaged foods market in India is pegged to be about $48 billion, while the major contributors like meat, bread, dairy, staples and fruit and vegetables, is estimated to be at $200 billion.

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