After being associated with RP Sanjiv Goenka Group for more than four years as Chief Executive Officer- Consumer Goods (Guiltfree), Rajeev Khandelwal has now been elevated to the role of President- FMCG Strategy and Business Expansion to help the group further its growth via inorganic opportunities.
He had joined RPSG Group in April 2020 and was responsible for scaling the business to 4X in four years, launching over 50 products and marking the company’s entry into personal care and expansion in Ayurveda. These include Western and Indian Snacks brand- Too Yumm and Evita, Skin and Face Care brand- Naturali and Indian Wellness brand- Dr Vaidya’s.
Prior to RPSG Group, Khandelwal was associated with Reckitt for a period of close to six-and-a-half years, starting December 2013. For the initial four years, he served the role of Sales Director- Reckitt India and was elevated to the role of Regional Director- Reckitt Sub Saharan Africa in January 2018.
In the past, he also worked with industry majors such as Procter & Gamble and Gillette for various years.
Expressing his views on the elevation at RPSG Group, Khandelwal, President– FMCG Strategy and Business expansion, RPSG Group, mentioned, “I reflect on the past four years at the helm of Guiltfree with immense satisfaction. The unwavering support and vision of our promoters, Mr. Sanjeev Goenka and Shashwat Goenka, have been pivotal in the success of our bold endeavours. From walking in at a time in April 2020, where we had just restructured our organisation, where the business sustainability was a question mark and where we had a tough time attracting talent, we have come a long way.”
“The journey has been exciting and fulfilling. We established ‘Too Yumm’ as a meaningful brand in snacking, we launched beauty and nature inspired brands ‘Naturali’ & ‘Within Beauty’ in Personal Care, we scaled up ‘Dr Vaidya’s’ in Ayurveda. We are on the way to achieving a milestone of ₹1000 Cr ARR soon. What is satisfying is we are doing this via completely homegrown brands in a young FMCG organisation. The innovations spearheaded by the GIL team on Too Yumm, such as the No Palm Oil Namkeen, Bhoot Chips, and the Marvel-associated Kids range, have been category defining,” he added.
Furthermore, he also emphasised that the Sales team’s efforts in doubling the Group’s direct distribution to approximately 300,000 stores and the manufacturing team’s enhancement of RPSG Group’s capabilities by threefold are commendable. That being said, he also pointed out that the supply chain team going literally to the farmers to get our potatoes has been quite an initiative amongst others.
“It is also heartening to see how our personal care brands are shaping up in the D2C space. 150K orders in just a few months and great consumer retention rates are testimony to the work the team has done in conceptualising and executing ,across the value chain. I can’t possibly list all the accomplishments here ; but I am confident that our homegrown brands ‘Too Yumm’, ‘Evita’, ‘Naturali’, and ‘Within’—will rise to increased prominence in the coming years. The most fulfilling agenda though was to see and enable the team to grow. The team has grown to 500 plus members and we are a great place to work. Our cultures scores are cool. It has been a fun ride,” he concluded.
