Future of Retail Distribution

India Food Forum 2020, held on February 5-6, 2020 at Hotel Renaissance in Mumbai offered a rich bouquet of takeaways that promised to keep the participants connected with the next big consumption trends and innovations in food retailing, HoReCa and food technology.

The 13th edition of India’s largest food retail intelligence event, India Food Forum, was held in February 2020 at the Renaissance Hotel, Powai. The theme of the annual mega congregation this year was ‘Charting the Growth Map for Food Grocery, Food Service & Food Start-Up in this Fast, Tech Savvy, Digitally Connected, Demanding Consumer-Driven Era’.

Among the numerous power-packed conference sessions and masterclasses by global experts on every aspect of food innovation, marketing and retailing, was one essential session on the future of retail distribution in India. The session – which was moderated by Dhananjay Sen Gupta, CEO (Small Formats) Future Group and K Radhakrishnan, CoFounder starquirk.com, and DirectorGrocery, Omnichannel Retail, Tata Fiora Online – discussed the changing formats of retail, with modern trade and e-commerce taking centerstage. The panel was comprised of the following experts:

Angelo George, CEO, Bisleri International

Arvind Kumar Sharma, CEO, Ravi Foods - Dukes

Sanjay Bajoria, MD, Bajoria Foods Shaishav Mittal, Founder, and CEO, Lovely Bake Studio

Sudeep Goenka, Director, Goldiee Group

Aditya Pitte, MD, Pittie Group

The panel talked about the challenges associated with the distribution of products in smaller cities in comparison with the metros.

The session began with the launch of a product for the kids by Dukes. The mace shape product containing 50 lollypops for kids to eat, and toys and a spinner to play with, was launched by Arvind Kumar Sharma, CEO, Ravi Foods - Dukes.