WayCool hives off soil-to-sale vertical into new FMCG entity BrandsNext

Names B P Ravindran as CEO of the new firm, which has been created to put the "power of soil-to-sale food products into the hands of consumers across South India", says company

Food and agri-tech platform WayCool has hived off its soil-to-sale FMCG business into a new entity called BrandsNext.  

"The new corporate entity comes into existence with the aim of putting the power of soil-to-sale food products into the hands of consumers across South India – every family, every season, every ‘Thali’ (meaning 'meal')," the company said.

WayCool also named B P Ravindran as the CEO of BrandsNext, whose long-term goals he will spearhead, from product innovation to category expansion and beyond.

WayCool began its soil-to-sale supply chain business in 2015 and entered the consumer packaged goods business in 2018 through brands such as Madhuram (a quality rice brand sourced from select farms), Kitchenji (a premium staple brand sourced from the company's vast farmer network) and  Freshey's (ready-to-cook products from batter to value-added products. BrandsNext will continue to nurture this journey in making the ‘Thali’ delicious for South Indians.

Commenting on the announcement, Karthik Jayaraman, MD, WayCool, said, "Soil-to-Sale isn't just a buzzword at WayCool; it is at the heart of what we do. BrandsNext and the portfolio that we have created is to ensure that the value created by building a soil-to-sale supply chain is truly captured. BrandsNext is poised to thrive as a standalone entity with a portfolio that caters to the everyday Thali of our consumers."  

"A strong foundation has been laid in the past two years to win in the food business by establishing BrandsNext as an entity which will focus on its core strength of building brands and scaling distribution. We intend to be closer to consumption occasions of our consumers by mapping their need states and addressing their pain points. I am confident that the transformation to be carried out by BrandsNext will help us in the journey of building super brands in the commodity space that benefits every stakeholder in the ecosystem," Ravindran said.