Gurgaon, Haryana, India | 27th July 2020: Wazir Advisors, one of India’s leading management consulting firms focused on the apparel, textiles, consumer goods and skilling sectors, today announced the launch of its Agriculture, Dairy and Food Processing vertical. It expects this new division to contribute 20 percent of the company’s business over the next two years. It further announced that Ritwik Bahuguna, a seasoned professional in this space, will be leading this new practice.
The ADFP vertical at Wazir will provide strategic and operational advisory and implementation assistance to private sector businesses, international donors and non-government organizations and policy advocacy services to governments. Ritwik’s team has a footprint in Asia and Africa which it will look to expand in the next few years. The focus sectors in this practice will include food processing-based industrial parks/mega food parks, agri-inputs, agro-logistics, warehousing, cold chain infrastructure, dairy farms & milk processing facilities, standalone food processing and packaging units, skill development and organized farming.
The ADFP team has already started engagements and discussions with CG Foods (Wai Wai noodles), Haldiram’s, Nath Group and various SMEs on how businesses can be realigned in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. The team aims to become a partner of choice of some of India’s leading food and FMCG companies over the next 12-18 months.
Speaking on the announcement, Harminder Sahni, Founder and Managing Director, Wazir Advisors, said, “Since 2009, Wazir Advisors has been working in sectors such as Textiles, Apparel, Retail, Consumer Goods and Skill Development. The evolution of these sectors has played a major role in India’s economic growth and employment generation. We have been continuously evaluating other sectors that offer similar potential for economic growth and employment creation for the Indian economy wherein our understanding of evolving markets and consumer behavior can add meaningful value to all stakeholders. Finally, we are launching our Agriculture, Dairy & Food Processing (ADFP) Vertical offering all Wazir services; Strategy Development, Implementation Assistance, Alliances Facilitation (M&A, JVs and Fund Raising) and Skill Development. The Food Processing sector holds even greater promise of growth in the post COVID-19 era. It is a USD 550 bn market growing at a CAGR of approximately 15%. We believe that our team’s sectoral expertise combined with our comprehensive offering – sourcing, manufacturing, supply chain, marketing and retail – will be a key differentiator. I would like to welcome Ritwik Bahuguna, who I have known for more than 10 years now, and am confident that Ritwik with his several years of hands-on experience in ADFP across geographies, will help us get a head start.”
Ritwik Bahuguna, Partner, Wazir Advisors, added, “I look forward to leading this vertical at Wazir. More than half of India’s population depends on these sectors directly or indirectly as a source of livelihood. We foresee that in the post COVID-19 era, global food supply chains will undergo major realignments. Given India’s inherent strengths and renewed focus from Government, India can emerge as a major global sourcing hub and also a major consumption market, thus creating a huge opportunity for Indian businesses and start-ups. I look forward to working with an industry veteran like Harminder to grow this practice in the coming years.”
Ritwik Bahuguna has a diverse global experience in agriculture, food processing and dairy industries. He has worked with World Bank on numerous agribusiness and dairy development programs. He has also acted as an advisor to various central and provincial governments (in Asia and Africa) in policy formulation. Ritwik is an advisory board member for prominent food and FMCG brands. Ritwik has worked closely with start-ups as well as established organizations across agribusiness and other industries over the last decade.
