Packaged snacks maker Annapurna Swadisht appoints GP Sah as Joint MD

He will be responsible for steering the company on to its next phase of growth, where it is looking to augment its product portfolio, particularly in the biscuit and noodles segments, which it had recently forayed into, and strengthen its presence across east, central, and north India.

In an announcement to the stock exchanges after its board meeting on September 22, the company said, “The Board of Directors of the company has approved the appointment of Mr GP Sah as an Additional Director and then appointed him as Joint Managing Director of the Company w.e.f. September 22, 2023, for a term of three years subject to shareholders' approval.”

In his previous role, Sah served as the Global CEO of the FMCG Division of CG Corp Global / Chaudhary Group, which manufactures, among others, the Wai Wai noodles.

He has a proven track record of turning around business, driving growth, international expansion, brand building, raising operational efficiencies, cost innovations, organisation development, and team building.

He has held several positions in functions like production, engineering, product development, operations, projects, sales and marketing  (including export), with extensive business environment exposure in more than 35 countries.

Annapurna Swadisht’s key product segments include pellet-based pellet snacks, corn-extruded snacks, potato chips, cakes, namkeen, candies, sweets and savouries, biscuits, ready-to-drink and instant noodles. Some categories, such as instant noodles, biscuits and ready-to-drink, are relatively newer additions, and the company sees a huge opportunity to grow these segments moving forward.

Commenting on the development, Shreeram Bagla, Managing Director, Annapurna Swadisht, said, “With his years of experience of building and nurturing various brands across the FMCG space, Mr Sah’s presence in the company is set to add tremendous value at a time when Annapurna Swadisht is looking to scale up and tap into the under-penetrated branded snacks markets in Tier III and Tier IV towns of the country.

“We believe that Mr. Sah, with his rich and varied experience, will help steer the company on to the next phase of growth. He has a deep understanding of the business segments we operate in, and I am certain that with his astute business acumen and growth mindset, he will lead the company to the next level of performance."

Speaking about his new innings, GP Sah said, “There is a strong demand for packaged foods in urban and semi-urban markets and the products of Annapurna Swadisht have tremendous potential to become folk favourites. In a very short time, the company has created huge consumer equity across the snack food segment. I am excited to join the energetic team who have been putting great effort into building a phenomenally growing company.

"To drive the next phase of growth with the addition of biscuits and noodles to the product portfolio of the company, I will strive to inculcate a culture of innovation and work towards enhancing productivity and efficiency which will set the foundation for sustainable business growth. In the medium term, I will also focus on building the organizational capability to make it ready to face challenges and become one of the fastest growing ready-to-eat food product company in the coveted 1000 crore (in revenue) FMCG companies club.”