The Business APAC Healthcare Elites of 2019​ Final File_Healthcare Elites | Page 29

the food & agribusiness sector. He has also collaborated
with some key organizations such as PwC, IL&FS, and
companies backed by impact funds such as Khosla
Ventures in driving their growth. available across GT, MT (GNB, Metro C&C,
Namdhari’s, Wellness Forever, Nilgiris, Foodworld), E-
commerce, and booming sports and wellbeing channels
in Metros & A-class cities in India.
Divesh’s journey of founding Kiji Foods started way
back in his college days. Back in the days when his
school friends decided to fly to USA for joining the IT
Bandwagon, Divesh decided to pursue a career in
agriculture. He was selected through ICAR’s All-India
Entrance Examination for Admission to Bachelor’s 4-
year Degree Programme in Agriculture at College of
Agriculture, VC Farm, Mandya in Karnataka state.
Mandya is known for sugarcane with one of India’s
largest sugar factory. At that time, Divesh realized that
sugarcane and sugar were not the best things for the
sustainability of any farm soil, environment, or our own
body. This prior knowledge and experience in the actual
field study helped him to come up with the idea of
launching Fit-O-Slim. Presently, Divesh is successfully
leading this product towards becoming India’s first few
low-calorie, herb sweetened, non-carbonated healthy soft
drink brands, suitable for an entire family including
seniors and children. To further develop Kiji Foods, Divesh and his team are
looking to raise Series A funding of $2.5 Million to $3
million in the span of next 3 to 5 years of operation. This
funding will be used for the development of POC and
Production, Salaries, Marketing Activities, Operational
Cost and Listing with MT players in Bangalore, Mumbai,
and Delhi. Additionally, since its inception, the dedicated
team of Kiji Foods has been trying to build a great
portfolio for establishing a good reputation across the
country. It will further help the company to get listed on
MT like Future Group, Reliance Group, ABRL, DMart,
etc.
Sampling Activities for Expansion in New Regions
Kiji Foods is currently utilizing sampling activities to
mark its presence in metro cities through Modern Trade
listing because it will boost the confidence of General
Trade (GT) distributors. It is also appointing Super
Stockiest in Metros for supply in various distribution
channels. Similarly, it is hiring sales teams on company
or on the distributor’s payroll. The team of Kiji is also
planning to collaborate with 3 rd party manufacturers in
different regions for cost efficient logistics and timely
supply. Consequently, these initiatives will enable the
company to export its product to the foreign markets
soon.
Next Steps in Raising Funds & Developing Product
Awareness
Having an MBA in Agriculture Business Management
from MANAGE, Hyderabad and Bachelor’s Degree in
Agriculture from UAS, Bangalore, Divesh has an
extensive expertise in product designing and managing
large scale supply chain and distribution businesses. His
expertise has greatly contributed to the team of Kiji
Foods & Beverages Pvt. Ltd. in branding and marketing
the product across the country. Currently, Fit-O-Slim
comes with 4 variants including Litchi, Mango, Guava,
and Sweet Orange in 2 pack sizes of 500mL and 200mL
Our unique product, Fit-O-slim is health
positive and goes beyond just lifestyle
and refreshment being offered by
other brands.
businessapac.com
29
March 2019