Every business needs a sharp mind and a keen eye to stay ahead of the game. Meet such a visionary leader in the food industry who specializes in understanding evolving consumer needs and demands of the Indian market and bridges this gap with global ingredients.

Vandana Gupta, the Head of Strategy and Innovation, Unibourne Food Ingredients, has over 18 years of experience, selling industrial specialty ingredients to Indian clients from across the globe. With her extensive knowledge and commercial acumen, she has successfully delivered the finest results for the industry time and again.

She has a deep understanding of the latest trends and demands in the food and beverage industry, making her an invaluable asset to her customers and employer. With her unparalleled skill sets and passion for the industry, Vandana is a true inspiration to anyone looking to make their mark in the world of food processing. Women Entrepreneur India is privileged to engage in an insightful conversation with Vandana.

Introduce us to Unibourne Food Ingredients. Throw some light on the different responsibilities you shoulder as the Head of Strategy of the company.

Unibourne is a leading importer, distributor, and innovation partner of specialty ingredients in India, providing a one-stop solution for the best ingredients in the food industry. Since its inception in 2015, Unibourne has become a trusted name in the industry, and I joined the team in 2019.

In this ever-growing food and beverage space, it is crucial to have the right strategy in place to achieve growth and excellence. As a B2B company, we focus on serving the manufacturers of food products, offering them the right ingredients to meet their unique formulation and processing challenges. Our responsibility as a partner to their growth is to listen to our customer's needs and offer them solutions.

As a Head of Strategy and Innovation at Unibourne, I am responsible to take an organization beyond its current portfolio and business, by creating new opportunities for ingredients and value addition for our company as well as industry partners. I look out for new partners, opportunities, collaborations and ways of delivering trends with the help of our Sales and Marketing Team and on the other end our innovative and forthcoming customers.

" I thrive on resilience and a solution-oriented approach"

What are the various challenges you encounter as a leader in the Indian F&B industry? How do you overcome the roadblocks that you encounter?

There are quite a few! Constantly evolving customer trends and business needs make it ever-challenging for us. We need to stay plugged into trends and have to be ready with the solutions for the various situations in the shortest time. Secondly, bridging the gap in the regulatory framework between different geographies and product categories requires an in-depth technical understanding of food chemistry and ingredients' role in detail.

Another big challenge is the Demand-Supply fluctuations and ensuring consistent quality and services. It’s our responsibility to conduct rigorous quality checks at our manufacturer end and due diligence of prices to ensure we deliver what we are trustworthy of. We strive to overcome situations such as foreign exchange fluctuations, import duties on specialty ingredients, and price competitiveness to sustainably supply our customers. This has become even more challenging with the added uncertainties caused by factors such as COVID-19, Wars, and earthquakes, which can disrupt supply chains and lead to unforeseen situations. Consistently and continuously supplying our customers in such conditions is an achievement we take great pride in.

Tell us about some of the key milestones you have achieved throughout your professional journey. What has been your success mantra?

During these two decades of my career, there have been quite many milestones, which can define my journey. Breakthrough in offering alternatives to milk proteins in the dairy ingredient space during the time of milk shortage in India was a key requirement of one of our big clients in India. We looked for a replacement, which required us to source an ingredient that would be of dairy origin, dairy mouthfeel, but at a competitive price. And we succeeded!

In my previous role, successfully exported starches and sweeteners beyond Indian markets, in order to fully utilize the manufacturing plant's capacity. One of the key initiatives as a Head of Strategy in my current role was to create a source of supply of a specialty ingredient at the time of supply disruption from the established players. Agility, Resilience, and Persistence in delivering projects through disruptive initiatives have been my passion.

My success mantra is to focus on speed in providing solutions rather than problems. Challenges will always arise, and it is our job to find solutions to overcome them, even when the dynamics of the industry change from day to day. Stopping or backing out is not an option.

How do you foresee the Indian F&B landscape evolving in the near future? Which industry trends will create the most significant impact?

In the recent past, there have been prominent shifts in the food industry. There is a focus on Nutrition, Natural claims, Convenience, and Premiumization.

In all these trends, we play a pivotal role. These requirements from consumers have made it challenging for food processors to design products that meet all of these demands. The protein space has expanded with new sources being introduced due to increased demand and interest. Natural ingredients are sought after. New brands and new concepts are arising every day. Consumers are well educated and are label conscious. Personal packs and premium products are getting more and more popular.

Vandana Gupta, Head Of Strategy, Unibourne Food Ingredients

Vandana is an accomplished food technologist with a strong educational background in the field. She holds a Bachelor's degree in food technology from Delhi University, a Master's in food technology from CFTRI Mysore, and a Master's in food biotechnology from the University of Manchester. Vandana has spent over 18 years in the food industry, working for some of the top names in the field, including Cargill India, Unicolloids, and Kanegrade. Her extensive experience has given her a deep understanding of the food industry and has prepared her to bring valuable insights and expertise to her current role as a Strategy and Innovation Head at Unibourne Food Ingredients.