Why Us

A full stack food-tech R&D consultancy, with world class in-house facilities

What sets us apart

Our USP

As a global Food and Beverage R&D consultancy we intersect between deep food expertise and sharp business thinking. We craft solutions that consumers desire, are technically feasible and commercially viable. Our solutions are designed end to end from idea to market at 2X faster speed than industry average.

End-to-End Innovation Capabilities

From strategy and formulation to packaging, sensory, and compliance—we support every stage of the product development journey.

300+ Years of Collective Expertise

We constitute a senior team of strategists, food scientists, nutritionists, and technologists with deep industry experience.

Faster Speed-to-Market

we build with Agile teams, rapid prototyping, and integrated execution help you cut development time in half—without trade-offs.

Proven Track Record Across Categories

250+ successful launches across beverages, dairy, plant-based, sauces, snacks, nutraceuticals, and more—designed for both mass and premium segments.

Global Brands, Local Relevance

Trusted by global leaders like Amazon, Pepsico, Heineken, Rich’s, Tata Consumer, our solutioning is tailored to meet consumer needs across markets like India, North America, Southeast Asia, Middle East and the UK.

Claim-Backed, Compliance-First Thinking

We embed nutritional science, regulatory expertise, and consumer insight to build products that are credible, compliant, and differentiated.

Our Impact

From product launches to patents — we turn innovation into impact. From idea to shelf — we turn innovation into impact.

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Clients across 4 continents

From global giants to agile startups, we’ve partnered with brands that trust us to turn vision into real-world results

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Industry Disrupting Product Launches

We’ve led 200+ products from first brief to market success — blending speed, science, and standout execution at every stage.

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In Client Revenue Delivered.

Over a decade of enabling strategic growth across categories, continents, and consumer segments.

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First Time in Market

Breakthrough formats, novel ingredients, category creators. We’ve helped redefine “what’s possible.”

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Cost Savings

Driving measurable cost savings through smarter formulations, efficient processes, optimized supply chains, and resource-conscious solutions.

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Patents Filed

Our work isn’t just fast, it’s defensible, IP-rich, and innovation-first

Our People

The Power Behind The Process

Thinking Forks is powered by leading food & beverage industry experts who understand the business of food — and the science behind it.

Leadership

Our senior partners are renowned food business consultants and subject matter experts with a business-first mindset.

With deep roots in food science, nutrition, packaging, consumer insights, tech, and ops — they don’t just lead projects, they scale solutions that work in the real world.

Expertise Area: R&D Leadership, Innovation, Strategy & New Product Development

Experience: 30+ years
(Unilever, International Food Network)

Rinka Banerjee

Founder & Managing Partner

Expertise Area: R&D Leadership, Innovation, Strategy & New Product Development

Experience: 30+ years
(Unilever, Mars Wrigley)

Gourinandan Tonpe

Co-Founder & Managing Partner

Expertise Area: Product & Process Development and R&D Strategy

Experience: 23+ years
(Unilever, ITC, MTR)

Chithra Nair

Chief Operating Officer

Expertise Area: Business and Go To Market Strategy, Opportunity Assessment & Feasibility Studies

Experience: 30+ years
(Frost & Sullivan, Hinduja)

Aditya Sapru

Senior Partner,
Business Operations

Expertise Area: Nutrition, Communication Strategy & Regulatory

Experience: 29+ years
(Unilever, Mars Wrigley)

Meera Srinivasan

Senior Partner,
Nutrition & Health

Expertise Area: Manufacturing scale up & systems

Experience: 39+ years
(Unilever)

Ranjit Charan Singh

Senior Partner,
Manufacturing Excellence

Expertise Area: Packaging Development

Experience: 26+ years

Pravin Pisal

Director, Packaging Technology

Expertise Area: Technology and Product Management

Experience: 20+ years

Shilpa Phadke

Director, Technology

Delivery

This is our high-energy, high-precision engine — built to move fast and make it real. From fresh ideas to airtight processes, they get things done across prototypes, pilots, and scale-ups.

D Gobinath

Associate Director
Platform Technology

Vinutha Sathish

Senior Manager
HR & Admin

Prudhvi Maloth

Project Manager

Manufacturing & Quality

Bhavana Uppili

Business Delivery Manager

Mokshita Kaushik

Project Manager

Vijayalakshmi T

Project Manager

Athul Abraham George

Senior Associate

Product Development

Sneha V Nair

Senior Associate

Product Development

Kevin Daniel Baskar

Senior Associate

Product Development

Anjana M

Senior Associate

Product Development

Smruthi Bhat

Senior Associate

Product development

Praneetha Reddy

Associate

Product Development

Pranitha V

Associate

Product Development

Mahitha V

Associate

Product Development

Kavya G

Associate

Product Development

Madhurya Annam

Associate

Product Development

Thanmayee N

Senior Associate

Innovation Chef

Vaibhavi Singh

Innovation Chef

Megha S B

Innovation Chef

Siddhi S Joshi

Associate

Business Development

Palak Agrawal

Manager

Nutrition

Asmita Joshi

Senior Associate

Regulatory

Krithika Raj

Senior Associate

Nutrition & Regulatory

Sabath R

Associate

Nutrition & Regulatory

Deepa S

Project Manager

Sensory & CTI

Soumya VP

Senior Associate

Sensory & CTI

Ashwini S

Development Associate

Sensory & CTI

Swarna GK

Development Associate

Packaging

Manisha R Panda

Senior Associate
Accounts

Basanta Shee

Associate

Advisory

Global minds with real impact — from food safety to nutrition, strategy to distribution. They bring global practices, futuristic thinking, and the foresight to shape what’s next.

Expertise Area: R&D Strategy, Food Technology & Innovation Management, Chocolate and Pet Food Technology expertise across Business Models.

Experience: 30+ years
(Mars Wrigley)

Neil Willcocks

Chief Advisor, Strategy & Technology

Expertise Area: B2C, D2C,B2B, Hospitality, Retail, Customer & Business Development, Sales & Marketing

Experience: 35+ years
(Unilever, VKL, McCain)

KS Narayanan

Strategic Advisor, Marketing Strategy

Expertise Area: Quality, Food Safety & Security

Experience: 35+ years
(Mars Inc.)

David Crean

Strategic Advisor, Quality & Food Safety

Expertise Area: Nutrition and Wellness

Experience: 40+ years

Sheela Krishnaswamy

Strategic Advisor, Nutrition & Health

Expertise Area: Consumer thinking, Brand Strategy, Sales & Channel, Route-to-Market Strategies & Shopper Solutions

Experience: 23+ years
(Johnson & Johnson, McKinsey)

Arvind Thippanaik

Strategic Advisor, Business Process Excellence

Expertise Area: Product Development, Innovation and Strategy

Experience: 36 years
(Kraft Foods, Wrigley/Mars & SC Johnson)

Lauren Lackey

Senior Business Advisor

Client Problem Statements & Our Approach

Let’s walk you through a few things we’ve learned over the years in food R&D

Our problem is too niche/complex.

We thrive on complexity – especially across emerging tech, novel formats, or regulatory grey zones with our deep domain expertise & a global partner ecosystem.

We need speed, but not at the cost of quality.

Our plug & play model allows rapid co-development without shortcuts. 200+ idea-to-market projects prove it.

We’ve tried with others – it didn’t work.

Many of our best outcomes began where others got stuck. We consult as well as support right thru execution, and that makes all the difference.

We want someone who gets our business, not just the science

Our senior leadership experience having worked with global organsiations ensures that our recommendations are backed by commercial thinking.

As global food technology consultants, we’ve built a model that’s designed to deliver on all fronts of business requirements

Let’s Talk

Ready to Partner with India’s Premier Food & Beverage Consultancy to support your growth journey?

If you’re building something new or need re-engineering or are ready to scale, we’d love to hear from you.

Write to us at hello@thinkingforks.com

Let’s build what matters.

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