K.S. Narayanan is a seasoned Food Industry expert with over 35 years of experience across the Food & Beverage value chain, spanning “farm to fork”. His extensive career encompasses India and Europe, with deep expertise across both B2B and B2C businesses, covering FMCG, foodservice, hospitality, retail, impulse and food solutions.
Over the course of his career, K.S. Narayanan has held senior leadership positions with leading organisations including Hindustan Unilever, McCain Foods, VKL Seasonings, and Blue Foods, where he has been involved in building and managing businesses across diverse food categories and formats. His experience spans beverages, edible oils, dairy, ice creams, frozen foods, culinary products, seasonings and flavours, as well as restaurants, cafés and parlours.
Having headed businesses such as McCain India, VKL Seasonings and Blue Foods, he brings a comprehensive understanding of business strategy, customer and business development, sales and marketing, operations, retail and foodservice. His cross-functional and cross-category experience gives him a distinctive perspective on consumer trends, channel evolution, go-to-market strategies and building scalable food businesses.
A regular contributor to industry and business publications, Narayanan shares his perspectives on developments and emerging opportunities within the Food & Beverage sector.
Currently, K.S. Narayanan serves as an advisor to several F&B startups and companies, supporting them in capability building, business strategy and scaling operations. His advisory work spans B2C categories including gourmet snacks, mithai, ice cream parlours, plant protein, frozen foods and cold-chain solutions, as well as B2B Horeca businesses.
With more than three decades of experience across categories, channels and geographies, K.S. Narayanan brings a practical and holistic perspective to the evolving Food & Beverage ecosystem, helping businesses identify growth opportunities, strengthen capabilities and build sustainable, scalable operations.