Uniqlo India’s marketing head joins Kapiva as COO

Uniqlo India’s former marketing head—Shantanu, has joined Ayurvedic foods and nutrition startup Kapiva, backed by the Baidyanath Group, as the brand’s chief operating officer, according to a post on professional networking website LinkedIn.

“After an amazing time at Uniqlo, this week I have moved on to a new challenge with Kapiva,” said Shantanu, who goes by his first name, in his post.

In his last role, Shantanu, an alumnus of IIM Kolkata, was senior director, marketing and e-commerce, Uniqlo India.

He joined the local arm of the Japanese retailer in January 2019. Prior to joining Uniqlo, he spent a decade working with packaged consumer goods company Procter & Gamble—both in India and China.

Kapiva was founded in January 2016 by Ameve Sharma and Shrey Badhani.

Sharma belongs to the family that runs Kolkata-based Baidyanath Group that sells Ayurvedic products and medicines such as chyavanprashand triphala powder, among others.

Kapvia is a homegrown ayurvedic nutrition company that retails its products online. It has a portfolio of 40-plus Ayurvedic food products such as herbal juices, ayurvedic gummies, nutrition powders, A2 ghee, virgin coconut oil etc. In 2019, the company raised $2.5 million in Series A funding led by Fireside Ventures with participation from Mohandas Pai’s Family Office, Madhu Kela, and GITS Foods.

The company had also raised ₹4.5 crore in Angel funding and ₹13.5 crore in a bridge round. “Uniqlo has been very close to my heart. I have been witness to the time awaiting the first customer in store to a time when we had to close the store as there was no more space even in 40,000 sq. ft. store,” Shantanu said in his post.

With Kapiva, the intent is to make Ayurveda accessible and relevant to young Indians, he added.

“I am equally excited about the next phase of my life as I join Kapiva, a dream to make Ayurveda accessible and relevant to young Indians not just as a solution to a problem but as a way for a healthier lifestyle. Ameve Sharma and Shrey Badhani have laid a solid foundation for the business and am excited to join them and the Kapiva team to take it to the next level,” he said.

Kapiva also has an offline presence in over 6,000 outlets pan-India, apart from retailing online on its own website and marketplaces such as Amazon, Flipkart, Big Basket, Pharmeasy, 1mg, GoQii, Smytten, and others.