About Us

This is where raw ideas transform into market-ready innovations

Our Story

Thinking Forks was born from a simple but radical question:

Why is food R&D treated like a cost centre, when it’s the engine of innovation and long-term growth?

That question led Rinka Banerjee a food scientist with over three decades of industry experience to start Thinking Forks in 2014, from her own kitchen. From the beginning, it was about creating a world-class infrastructure: agile, full-stack, externalised R&D that could plug into any stage of a food business’s journey and deliver real outcomes with a right-to-win approach.

While food and beverage startups are a more recent chapter, Thinking Forks’ earliest partnerships were with large CPGs like Unilever, Amazon, Britannia, Tata Consumer and PepsiCo. What began with New Product Development quickly expanded into Bespoke Services because clients kept asking for more. From Packaging to Nutrition, Consumer & Sensory Insights, Food Regulatory the work kept evolving.

Over time, Thinking Forks has become a trusted food-tech R&D consultant partner to both ends of the spectrum from global food and beverage companies like Amazon, PepsiCo, Rich’s, Heineken, as well as homegrown food startups like Yoga Bar, Licious, Slurrp Farm, 4700BC and Sleepy Owl, to create category-defining products.

As a premier food and beverage consultancy company, we work with clients from India, USA, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

Today, the team operates out of a purpose-built 14000 sq. ft. food innovation lab in Bangalore, a space where some of the best food and beverage research and development scientists, chefs, nutritionists, engineers, and food thinkers come together to build what’s next. Thinking Forks now has a team of over 40+ and a network of over 200+ partners across the globe.

We are redesigning food systems harnessing the power of AI to develop smarter food solutions to meet new-age consumer needs responsibly & sustainably.

… Still deeply rooted in science. And still building the future of food— from India to the world.

Our Purpose

Be a world-class food tech consultancy for the global F&B industry. We blend expertise, experience and agile innovation to create tasty, nutritious, sustainable and viable solutions for our clients.

Shaping the future of food through science and craft, responsibly.

Partnership: We operate as thought partners and do what’s best for the business. The objectives of our clients are ours. The spirit of partnership raises and informs what we do, and how we do it.

Excellence: We are committed to excellence in everything we do. We keep innovation at the center of delivering high quality solutions for our clients. Excellence is a key differentiator for us as a partner and as an employer.

Agility: We will deliver with speed. We leverage our expertise, experience, creativity and our global ecosystem to help us deliver solutions in the shortest possible time. We pride ourselves on thinking like a multinational and delivering like a startup.

Integrity: We will always do what’s right. We believe that our workplace must be a place of honesty, transparency, and complete integrity. All questions will be answered, and all alternatives explored – we are not rigidly hierarchical, but openly collaborative.

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

Innovation Chef

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

Our Innovation Center

Where Concepts Become Launch-Ready Products

Behind every winning food & beverage product is a facility that knows how to deliver.

Our flagship 14,000 sq.ft. R&D centre in Bangalore is purpose-built to transform raw ideas into market-ready solutions — all under one roof.

Here’s what we offer inside our global-standard innovation centre:

Advanced labs with rapid prototyping capabilities
A fully equipped demo kitchen for tastings and co-creation
A state-of-the-art consumer and sensory insights lab for continuous feedback
In-house analytical and ingredient library to speed up testing cycles
A full-stack digital knowledge hub & product lifecycle management platform enabling quality & first-time right solutions with agility.

All of this is designed to help you iterate faster, make smarter choices, and bring better products to life.

Today, we are widely recognised in the food industry as one of the best Food R&D Laboratories and Innovation Centers in India.

Awards & Recognition

Proud Moments, Real Impact

In 2019, our founder Ms. Rinka Banerjee was named one of the Top 15 Women Transforming India by NITI Aayog an honour that reflects both her leadership and our commitment to transformative food innovation.

In 2025, Ms. Rinka Banerjee received the DAC Startup Business Sustainability & Innovation Award 2025. The award was presented at the Startup Governance Conclave & Awards 2025, organised by Startup Karnataka (Department of IT, BT & S&T, Government of Karnataka), in recognition of her commitment to building a sustainable and innovation-led business at Thinking Forks.

When we say we build with purpose — we mean it.

We’re also proud to be a certified Great Place to Work® — a testament to our people-first culture and commitment to meaningful careers. Second time in a row!

Careers

Build the Future of Food

We’re always on the lookout for sharp thinkers and doers who want to build the next generation of food.

Associate - Business Development

Thinking Forks

Education: Bachelor’s degree (BBA/MBA preferred)

Bonus: Exposure to food & beverage industry is a plus!

Posted on July 20 2025

If you’re excited about building the future of food — and working with the best experts in the food industry, we’d love to talk.

Email: hello@thinkingforks.com