Sanjay Sharma of Orkla India: Convenience Creator

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Also read: How Nothing CEO Carl Pei is breaking barriers Started in 1924 by brothers Parameshwara Maiya and Ganappayya Maiya as a restaurant called Brahmin Coffee Club, and renamed Mavalli Tiffin Rooms (MTR) in 1951, MTR is a household name for Kannadigas everywhere. While the original restaurant on Lalbagh Road in Bengaluru continues to be a major draw for food enthusiasts of all stripes, the brand is also a multi-million dollar company in the packaged food business. Its basket of 140 products includes ready-to-eat meals, breakfast mixes, traditional spices and masalas and sweets, among others.

“Hundred years is not a common milestone and we are thinking of a range of celebrations for the entire year," says Sanjay Sharma, 57, CEO of Orkla India, sitting in his spacious office in Koramangala. This is probably a good point to rewind to 2007 when MTR Foods, the packaged foods’ division of the parent company, was up for acquisition, allegedly due to a family split. In February of that year, it was bought by Orkla ASA, a Norwegian industrial investment company, for $80 million (around Rs.664 crore now).

The restaurant business though continues to be owned by the Maiya family. As part of the reorganisation of MTR Foods, Sharma was appointed the CEO in February 2009. “It (the role) was about delivering sales, profits, growing the company and building a team," he says.

In 2020, Orkla picked up a majority stake in Kerala-based spice maker Eastern Condiments Pvt. Ltd. Last year, Sharma was appointed CEO of the newly restructured Orkla India, which comprises three business units: MTR, Eastern Condiments, and international business (set up to scale up exports in 42 countries).