In his new role, Saksena will lead the FMCG business strategy, merchandising, sourcing, and P&L management for the company. With nearly three decades of experience across traditional trade, modern retail, and eB2B commerce, he is expected to strengthen the company’s FMCG growth trajectory and enhance operational efficiency across its expanding store network.

A Retail Veteran with Deep FMCG Expertise

Saksena joins Vishal Mega Mart after a nearly three-year stint at Reliance Retail, where he most recently served as Chief Growth Officer at Metro Wholesale. During this period, he played a pivotal role in transforming the erstwhile JioMart Partner eB2B platform into the Metro omnichannel wholesale format, a strategic integration that helped accelerate B2B commerce for the group.

One of the most notable achievements during this phase was the opening of 165 stores within six months, a rapid expansion that underscored the company’s aggressive omnichannel push in the wholesale and kirana supply ecosystem.

Earlier within Reliance Retail, Saksena also led merchandising and FMCG strategy for the India operations of 7-Eleven, where he helped establish the FMCG merchandising framework for the convenience format and contributed to 35 store launches in the Mumbai region.

Turning Around Large-Scale FMCG Businesses

Prior to joining Reliance Retail, Saksena spent over four years as Senior Vice President and Head of FMCG Business at METRO Cash & Carry India (also known as MAKRO in certain markets). There he led the transformation of the FMCG vertical into a ₹3,800 crore business with double-digit margins, turning the previously loss-making unit into a profitable growth engine.

Operating across 18 cities with over 12,000 SKUs and 600+ vendor partnerships, the business became the company’s largest revenue contributor, with strong gains driven by sharper assortment strategy, vendor collaborations, and structured joint business planning with key FMCG suppliers.

His earlier experience includes more than eight years with Walmart, where he held multiple leadership roles, including Head of Private Brands Business. In that role, he led product development and merchandising across multiple categories—FMCG, fresh produce, staples, general merchandise and apparel—while also driving significant share gains for Walmart’s private labels. His performance earned him a place on Walmart’s Global Private Brand Strategy Team.

Foundations at Hindustan Unilever

Saksena began his career with Hindustan Unilever Limited, widely regarded as one of India’s most rigorous training grounds for FMCG leaders. Over 11 years, he rose from Sales Officer to Area Sales Manager, gaining extensive experience in sales, distribution networks, trade marketing, and category management across North India.

This early exposure to traditional trade and distributor-led markets helped shape his understanding of India’s complex retail ecosystem, from kirana stores to modern retail formats.

A Career Built on Transformation and Growth

Reflecting on his professional journey, Saksena describes himself as a continuous learner who has built his career through performance and cross-functional experience rather than formal qualifications alone. Over the years, he has worked across multiple functions including sales, category management, merchandising, vendor management, product development, and large-scale business transformation.

“I’ve always believed in learning continuously and building businesses that operate profitably. Running businesses successfully requires discipline, performance consistency and strong partnerships across the ecosystem,” Saksena has said about his professional philosophy.

Strategic Importance for Vishal Mega Mart

The appointment comes at a time when Vishal Mega Mart is scaling its value retail proposition across fashion, grocery and daily essentials, catering to price-conscious consumers in both metro and smaller cities.

With FMCG forming a crucial traffic-driving category for value retail chains, Saksena’s experience across large-format retail, wholesale distribution, and omnichannel commerce is expected to help strengthen merchandising strategy, vendor partnerships and margin management for the company.

His appointment signals Vishal Mega Mart’s intent to further deepen its FMCG capabilities as competition intensifies in India’s rapidly evolving value grocery and discount retail market.

The post Vishal Mega Mart Strengthens FMCG Leadership with Appointment of Vineet Saksena as Senior Vice President appeared first on Business of Food.

The awards ceremony spotlighted the significant milestones achieved by the sector through collaborative yet distinctive initiatives aimed at enhancing competencies when servicing customers. The evening acknowledged excellence of brands  in numerous dimensions ranging from marketing and promotions to employee practices.

Sharing his thoughts on the 16th Coca-Cola Golden Spoon Awards, Nikhil Behl, CEO — Food Business, IMAGES Group, shared “Indian retail and FMCG industry retailers are taking note of this shifting consumer landscape. The achievements of the evening stands as a testament to the collective drive of the industry towards further upliftment of operations and establishment of a  sector which reflects the elements of  trust, determination and adaptability.”

Winners List:

Nature’s Basket won big at the ceremony taking home 5 awards across categories while Reliance Retail too bagged big at the 16th Coca-Cola Golden Spoon Awards.

IMAGES Most Admired Store Launch Of The Year – QMart Convenio (Debut), Nature’s Basket (flagship store launch)  & Nature’s Basket (new store launch –  Defence Colony, New Delhi)

IMAGES Most Admired Retailer Of The Year (Innovation & Merchandising) – Honey Smart Cart

IMAGES Most Admired Retailer Of The Year (Market Expansion) – Fresh Signature

IMAGES Most Admired Retailer Of The Year (Marketing & Promotions) – Nature’s Basket #TastetheWorld

IMAGES Most Admired Retailer Of The Year (ESG Initiatives) – Lulu Hypermarket for CSR Initiatives &  Truly desi for Green Initiatives

IMAGES Most Admired Retailer Of The Year (Single Store with highest YoY growth) – Freshpik, Jio World Drive, Mumbai 

IMAGES Most Admired Retailer Of The Year (Customer experience/Service/Acquisition) – Nuts N Spices

IMAGES Most Admired Turnaround Success Story Of The Year – MagSon Gujarat

IMAGES Most Admired Category Performer Of The Year:

1. Prasoon Bharadwaj, Reliance Retail for Staples
2. Zubin B. Nowrojee, Reliance Retail for Processed Foods and Savouries
3. Hemant Mecwan, Reliance Retail for Beverages & Confectionery
4. Suresh Kolama, Nature’s Basket for Fresh Foods
5. Mrinal Kumar, More Retail for Dairy
6. Tanaya Mehta, Nature’s Basket for International Food

IMAGES Most Admired Convenience Store of The Year – The New Shop

IMAGES Most Admired Gourmet Retailer Of The Year – Nature’s Basket

IMAGES Most Admired Regional Supermarket Of The Year (South) – Ratnadeep 

IMAGES Most Admired Regional Supermarket Of The Year (East) – Arambagh’s Foodmart

IMAGES Most Admired Regional Supermarket Of The Year (West) – Sahakari Bhandar

IMAGES Most Admired Regional Supermarket Of The Year (North) – Le Marche

IMAGES Most Admired Supermarket Chain Of The Year – Fresh Signature

IMAGES Most Admired Big Box Retailer Of The Year – Smart Bazaar

IMAGES Most Admired Brand Retailer Partnership Of The Year (Market Expansion & Sales Growth)

1. Daawat & Smart Bazaar
2. Nabati & More Retail

IMAGES Most Admired Brand Retailer Partnership Of The Year (Brand Building) – Women’s Horlicks & Apollo Pharmacy

IMAGES Most Admired Brand Retailer Partnership Of The Year (Retail Promotions) – More Retail & Genteel

IMAGES Most Admired Brand Retailer Partnership Of The Year (Merchandise Differentiation) – Aashirvaad Ready To Cook Chapati & Jio Mart

IMAGES Most Admired Brand Retailer Partnership Of The Year (Launch) – Dabur Hommade Chutney & Smart Point

IMAGES Excellence Award – Spencer’s Retail for Quick Commerce Execution & Cinepolis for concession counter execution

IMAGES Spice Icon Awards:

1. Spice Icon of the Year –  Adesh Kumar, National Category Head –  Spices, Reliance Retail
2. Customer Service Excellence – Raja M, National Category Head – Branded Staples, Big Basket
3. Trade Excellence Award — Gunjot Singh Kochar, Associate Director- Grocery B2C, Flipkart
4. B2B Excellence – Rajiv Triptathi, Category Head – Spices, Metro Retail
5. Modern Trade Partnership — Khathing Luiram, Dy General Manager, Buying & Merchandising, and Saurabh Bansal, Chief Merchandising Officer, Spencer’s Retail
6. Quick Commerce Excellence — Anish Srivastava, SVP-Blinkit
7.  Emerging Business Excellence — Saurabh Maheshwari, Senior Vice President, Zepto
8. Category Dressing Excellence Award — Adesh Kumar, National Category Head –  Spices, Reliance Retail

 OTIF Excellence — Amit Gautam, National Category Head- Spices – Vishal Mega Mart

The post Ingenious food retailers facilitated at the 16th Coca-Cola Golden Spoon Awards appeared first on Business of Food.