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Meet MBA grad, man behind NR Narayana Murthy-backed company that offers childhood nostalgia as food, beverage

Hector Beverages introduced Paperboat in 2013, and it has since become one of the top brands and a favorite among consumers.

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Neeraj Kakkar brought back favorite summer beverages from childhood by coming up with the concept of offering nostalgia in a bottle. Hector Beverages introduced Paperboat in 2013, and it has since become one of the top brands and a favorite among consumers.

Hector Beverages was founded by Neeraj Kakkar, Neeraj Biyani, Suhas Misra, and James Nuttall in 2009. The company's debut product was a protein beverage named Frissia, which was followed in 2011 by the release of the energy refreshments Tzinga.

Who is Neeraj Kakkar?

The brand's current leader, Neeraj Kakkar, earned an educational certificate from the Management Development Institute in Gurgaon before enrolling at the Wharton School to earn an MBA. He started working for Coca-Cola as a general manager, as per his LinkedIn profile. He left the company after six years and launched Hector Beverages. 

In March 2013, the company debuted Paper Boat, a beverage brand made from fruit pulp, and turned its focus to the market for conventionally flavored beverages. The brand's eccentric packaging and distinctive flavors were intended to bring traditional Indian beverages back into the modern world.

At a prior job, Misra's mother would bring him a flask of aam panna to drink, which gave him the idea to commercialize traditional drinks to start the brand. While they were talking about startup possibilities, he had the brilliant concept of bottling up these drinks for commercial use.

Paper Boat released the Indian snack peanut chikki in 2016 to break into the market for traditional food. In keeping with the core brand concept, Paper Boat Foods aims to provide traditional Indian snacks in modern, trendy style.

He grabbed for the flask and had the realization that he could make authentic Indian drinks that had not yet become available on the market. Paper Boat was created as a result. They raised capital in 2020 at a valuation of Rs 600 crore. The company didn't disclose its valuation last year, but some media sources claim it was above $200 million.

READ | Meet IIM alumnus who left high-paying corporate job to sell milk, co-founded Rs 5000 crore company

 

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