For someone who left his home in small-town Cuddalore with just Rs 15,000 in his pocket and today presides over an FMCG empire with a Rs 1,600 crore turnover, C.K. Ranganathan refuses to be overawed by money. For him money is only an enabler that can give jobs to more people, educate the next generation or fund his favourite CSR activities for the physically challenged.
Ranganathan’s CavinKare is the largest FMCG company based out of south India and it pioneered the sachet revolution through its Chik shampoo in 1990. After more than three decades, it flaunts an array of personal care brands, dairy products, beverages, snacks, pickles and even two salon chains—Limelite and Green Trends. The diversification is an outcome of Ranganathan’s intuitive sense to grab any business opportunity. It also reflects the new-found confidence that a liberalised economy infused into budding entrepreneurs like him back then.
The 1991 liberalisation increased the self-confidence of Indian industry like no other event, says CKR, as he is referred to by...
