RS Sodhi, former managing director of Amul, joined Reliance Retail in an advisory role

Digital Desk: Former Amul managing director RS Sodhi has joined Reliance Retail as an advisor to help strengthen Reliance's fresh fruit and vegetables vertical and integrate it with its grocery business, people familiar with the development said.

"This is a consultative function targeted at farmer integration in the fruit and vegetable vertical. It will be directly related to the supermarket business," stated one of the executives.

However, Sodhi could not be reached for further information, and an email was submitted to Reliance which too did not generate a response.

Sodhi, who led the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which sells India's largest dairy brand Amul, has been involved with the dairy cooperative for almost four decades. 

According to the officials, his involvement at Reliance Retail Ventures (RRVL), Reliance Industries' food unit, is critical to the latter's ambitious goals in the grocery market. Reliance is establishing a distribution network across the country using an omnichannel strategy.

Reliance Consumer's existing portfolio includes the imported Campa cola and Sosyo Hajoori soft beverages, Lotus chocolates, and Maliban biscuits, as well as its own Independence and Good Life brands.

During the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2022, Reliance Retail Ventures recorded a combined turnover of Rs 1,99,704 crore and a net profit of Rs 7,055 crore.