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Karthikeyan Natarajan, Vice President, Business Development & Sales, Snowman Logistics
As India’s food and beverage industry continues to expand at an unprecedented pace, the spotlight is firmly on cold chain logistics, a critical backbone that ensures perishable products reach consumers fresh and safe. In this exclusive interview, Karthikeyan Natarajan, Vice President, Business Development & Sales at Snowman Logistics, shares insights on the evolving cold chain landscape, emerging challenges, the role of technology, and Snowman’s strategic innovations to meet the F&B sector’s rising demands. From decentralised expansion to sustainable solutions, he outlines a roadmap for building a resilient, future-ready cold chain ecosystem in India. Edited excerpts:
How do you view the current state of cold chain logistics in India, especially in relation to the growing demands of the food and beverage sector?
India’s cold chain logistics sector is witnessing a phase of rapid evolution, and much of this momentum is driven by the growing demand within the Food and Beverage (F&B) industry, particularly propelled by the e-commerce boom. The market, currently valued at around $11.5 to $12.8 billion in FY 2024–25, is projected to grow at a healthy CAGR of 10 to 15 per cent through 2030. Nearly half of the cold chain demand today comes from the F&B sector, highlighting the increasing reliance on temperature-controlled logistics to ensure quality and safety of perishables across a diverse and fast-expanding consumer base.
What are the top three challenges cold chain logistics companies face today while serving India’s F&B sector?
The challenges in serving India’s F&B sector through cold chain logistics are layered and interconnected. First, cold chain infrastructure is unevenly distributed, metro cities have better access while rural and North-East regions remain underserved, increasing transport costs. Second, high operating expenses, especially electricity and diesel, strain margins and pricing. Third, there’s a shortage of skilled manpower and low tech adoption, weakening operational efficiency.
India loses a significant volume of perishable food post-harvest. From a cold chain perspective, what systemic improvements are urgently needed to address this issue?
Post-harvest losses in perishables like fruits, vegetables, dairy, meat, and seafood in India range from 20–40 per cent due to poor cold chain infrastructure. A decentralised system with mobile units, better last-mile connectivity, and IoT, or AI-driven tech, is vital to ensure real-time monitoring and preserve temperature integrity.
Snowman Logistics has been at the forefront of cold chain innovation. Could you tell us about some key initiatives you’ve recently implemented to address F&B-specific storage or transport needs?
We’ve always placed innovation and customer-centric solutions at the heart of our strategy, particularly in the F&B space. One of our key initiatives has been the investment in multi-temperature and multi-commodity storage facilities that consolidate chilled, frozen, blast-freezing, and ambient zones under a single roof. This allows our clients to manage a variety of SKUs seamlessly, from fresh produce to frozen goods. Recognising the need for broader geographic reach, we are actively expanding our footprint into Tier II cities and the North-East, which are often left out of conventional cold chain networks. In addition to infrastructure, we’ve made substantial investments in technology, offering customers real-time visibility, advanced temperature monitoring, and predictive alerts to prevent product loss. For QSR brands and modern retail chains, we’ve taken a 5PL approach, managing their cold chain end-to-end, including custom-built infrastructure for e-commerce-led food delivery.
In terms of total annual revenue, what percentage is contributed by the F&B offerings? Do you foresee it surge in the coming years?
Today, the F&B segment accounts for approximately 50 per cent of the cold chain usage in India, and our revenue portfolio reflects this proportion. We expect the contribution from F&B to continue its upward trajectory, and our strategic focus remains aligned to this shift, particularly through expansion in high-demand corridors and underserved markets.
Have you explored or deployed any sustainable cold storage solutions such as solar-powered units, fuel-efficient transport, or energy management systems?
Sustainability is not just an environmental commitment for us; it’s also a business imperative. We have installed solar rooftop systems across many of our warehouses to reduce dependency on conventional energy sources, especially during peak load times. This initiative alone translates into a reduction of over 186,300 metric tonne of carbon emissions, which is equivalent to planting 20 trees every day for two decades. In addition, we’ve implemented energy-efficient LED lighting and motion-sensor systems across all our facilities to optimise energy use further.
Given India’s geographical diversity, how do you tackle the challenge of uneven cold chain infrastructure across different regions?
We’ve adopted a region-specific expansion model that’s guided by a deep understanding of production and consumption clusters. By mapping local agricultural belts, processing hubs, and consumption centres, we’ve been able to strategically expand our infrastructure in ways that address regional gaps without compromising on service levels. This has enabled us to build a truly pan-India presence, making it possible for large brands and retailers to access even the remotest parts of the country with confidence in temperature compliance and product integrity.
What are your expectations from government policies or infrastructure development initiatives like the PM Gati Shakti plan or cold chain subsidies for the F&B sector?
Initiatives like the PM Gati Shakti plan hold immense promise for cold chain logistics, particularly in enhancing multimodal infrastructure that includes dedicated cold chain capabilities.
The development of port-proximate cold storage and integrated transport infrastructure, including rail connectivity, is critical for boosting India’s F&B exports in categories like seafood, frozen foods, and meat. Additionally, we believe that cold chain subsidies need to be more accessible, digitally streamlined, and supported by quicker disbursement timelines. Given the capital-intensive nature of this sector, supportive policies will go a long way in attracting serious players and expanding the country’s cold chain capacity in a sustainable and scalable manner.
Where do you see Snowman Logistics in the next 3 to 5 years?
We envision Snowman Logistics doubling its topline while also delivering robust growth at the bottom line. Our focus will be on significantly scaling up our warehousing capacity, particularly in high-growth zones such as Tier II cities, agri-producing regions, and coastal export hubs.
We’re also investing in building multi-temperature facilities closer to production and consumption points to reduce transit losses and improve delivery speed.
What would be your message to emerging startups or logistics players entering the F&B-focused cold chain space?
This industry is not just about managing temperatures; it’s about preserving trust, value, and public health. New entrants should focus relentlessly on quality, traceability, and customer responsiveness. In F&B, even the smallest lapse can lead to serious consequences. They should invest in the right systems, talent, and infrastructure from the start. And above all, one should choose collaboration over competition. The sector needs visionary thinkers and committed doers to unlock its full potential.
Mansi Jamsudkar