Ashray Kumar
SHA ’20 Co-founder and COO, SnacQ
Ashray graduated Summa Cum Laude from Boston University with a dual degree in Hospitality Administration and Economics. He was also the Class Speaker at SHA’s 2020 Graduation Ceremony. Post-graduation, Ashray went to pursue his life-long dream of creating food and co-founded SnacQ with his lifelong mentor and brother, Vaibhav Kumar.
In 2021, products created by Ashray at SnacQ won two Great Taste Awards, the largest and most trusted food and beverages award globally. SnacQ currently focuses on the healthy breakfast, snacking, and dessert segment. Ashray and Vaibhav aspire to build SnacQ into the tastiest healthy snack company in India.
During his time at SHA, Ashray had the opportunity to help launch an artisanal bakery and do internships in consulting and private equity. These experiences sharpened his business skills and have been immensely valuable in building SnacQ.
Hometown: Delhi, India
Why did you choose SHA? How did your SHA education impact your career?
As far as I can recall, I have been passionate about food and cooking. I dreamt of building a food business! However, I knew that I had to build the right skillset to build be able to build and manage a business to great heights. This led me to explore options of pursuing a business degree with a focus on hospitality.
I was enamored by the opportunity to pursue by undergraduate education at the School of Hospitality at Boston University. In addition to being a top program in Hospitality, I was drawn to SHA given the great balance of classroom learning and experiential opportunities such as Dean’s distinguished guest lecture series, 1200 hour internship requirements (this was a great positive for international students) and working on live-projects with professors. In addition, SHA provided me with the experience and advantages of being part of a small college –albeit in a large university; this would allow me to seek a focused education while having access to the resources Boston University offers. Boston’s unparalleled location and SHA’s strong network with the global hospitality industry was a strong deciding factor on my decision to come to SHA.
What was your first full-time job? How did you end up in your current position?
Upon graduating from High-school, I took a gap year to get more hands-on experience in the food industry. During that time, I helped launch an artisanal food start-up. I really enjoyed the excitement of working at an early-stage business and the steep learning opportunities such experiences offer. This experience also helped me realize how important it is to have the right co-founder to launch something new.
SnacQ was born out of a mix of my passion for food, educational background, experience helping launch an artisanal food start-up, a deep understanding of product and the opportunity to work with a stellar co-founder. Today, I am excited at the prospect of creating India’s largest healthy snack brand.
Please describe your current role. How did your SHA education impact your career?
SnacQ is a clean-label healthy snacks and breakfast cereal brand that offers products made with natural ingredients only. SnacQ’s mission is to ‘Change the way we snack’ for a healthy, better lifestyle. And to do it with Great Taste! SnacQ is a brand from consumers for consumers. They strongly believe that there is no substitute for great taste but there is for all the junk ingredients in our food today. Therefore, their products contain no artificial sugar, no oil and no preservatives.
As a co-founder and COO at an early-stage start-up, I have had the opportunity to work across all aspects of the business including – product development, supply chain and logistics, content creation, sales & marketing, and customer service. However, given my background and skillset, my core focus is on product development, operations, supply chain & logistics and customer experience.
An education at SHA helped me build a very rounded skillset including a strong understanding of not just the operational aspects of business but the strategic and financial aspects too. Infact, pursuing internships at Beacon Capital Partners, T.R. Engel Group and The Bombaykery really enhanced and deepened my technical knowledge as well. Over the last two years, I have had to wear multiple different hats and thanks to my understanding of different aspects of business, I have been able to successfully create an impact in all different aspects of building a brand.