Sarathbabu Elumalai

Sarathbabu Elumalai is an Indian entrepreneur, social worker and politician. He is the founder and CEO of FoodKing.[2]

Sarathbabu Elumalai
Born (1979-11-10) 10 November 1979
Chennai, Tamil Nadu , India
NationalityIndian
Alma materBITS Pilani
IIM Ahmedabad
OccupationCEO of FoodKing, Politician[1]
Spouse(s)Ramya Krishnaraj
Parent(s)Elumalai.P
E. Deeparamani

Early life and education

Sarathbabu was born in Madipakkam, a suburb of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.[3] He had four siblings and the family was supported by his mother Deepa Ramani, an Anganwadi worker.[4][5] She also did various other jobs like making idlis, which Sarathbabu used to sell before going to school.[2]

Sarath did his schooling at Kings matriculation school.[5] He completed his bachelors at Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani. After completing his graduation, he worked for three years with Polaris.[5] He did his masters in business administration from Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad.[6]

Career

After completing his management education, Sarathbabu worked for 2 years.[7] In 2006, he started Food King with a seed capital of ₹2,000 (US$28) for delivering food to institutions.[8][6][5] As of 2011, it operates in 6 locations in India with an annual turnover of ₹80 million (US$1.1 million).[5]

Politics

Sarathbabu contested as an independent candidate from the Chennai South constituency during the 2009 Lok Sabha Elections and managed to secure over 15,000 votes.[9] In 2010, he joined Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam, a regional political party, but quit the party later.[10] In the 2011 Tamil Nadu assembly elections, he contested again as an Independent candidate from the Velachery constituency. He lost the elections, ending up third with 7,472 votes.[11] In 2011, Sarathbabu contested for the post of Mayor of Chennai.[12][13]

Personal life

In 2010, Sarath started the Hunger Free India, an initiative to feed poor people.[14][15][16] He launched an initiative to observe 10 October as Hunger Free Day.[17] In 2015, he married Ramya Krishnaraj.

Awards and recognition
  • Pepsi MTV Youth icon (2008)[18]
  • Example to Youth Award (2008)[19]
  • RITZ Chennai Youth Icon (2010)[3]
  • CNN-IBN Award for Young Indian Leader (2011)[19]
  • Honorary Rotarian[19]
  • Honorary Alumnus, XLRI Jamshedpur[19]

References
  1. "Food King who challenges huge". Mint. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  2. "FoodKing's CEO's mother sold idly for a living". Regular News. Sify.
  3. "Session Speakers, India Today youth summit". Speaker Profiles, India Today youth summit. IndiaToday. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  4. "Foodking chief enters poll fray". news article. The Hindu. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  5. "CEO of Idli Inc". Daily news. Daily Pioneer. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  6. "Entrepreneurial intuition sparked off by 'food king'". News column. The Hindu. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  7. "The inspiring rags-to-riches tale of Sarathbabu". News. Rediff. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  8. "Problems are opportunities". the Hindu. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  9. "Entrepreneur joins DMDK". News. WebIndia. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  10. "IIM grads, techies set to contest Tamil Nadu polls". News. Economic Times. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  11. "Tamil Nadu Election Constituencies". Tamil Nadu Election Constituencies. Indianballot. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  12. "IIM graduate, RTI crusader in mayor race". Dailynews. Times of India. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  13. "The Foodking who wants to be Mayor". News. CNN IBN. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  14. "Who we are". website. Hunger Free India.
  15. "Vote for a change, vote for 'Food King' Sarathbabu". news. Spoon feed. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  16. "Food King who challenges hunger". Daily news. Livemint. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  17. "Sarathbabu Elumalai launches Hunger Free India". BITSAA newsletter. BITSAA. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  18. "Pepsi MTV Youth Icon 2008 Proud to be BITSian Food King - Sarath Babu". News. Prlog. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  19. "Realising Dreams". News. The Hindu. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
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