Meet Our Founder

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Imran is the Founder of Worth the Squeeze. He brings over 25 years of experience in the food sector, where he has developed R&D strategies, overseen hundred of product launches, led quality initiatives, launched a brand

across major supermarkets and stood up a manufacturing plant on a brownfield site in 4

months. He is also known as an open innovation leader, having successfully worked with Tier-1

universities and leading FoodTech start-ups in the European ecosystem.

He began his career in the US in factory operations, leading quality and sanitation teams.

Moving back to the UK, he held leadership positions at retailers such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s

where he developed and successfully launched on time and within budget, products for private

label in categories that included:

• Chilled Foods
• Frozen Foods
• Bakery 
• Hot Beverages
• Pet Food 
• Juices 
• Sauces & Dressings 
• Processed Meats
• Soups 
• Canned Goods 
• Nuts, Seeds, Impulse 
• Herbs and Spices
• Condiments
• Snack Foods 
• Cereals 
• Soft drinks and juices 
• Commodities and Baking mixes

At Asda, he assumed the leadership of the quality and nutrition functions. In quality, he

developed the strategy to improve the quality perception of Asda brand via running the largest

private label testing program in UK history. In nutrition he oversaw the team that developed

nutrition policy in a highly visible part of the company.

His next role saw him lead the R&D and technical function of a start-up, where the business was successfully scaled in a highly regulated environment (gluten-free). Launching a new brand of products into multiple retailers and creating a dedicated gluten-free factory on a brownfield site.

At PepsiCo he led strategic academic partnerships and also led the company’s engagement in the European KIC – EIT Food, an endeavour to transform the food sector, in collaboration with a wide cross-section of partners such as universities, research groups, start-ups and other companies to source and successfully deliver on strategic opportunities in the food and beverage spaces.

Imran did his MBA at the University of St Thomas, Master of Food Science at

the University of Minnesota and Bachelor of Food Science at the London South Bank University.

As a qualified food scientist, he is also a member of the Institute of Food Science and

Technology.

Since Worth The Squeeze began in the Spring of 2023, Imran has led and transformed open innovation in the EU region for a global CPG, opening new deal-flow, creating high-value partnerships and expanding the reach and impact of open innovation.  He is an advisor to the CEOs at Sphera Encapsulation, a world-class solution provider in the micro and nanoencapsulation space; Nemis Technologies AG, which provides cutting-edge rapid pathogen analysis for food factories; and other technology driven startups.  

Imran delivers the annual EIT Food Corporate-Startup Collaboration Workshop which he loves doing, and each year he judges the Environment section of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Emerging Technologies Competition, the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Leaders in Innovation Fellowships, and the EIT Food Masters in Food Systems Program.  Imran has been a panelist and speaker at prestigious events across Europe in the FoodTech space.  He also spends time speaking to Venture Capital firms about their portfolio companies and opportunities on the landscape.  He also gets a buzz from helping others and talking about the FoodTech space.

When he’s not busy with work or family, Imran organises a local Sunday soccer league with over 100 active players of varying ages and abilities.