Ashish Chaturvedi — Executive Research Leader, HFS Research[00:21]
Hello, everyone. This is Ashish Chaturvedi, Executive Research Leader at HFS Research. And in this session of HFS Unfiltered Stories, we have Nitesh from Mindsprint with us. I’ll let Nitesh briefly talk about himself and also talk about Mindsprint. Over to you, Nitesh.
Nitesh Mirchandani — Chief Business Officer, Mindsprint[00:21]
Ashish, thank you, and thank you for having me on your platform today. It’s been a pleasure knowing you for the past few months. My name is Nitesh Mirchandani. I’m Chief Business Officer for Mindsprint. I live in New Jersey in the US, where our Mindsprint US offices are. I’m responsible for our go-to-market strategy. I’ve been with the firm now for almost 18 months. So Mindsprint, it’s part of the Olam Group, an AI-first solutions provider, working with several clients in the retail and CPG, food and agri, manufacturing, and life sciences industries.
Ashish Chaturvedi — Executive Research Leader, HFS Research[01:13]
Perfect. So thanks for that, Nitesh. For the uninitiated, I also want to mention that Mindsprint entered the HFS Horizons for intelligent retail and CPG ecosystems as a disruptor this year. So this conversation is more about picking your brain on some of the market happenings and also, along the way, sharing some market findings. So let me start with the first thing, the most important trend that we observed. And this is something that we have been observing for the last three years or so, but the fog has lifted this year and we are clearly able to see lines between CPG brands and retailers are blurring now, and they are encroaching upon each other’s space through models like D2C, marketplaces, retail media networks, private labels, and so on and so forth. And when we were talking to them, it became more and more clear that the reason is to increase their customer lifetime value. And they want to break away from this notion that you need to solidify yourself in a single channel and grow from there, because the new-age customer is a cross-channel customer. So this old strategy won’t work. So my question to you is twofold. One is, do you also see more common work areas across your clientele, from agri-food, CPG, and retail? And if yes, what kind of opportunities is it presenting to Mindsprint?
Nitesh Mirchandani — Chief Business Officer, Mindsprint[02:41]
Right, Ashish. First of all, the management team is honored to be a part of the HFS Horizons report for intelligent retail and CPG ecosystems in 2025 as a Horizons disruptor. It’s been an honor. Great question. Definitely, we see challenges and opportunities, right? The blurred lines between retailers and CPG brands. However, the way we’ve seen it at Mindsprint is that this convergence actually helps create huge potential, from delivering a richer, more personalized CX to unlocking new revenue streams. It brings complexity at the same time, obviously. Both the brands and retailers today are grappling with global supply chain disruptions, as we know, margins are shrinking, customer expectations are shifting, and there’s obviously a constant stream of emerging technology as well. The real challenge, though, is to figure out what we should invest in now, and what will actually move the needle. So the way we see it is to double down on tech that delivers real operational leverage, be it through advanced analytics, business intelligence, strong data security, and obviously the omnichannel point-of-sale systems that can unify experience and scale across geographies. At Mindsprint, you know, we’ve shared with you all, we have a very rich legacy of having led digital transformation for several companies in the retail and CPG ecosystem. That experience gives us a unique edge. We understand both the levers of cost, speed, and efficiency across the value chain. We’re now helping both CPG brands and retailers tap into that convergence and unlock real business value, Ashish.
Ashish Chaturvedi — Executive Research Leader, HFS Research[04:22]
On that point, any discussion without AI and generative AI right now is incomplete, and rightfully so. Let me share something with you, what we found out this year. Generative AI rose up the ranks, and right now it accounts for the third-highest investments by enterprises in terms of technologies. Now, before I ask my question, I also want to share two more related points. Last year, it was not in the top five. So it means now, at least, it’s not all hype—some dollars are flowing in, but it’s a distinct number three. The first two are cloud and analytics, and they command a lion’s share. So essentially, enterprises’ infrastructure is still based upon cloud and analytics. Now, it’s also a fair point to say that these are not distant or mutually exclusive technologies. These are intertwined together. So my question is, how are you approaching this entire technology landscape at Mindsprint right now?
Nitesh Mirchandani — Chief Business Officer, Mindsprint[04:57]
Great question, right? In spite of tech spend being a bit stagnant, GenAI has rapidly become, as you rightly said, the third-highest area of tech investment, particularly in the retail and CPG industries as well. That just says a lot about this perceived potential, the way we see it. But here’s the reality, as you know, from my point of view. Nearly half of the AI proofs of concept never make it to production. In fact, in just 2025, a staggering data point—I don’t know if it was from y’all or some of your peers—over 40% of companies have pulled the plug on the majority of their AI initiatives, not due to cost, but because they weren’t aligned with the core business goals. So that’s really the key to making an AI project a success, right? Take an outcome-based approach. Obviously, there are many perspectives on that, but that’s exactly how we operate at Mindsprint. AI isn’t just a layer. It’s built into our delivery model. It’s built into our IP solutions, some of which are very, very relevant across the retail and CPG ecosystem, be it sales force effectiveness or optimizing supply chains. We’ve had AI-led platforms deliver measurable outcomes. So that sharp focus on results helps our clients maximize ROI even when the budgets are tight. So that’s my two cents, Ashish—that it is really the outcome-based approach that’s key here.
Ashish Chaturvedi — Executive Research Leader, HFS Research[06:39]
Yeah, agreed with you. In the study, moving from technology to business areas, we also found that data-driven product innovation and omnichannel customer experience were voted as the top two investment areas by CPG firms, by retailers, as well as technology firms alike. What’s the typical kind of request, or scope of work, you are getting from clients in these two areas? What are they demanding right now from you?
Nitesh Mirchandani — Chief Business Officer, Mindsprint[07:09]
No surprise there, Ashish. You’re right, data-driven product innovation and omnichannel customer experience, as you said, are key to us staying competitive today. Those continue to be the top two trends, or demands, that we continue to see with our customers and prospects as well. You know, we’ve helped our clients accelerate product launches and personalization using real-time analytics. We’ve used AI insights and cloud-native platforms. Some of the solutions we’ve talked about in the past—for example, Locate is one of our solutions for supply chain optimization and visibility. We have another solution called ProcureSprint, that’s for procurement automation. These are specifically designed to drive speed, agility, and customer loyalty. I talked about outcomes in the last question. You know, what’s the outcome or the impact here? For retail customers, we’ve improved supply chain visibility. We’ve helped streamline inventory management. We’ve helped enable real-time decision making. We’ve helped enhance decision making and demand forecasting, all of which translate to stronger top-line growth and better customer retention. So it’s been, you know, those two areas you talked about, very relevant. We’ve seen those day in, day out, and we’ve been able to support them with our solutions.
Ashish Chaturvedi — Executive Research Leader, HFS Research[07:52]
Right now, this is my last question. From the big forces to solution firms to software firms, everybody is trying to chip into the services-as-software movement. Now, Mindsprint is in a very unique position because you have the legacy of the Olam Group, which is a great thing. Another two things that are working for you right now: one is you don’t have the baggage of having hundreds of thousands of people, that is one, and you are not stuck with those rudimentary engagement models as well. So what’s your current go-to-market to make a difference?
Nitesh Mirchandani — Chief Business Officer, Mindsprint[08:58]
You know, I believe you’re truly in a sweet spot to lead this shift. We combine the enterprise-grade discipline of a seasoned player with the speed and flexibility of a startup. I think that’s a unique combination, and all backed by a culture of innovation, right? Our approach to services-as-software is simple: make delivery AI-first, make it modular, outcome-driven. We’ve already integrated AI into our core delivery, and that’s shifting towards outcome-based and subscription-based models as well. And because we’re not weighed down by legacy structures, as you rightly pointed out, Ash, we can move fast. Our go-to-market is intentionally flexible. We offer clients a very wide spectrum of engagement models, from subscription-based access to AI or GenAI and SaaS-enabled IP solutions to outcome-based and co-innovation partnerships. So really, the range is very broad there, which our clients appreciate from a flexibility perspective. This allows us to be proactive, scale innovation quickly, aligned with changing market needs and also customer priorities, and it also helps our customers gain a real competitive edge. You know, if I can summarize, Mindsprint’s journey has been truly incredible. We’re boldly reinventing how people, data, and platforms connect, building a frictionless engine for growth, Ashish.
Ashish Chaturvedi — Executive Research Leader, HFS Research[10:16]
Nitesh, thanks for sharing your thoughts. It was a pleasure interacting with you. I would love to continue our conversation, and all the best.
Nitesh Mirchandani — Chief Business Officer, Mindsprint[10:16]
Thank you, Ashish. We appreciate all the partnership from HFS and yourself.
