Apollo Tyres Ltd has named Kanika Juneja as head of marketing for India and South East Asia, bringing a marketer best known for building everyday consumer brands into a durable automotive business. She joined in September 2026 and is based in Gurugram.
From Maggi to mobility
Juneja spent more than six years at Nestlé, most recently as category marketing head for Maggi Noodles from March 2024 to September 2026. In that role she led growth for one of India’s most widely recognised food brands and worked on campaigns including ‘Me & MAGGI So Good Together’, the World Environment Day push ‘#2MinuteDeshKeNaam’ and ‘MAGGI Dosti Maange Bas 2 Minute’.
Earlier at Nestlé she was marketing manager for Maggi Flavor World and digital head for Maggi, where she owned the cooking-aids portfolio and led website content, search, social and influencer marketing. She also led Maggi Apna Food Business, an initiative to help women start food businesses, and worked on ‘Masala-ae-Magic’, which co-powered MasterChef India Season 8.
A career built on FMCG brands
Before Nestlé, Juneja spent about four and a half years at GSK Consumer Healthcare India across brand, category and innovation roles. She worked on premium biscuits, led the all-India relaunch of Horlicks Nutribic, helped launch Horlicks Protein+ into high-protein nutrition, and managed adult nutrition extensions such as Women’s Horlicks and Mother’s Horlicks.
Her earlier stint at ITC included assistant brand manager roles on Sunfeast, where she worked on the launch of Yumfills and communication for Sunfeast Dream Cream, and an area manager role that supported the Yippee Noodles launch in Kerala. Her profile describes her as “a business and marketing leader with more than 15 years of experience driving business growth, P&L delivery, brand building and commercial strategy”.
Why this matters for marketers
Tyres are a high-involvement purchase, traditionally sold through dealers, technical specifications and trust. Juneja’s record sits at the other end of the marketing spectrum: mass recall, content, influencer communities and consumer engagement.
For marketing professionals, the move is a useful reminder that brand-building skills can transfer across categories when the marketer translates the playbook instead of copying it.
- Digital and influencer playbook: Juneja led Maggi’s social, search and influencer marketing; tyres increasingly need the same consumer attention.
- Portfolio discipline: From biscuits to nutrition to noodles, she has managed pricing, pack architecture and innovation across product lines.
- Dealer reality: The successful translation will hinge on linking consumer campaigns to tyre dealers and aftermarket sales.
What to watch
Watch whether Apollo Tyres begins to use more consumer-first storytelling, influencer content and social campaigns under Juneja. For marketers moving into unfamiliar industries, the lesson is to map the new category’s purchase journey first, then reuse only the mechanics that fit.
Source: Indian Television Dot Com
