ITC's latest step to grow food business .. long way to go!!

ITC's ambitious plans of becoming No1 Food company in India by 2010 is definately achievable with the new ventures they have taken in past.

History: ITC made its entry into the branded & packaged Foods business in August 2001 with the launch of the Kitchens of India brand. Then in 2002 ITC, launched brands in present Confectionery, Staples and Snack Foods segments.

Why Foods? Its makes lot of sense to expand in Foods as they have proven strengths in the areas of hospitality and branded cuisine, contemporary packaging and sourcing of agricultural commodities. ITC has stood for quality products for over 90 years to the Indian consumer and several of its brands are today internationally benchmarked for quality. All products of ITC's Foods business available in the market today have been crafted based on consumer insights developed through extensive market research. Apart from the current portfolio of products, several new and innovative products are under development in ITC's state-of-the-art Product Development facility located at Bangalore.

Recent Step: 2 days back ITC was again in press for setting up a Rs 70 crore biscuit manufacturing unit at Haridwar in a step aimed at streamlining the company's food business segment. It will be completed by Feb, 2007, disclosed by ITC Foods chief executive, Ravi Naware.

Present Situation: All the 110 food products are outsourced.

Future: ITC would consider to build more of its own facilities for other food segments.
Reason for setting up manufacturing unit:

1. Will strike a right balance between ITC's own and outsourced capacities - risk management exercise.
2. A filip to present 8% market share in buscuit by 4-5% to have 1/8th of the market
3. To launch several new variants in the biscuit segment to strengthen its product portfolio

Naware said the company would focus on brand building, quality and manufacturing. The company, he said, would spend 25-30 per cent of the turnover in the brand building exercise.

International Presence
ITC Foods exports ready-to-eat food products to the US, Canada, the UK and other European markets under the `Kitchens of India' brand.

Endorsements

1. Tamil actor Surya for the South Indian market
2. Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan will continue as the brand ambassador for the company

Its looks as if soon ITC will control the reigns of Food business in India with the help of its expertise in Brand Building, experience in Foods business, Manufacturing and Distribution.