Good Day launches its new campaign 'Smile More For a Good Day' with Deepika

Bakery food company Britannia Industries Ltd on Wednesday reported a two-fold jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 932.40 crore for the third quarter ended December, helped by a gain from the sale of a stake in a subsidiary. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 369.18 crore in the October-December quarter a year ago, it said in a regulatory filing.

In comparison to the same quarter last year, its overall operating revenue increased 17.39% to Rs 4,196.80 crore from Rs 3,574.98 crore.

According to a joint venture agreement with Bel SA for the cheese business, the sale of 49% of the equity stake in the subsidiary that resulted, as well as the fair valuation of the remaining 51% of the stake, the net profit "included an exceptional gain (net of tax) of Rs 359 crore."

In the third quarter of FY23, Britannia Industries' total expenses totaled Rs 3,475.31 crore, an increase of 11.28 percent from Rs 3,123.02 crore in the equivalent quarter the year before.

Varun Berry, vice chairman and managing director of Britannia Industries, stated that the company's recent strong growth was a result of its sustained emphasis on expanding direct access and advancing the rural agenda.

He added, "Over the past few quarters, we have noticed a solid growth momentum. We have achieved a strong topline increase of 16% YoY because to our go-to-market strategy and investments in brands and innovation (Year-on-Year). The continuous market share gains we've had over the previous 39 quarters show how strong our brand is and how our consumer franchise is expanding ".

Britannia Industries Ltd shares ended the day on the BSE trading 1.19 percent higher at Rs. 4,369.30.

India’s biggest biscuit maker Britannia Industries is planning to launch salty snacks under its existing brand Time Pass by next month. With this, the company will enter the Rs 24,000 crore per annum salty snacks market, which is dominated by Haldiram's and Pepsico. 

This launch is part of the company's strategy to expand to non-biscuit segments. 

Varun Berry, Managing Director of Britannia Industries, said, "It will be a differentiated product range and we will leverage on the fact that we have about 80 factories making our products. In the snacking segment, transportation is the biggest cost but with our manufacturing footprint, our costs will remain tight and efficient."

Earlier, the Rs 10,000 crore Kolkata-headquartered company had forayed into the snacks category but exited after a few months. Berry stated, "This time, the outlook in the segment, our capabilities and the product characteristics are completely different."

In packaged consumer products, biscuits, snacks and dairy are the three largest categories in the country, accounting for a third of the nearly Rs 3.4 lakh crore market. 

ब्रिटानिया चार फ्लेवर्स वनिला, चॉको, स्ट्राबेरी और आम में विंकिन' काउ थिक शेक लेकर आई है। 25 रुपए के मूल्य का ये उत्पाद पैन इंडिया में 180 मिलिलीटर के टेट्रा पैक में उपलब्ध है।

विंकिन' काउ थिक शेक के पैक में दूध और प्राकृतिक अवयवों की संपूर्णता होती, जिसमं कोई संरक्षक और कृत्रिम रंग नहीं मिला होगा। नए टेट्रा पैक ऑफर लॉन्च करने के लिए ब्रिटानिया शेफ अजय चोपड़ा को विंकिन' थिक शेक का इस्तेमाल करने के लिए लाई है। मीठे की रेसिपी के लिए चोपड़ा ने ब्रिटानिया विंकिन' काउ थिक शेक से बने उत्पाद जैसे बादाम फिरनी, चॉकलेट पैनकेक, आम की कूल्फी, वनीला और स्ट्रॉबेरी पैनाकोटा का प्रदर्शन किया।

चोपड़ा ने कहा, 'थिक शेक का स्वाद, फ्लेवर और निरंतरता उन्हें विभिन्न अवसरों के लिए स्वादिष्ट भोजन को तैयार करने के लिए आदर्श आधार घटक बनाते हैं, चाहे वो नाश्ता, शाम का स्नैक या होम पार्टी ही क्यों ना हो।'

डेयरी बिजनेस, ब्रिटानिया इंडस्ट्री लिमिटेड के उपाध्यक्ष वेंकट शंकर ने कहा, 'टेट्रा पैक में विंकिन' काउ थिक शेक की शुरुआत हमारे उपभोक्ताओं को उत्पाद को प्रभावित करने के लिए एक और सुविधाजनक प्रारूप प्रदान करती है। थिक शेक हमारे पसंदीदा स्वादों की एक श्रंख्ला में उपलब्ध दिलचस्प और फिलिंग ड्रिंक है।'

वर्तमान में, ब्रिटानिया 60 से ज्यादा देशों में मौजूद है जिसमें उत्तरी अमेरिका, यूरोप, अफ्रीका, दक्षिण-पूर्वी एशिया और जीसीसी (गल्फ कोऑपरेशन काउंसिल) शामिल हैं।

Britannia has introduced Winkin' Cow Thick shakes in four flavours, including vanilla, choco, strawberry and mango. Priced at Rs 25, the product is available pan-India in 180ml Tetrapak packaging.

The pack of Winkin' Cow Thick shakes contains the wholesomeness of milk and natural ingredients, with no added preservatives or artificial colours. 

In order to launch the new tetra offering, Britannia brought chef Ajay Chopra on board for using Winkin' Cow Thick Shakes. Chopra showcased dessert recipes such as Badam Phirni, Chocolate Pancake, Mango Kulfi and Vanilla and Strawberry Pannacotta made with Britannia Winkin' Cow thick shakes. 

Chopra said, "The taste, flavours and consistency of the thick shakes make them an ideal base ingredient to whip up delicious treats for a variety of occasions, be it breakfast, an evening snack or a home party."

Venkat Shankar, Vice-President and Head, Dairy Business, Britannia Industries Limited, said, "The launch of Winkin’ Cow thick shakes in Tetrapak serves our consumers with yet another convenient format to savour the product in. The thick shakes are a delightful and filling drink available in a range of our favourite flavours."

Presently, Britannia is present in more than 60 countries across North America, Europe, Africa, South-East Asia and the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council).

ब्रिटानिया इंडस्ट्रीज (बीआईएल) बंगाल में एक नई अत्याधुनिक सुविधा में 300-350 करोड़ रुपये निवेश करने की योजना बना रहा है। कंपनी लंबे समय बाद इस राज्य में निवेश करेगी।

तारताल में स्थित प्लान्ट ब्रिटानिया इंडस्ट्रीज का सबसे पुराना प्लान्ट है। इसके अलावा, कंपनी का डंकुनी के पास एक कॉन्ट्रेक्ट पर दिया मैन्युफैक्चरिंग यूनिट है।

बीआईएल के शीर्ष अधिकारी ने कहा है, "पिछले 10 वर्षों में, कंपनी ने बिहार, ओडिशा और असम में निवेश किया है, लेकिन बंगाल में कोई नया निवेश नहीं किया था, लेकिन अब हम ऐसा कुछ करने की योजना बना रहे हैं।"

ब्रिटानिया भारत में अग्रणी खाद्य कंपनियों में से एक है। देश में कंपनी के लिए पश्चिम बंगाल तीसरा सबसे बड़ा बाजार है, क्योंकि इससे 750 करोड़ रुपये से अधिक राजस्व अर्जित होगा।

अपनी राष्ट्रीय योजना के भाग रूप, कंपनी पश्चिम बंगाल में कोल्ड चेन इंफ्रास्ट्रक्चर भी स्थापित कर सकती है। वर्तमान में, ब्रिटानिया पुणे के पास रंजनगांव में कोल्ड चेन इंफ्रास्ट्रक्चर स्थापित कर रही है।

Britannia Industries (BIL) is planning to invest Rs 300-350 crore in a new state-of-the-art facility in Bengal. The company will be investing in the state after a long time.

The plant at Taratala is the oldest plant of Britannia Industries. Besides this plant, the company has a contract manufacturing unit near Dankuni.

BIL’s top official said, “In the last 10 years, the company has invested in Bihar, Odisha and Assam but there was no fresh investment in Bengal. But now, we are planning to make some.”

Britannia is one of the leading food companies in India. West Bengal is the third largest market for the company in the country as the revenue earned from it is over Rs 750 crore.

As part of its national plan, the company may also set up cold chain infrastructure in West Bengal. Presently, Britannia is setting up cold chain infrastructure at Ranjangaon near Pune.

The board of Britannia Industries has given approval to stock split in 1:2 ratio. The decision is taken to increase stock liquidity and affordability for small retail investors. 

The company said that the shares with Rs 2 of face value will be split into two equity shares of Rs 1 each. The stock split will be subject to the approval of the members and authorities as applicable. 

Britannia said, "There had been a significant rise in the market price of the equity shares of the Company over a period of last one year. In order to improve the liquidity of the Company's Equity Shares in the stock markets and to make them more affordable for the small retail investors, it is proposed to sub-divide Equity Shares of face value of Rs 2 each into 2 Equity Shares of the face value of Re 1 each."

More than a year after demonetisation and six months since the GST was implemented consumer demand still remains sluggish with no immediate signs of uptick and people not feeling bullish.

Rural growth, in spite of showing glimpses of optimism, is not entirely back to what it was, as people are still holding back on spending.

Britannia Managing Director Varun Berry said “Are we out of the woods? I am not sure. It will take more time for heady double-digit volume growth to come back, something we haven’t seen in the last five years. From the lowest that we have seen post-demonetisation and GST, we are on an uptrend as a category (biscuits), but then there are these roadblocks, all for the right reasons though, which act as speed breakers and put a cap on the optimism. Rural demand has not fully recovered, in spite of the monsoons this year. He attributes it to people not feeling rich”.

The maker of Bourbon and Good Day biscuits reported a 5% rise in revenue for the six months ended September 30, something it says it has been able to by increasing its distribution footprint steadily over the last few years and not because of the health of the industry. Biscuits contribute about 70% to the company’s topline, followed by cake & rusks (13%) and bread (5%).

From 550,000 direct retail outlets five years ago, the Bengaluru-based company now has access to 17 lakh direct outlets. This has helped it expand in rural areas, with particular focus in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, where it lags behind its rivals.

Britannia is planning to invest Rs. 100 crore for refurbishing its creams portfolio where it has brands like Treat, Bourbon and Pure Magic, enjoying margins at 10% compared to the average biscuit margins in other categories.

Ali Harris Shere, Vice-President, Marketing, Britannia, said, “We want to increase our share in the creams segment from 35% to 50% in the next two years. The first step is to re-stage brands like Treat with new variants and advertising with a Rs. 50-crore investment and then the rest of the creams portfolio for brands like Bourbon and Pure Magic, which can go up to Rs. 100 crore.”

Ali added, “Being the market leader in the creams segment, we are revamping our creams portfolio to strengthen our position where we have competition from ITC and Mondelez (Oreo).”

Britannia has a sales turnover of Rs. 7,500 crore from the biscuits portfolio and is a market leader with a 58 per cent share in the premium segment, which is devoid of categories such as glucose and crackers.

“We are giving our consumers a ladder to shift to premium brands since we have SKUs (stock keeping units) at similar price points across our brands. We expect someone buying a Rs. 5-Tiger brand to upgrade to Good Day at the same price point but lesser grammage,’’ added Shere.

Britannia has also managed to double its distribution in the past three years from 7.5 lakh to 15 lakh outlets, reports Business Line.

After facing initial GST hiccups, FMCG major Britannia is looking at increasing its distribution footprint and winning market share from local players. According to a PTI report: The company, which witnessed de-stocking in trade channels due to migration to GST, said the new tax regime has brought a level playing field. “Our key strategic focus area is to increase distribution footprint, grow rural and win (market) share from local players,” Britannia said in a presentation to the analysts. It said it would target local/regional players in specific category/geography. The company also said its other key focus areas include entering one new geography every year and enter new product categories as it aspired to be a total food company, PTI reported. Last year, Britannia, whose main business segments are bakery and dairy, had entered into a joint venture (JV) agreement with Greece’s Chipita SA to manufacture and sell ready-to-eat filled croissants. Currently, the work is underway to establish operations of the JV. It is also scouting for profitable growth opportunities, especially in the bakery segment, to strengthen its position as a leading food company in the country. In order to increase its international business, the company said it is also evaluating entry through local manufacturing in high potential markets, which are currently not accessible through exports routes due to high trade barriers. Britannia is present in more than 70 countries, its key geographies being West Asia, Africa, Americas, Asia Pacific and SAARC. Britannia is also looking at driving premiumisation through innovation and attain cost leadership through efficiencies and wastage reduction. Britannia Industries had reported a 1.40 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 216.12 crore for the June quarter, impacted by the GST roll-out and subdued growth in international business. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 219.21 crore in the April-June period a year ago. Its net sales were up 6.41 per cent to Rs 2,300.93 crore as against Rs 2,162.16 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. 

In the past 98 years of its history, biscuits major Britannia Industries Ltd (BIL) is coming up with its largest plant ever in Ranjangaon in Maharashtra where investment of Rs. 1,000 crore over a 2-year period will be made which will make the company less dependent on outsourced manufacturing of its products. "We have already acquired 96 acres for this project and have applied to the government for another 48 acres", the company's managing director, Varun Berry said here after BIL's annual general meeting (AGM).

To be completed in the next 1-2 years in phases, the 0.12 million tonne (mt) annual capacity plant will initially have six production lines of biscuits, and one line each for cakes and croissants. At a later date, other product lines like rusks, flour mill and dairy products may be incorporated. Commissioning of this project, the largest ever in the company's history, will increase BIL's annual production capacity to 1.22 mt which will help it reduce outsourcing.

During the course of the AGM, the company's chairman, Nusli N. Wadia, while responding to a shareholder's query said that out of the total production in the company, 45 per cent is outsourced and he plans to bring it down to 35 per cent in the short-term. Berry later confirmed that the comment was related to the commissioning of this new greenfield venture. Berry reasoned that the nearby catchment area for this integrated food park, which includes Pune and Ahmednagar in Maharashtra produces the highest quantity of cow's milk in the country which can be easily fed to this Ranjangaon plant. BIL plans to manufacture 85 per cent of the total dairy produce from this plant once it is commissioned. The company will also be undertaking a feasibility study for manufacturing specialised kind of flour which it requires for the upcoming cream-filled croissants range of products.

Recently, it has entered into a joint venture agreement with Chipita S.A., a Greek company, for the manufacture and sale of ready-to-eat croissants. "Every year, we will target to launch one new product and enter one new geography. The ambition is to become a total foods company", Berry said adding that he plans to set-up a Rs. 55 crore plant in Nepal in the current year to cater to that market. Additionally, the company is also in the process of commissioning a greenfield plant each in Assam and the Mundra Special Economic Zone. The latter will cater exclusively to its export market. This year, the company has lined up a Rs. 400 crore capital expenditure plan and has upped it's cost saving plan from the current Rs. 140 crore per annum to Rs. 250 crore this year. Price increase likely Berry maintained that the immediate effects of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was neutral for the company and thus it didn't increase prices. However, in the coming days, the average price in the BIL portfolio is likely to shoot up by 2-3 per cent. "We had increased our product prices in the year before the GST implementation and thus didn't need to increase it further. However, a 2-3 per cent price increase is likely", he said.

Under the new tax regime, biscuits attract a 18 per cent tax, packaged bread is taxed at 17 per cent while the tax rate for cheese is 12 per cent and for rusks, it is five per cent. "Wherever price benefits needed to be done, we have done that", he added. To face the changeover, the company had started corrections in the distribution channels in the preceding months of GST implementation like increasing the credit period to its sales channels, restocking of products in 4.7 million outlets and other measures which helped it maintain an operating profit in the first quarter of the current fiscal year. However, like any other FMCG company, BIL is planning to increase the share of direct distribution by adding 40,000 outlets thi year. Currently, direct distribution accounts for 16 per cent. Berry added that the company is considering consolidating its cream biscuits business this year which has a 35 per cent market share. In the past the company had consolidated other brands to merge with the 50:50 brand of salty biscuits.

"The plan is to have one large brand in each of the five categories", the company's vice president of marketing, Ali H. Shere said. Tax benefit erosion marginally hits Q1 bottomline BIL posted a six per cent growth in its topline at Rs. 2301 crore for the quarter ended June 31, 2017 although its net profit dipped marginally by 1.4 per cent at Rs. 216 crore. In the corresponding months of the last fiscal year, BIL posted a Rs. 2162 crore net earning and a profit of Rs. 219 crore. Berry reasoned that the dip in profit was the result of erosion of tax benefits to the company as it was able to sail through the undercurrents created in the consumer market on account of the switchover of the tax regime. On the BSE, The BIL scrip peaked by 4.96 per cent to close at Rs. 4107.35 apiece reaching a peak of Rs. 4214.50 per share at 12:18 P.M.

The apex Court has given a chance to Britannia Industries Limited and ITC Limited to settle their dispute regarding the alleged deceptive packaging of their digestive biscuits out of court.

A bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Navin Sinha said, "The matter is adjourned sine die to enable the parties to effect an out-of-court settlement."

The order to this effect was passed as the two companies sought time to try to amicably settle the dispute.

ITC has moved the Supreme court challenging the Delhi High Court's March 10 verdict allowing Britannia to use its earlier blue and yellow coloured package for selling its 'Nutri Choice Digestive Zero' biscuits.

The order by a division bench of the high court had come on Britannia Industries Ltd's plea challenging its single judge's decision which had said the blue and yellow package was "deceptively similar" to that of ITC's 'Sunfeast Farmlite Digestive All Good'.

The division bench had allowed the appeal saying that in the short span from 2016, when ITC first started selling its digestive biscuits in a package of blue-yellow colour, the combination could not have become identified with the company.

The single judge had on September 6 last year granted relief to ITC Ltd by stopping rival Britannia Industries Ltd from selling its Nutri Choice Zero digestive biscuits in a package having the blue-yellow colour combination.

Britannia had thereafter approached the larger bench against the order, saying it was erroneous as the single judge had not considered the fact that their packaging was different from that of ITC's.

The single judge's order had come on a plea filed by ITC Ltd seeking to restrain Britannia from violating its rights in packaging or trade dress of Sunfeast Farmlite Digestive-All Good'biscuits by allegedly using a deceptively and confusingly similar trade dress for Nutri Choice Digestive Zero biscuits.

Indian biscuit maker, Britannia Industries has expanded its premium cookie category with the launch of Good Day -Wonderfulls.

With the launch, the company seeks to further strengthen its brand in the cookie category and compete with rivals ITC, Parle and Unibic.

Good Day is Britannia’s largest brand with a revenue of Rs 2600 crore. The Bengaluru-based company is now primarily focusing on cookies, which is emerging as one of the fastest-growing categories in biscuits in India. Premium cookie category is valued at Rs 4000 crore.

Ali Harris Shere, VP, Marketing, Britannia Industries, said, “The mid-premium cookie segment has grown by 23% last year which clearly indicates that Indian consumers are upgrading to indulgent cookies. They now demand unique formats and richer cookie experiences.”

The biscuits available in three variants, Choco Nut, Butter Almond and Berries and Nuts, will be available at Rs 10 for 30 grams and Rs 25 for a 75 gram pack.

The company holds over 30% share in the Indian cookie market and has recorded a revenue of about Rs 8500 crore in 2017.

Everstone-backed Modern Food Enterprises Pvt Ltd is looking at 25 per cent increase in revenue in this financial year from previous years, which is around Rs 270 crore.

The company, has announced the relaunch of Modern brand with plans to focus on health and wellness products. They further added that it is looking to achieve Rs 1,000 crore by FY21.

Launching the new brand positioning, packaging and enhanced portfolio of products almost 13-months after Private Equity major Everstone acquired the company.

Aseem Soni, Chief Executive Officer and Board Member, Modern Food, said, "Overall, we are looking at a 25 per cent increase in revenue by FY18, and at a goal to grow revenue four fold by FY21 to Rs 1,000 crore."

The company's focus would be on health and wellness segment and value added products. It would also look at expanding its product porfolio into various packaged foods.

Products such as biscuits, noodles and others are in its radar at present. The company would also look at collaborating or acquiring good quality local brands as part of expansion.

The brand revamp, after Everstone took over the business, includes new brand positioning, brand identity, new contemporary packaging, apart from enhanced portfolio of value added products, said Rajeev Shukla, managing director, Everstone Capital Asia Pte Ltd. It has also entered into ready to cook Chappathi and Paratha sales and has sold 16 million in Kerala and Tamil Nadu in eight months.

When it reaches Rs 1,000 revenue, the bread products would be 60-65 per cent of the total business while the rest would be of non-bread products.

Company is also seeing a growth in value added products. Shukla refused to reveal details of the funding from Everstone to Modern Food and the investment into the expansion plans. The company has strong presence in South, while it has to strengthen presence in West and North of the country, he added. 

The number of retail outlets would expand to over a lakh by FY18 from the current 80,000 outlets at present. It has also set up an R&D centre in Tamil Nadu to bring out innovative products in the segment. The bread industry is around Rs 6,500 crore and is fragmented with small level local players while Modern Foods and Britannia are among the few national players in the segment.

ITC aims to outrun Nestle and Britannia as the leader of India’s packaged-foods industry in the next two-three years, crowning the two-decade transformation of the century old tobacco giant into a diversified consumer-goods company.

Hemant Malik, Divisional Chief Executive, Food Business, said that the formula for dominance in the increasingly competitive packaged foods industry would be accelerated introduction of new products, and entry into seven-eight newer categories.

He said, "We are constantly evaluating different categories, and our R&D team is working on multiple products that would be superior and differentiated. A lot of back-end exploratory work is going on."

ITC is said to be evaluating staples and edible oil, health foods, and value-added dairy products as categories it might enter.

The maker of Sunfeast biscuits and Bingo chips is now the third-largest player in the packaged foods market, with Rs 7,097 crore sales in 2015-16.

By contrast, Nestle had Rs 8,175 crore sales in calendar 2015, and Britannia reported Rs 7,947 crore revenue in 2015-16.

ITC plans to introduce about 40 new food products in the next year – a record for ITC – and sell premium chocolates and coffee through retail chains and online stores.

Malik said the 40 new differentiated products will not only be variants, but also new products. ITC’s foods business is expected to be the majority contributor to its goal of achieving a turnover of Rs 1 lakh crore from its non-cigarette FMCG businesses by 2030. The company is expecting Rs 60,000 crore to Rs 65,000 crore will be generated from the foods business by then.

Malik said, "We can achieve our goal, given the huge opportunities that lie in every segment, and the GDP growth rate that India will be witnessing over the years. ITC has forayed into multiple categories and we are constantly expanding our portfolio of offerings."

Companies including Britannia, Amul, Dabur and Parle are either raising prices or cutting quantities in packaged products after the cost of ingredients such as sugar, milk powder and palm oil increased by 20-80 percent over the past year on account of fluctuating global commodity prices and lower production cycles.

Biscuit maker Britannia said prices of its biscuits will go up by up to 7%, while Wipro Consumer Care, the manufacturer of the country’s third-largest soap brand Santoor, said prices will rise about 5%.

Amul, the nation’s top ice-cream maker, said prices are up 5-8% after a two-year gap due to higher sugar and milk powder prices.

Others such as Parle and Dabur are either reducing quantities or clamping down on promotions, which indirectly amount to price increases. “We will cover up the inflation hit and hike prices 6-7%,” said Varun Berry, managing director of Good Day biscuit maker Britannia.

Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting chief executive officer Vineet Agrawal said prices of soap will go up for the first time in three years.

The maker of Santoor soap said the hike is on account of increasing palm oil prices, a key ingredient. “Cost pressures are definitely more than what they were and it is starting to reflect on retail shelves now. Our focus is always topline growth,” Agrawal said. Industry analysts said demand for palm oil from core importers such as India and China has resulted in stiffening of prices. Palm oil is also a key ingredient for detergents and cosmetics.

Religare Capital Markets wrote in a report earlier this month that gross margin pressures have been visible with players initiating selective pricing actions. “Poor demand has weighed on the Indian consumer sector over the last two years. Additional headwinds from demonetisation and GST (goods and services tax) could have a lasting disruptive impact,” Religare wrote in the report.

Parle Products, which makes confectionery and salty snacks besides biscuits, said it has reduced the weight of its confectionery and snacks category after almost four years.

“The price hike is all indirect in the form of weight reduction and translates to anywhere between 8-12% of price hikes,” said BK Rao, marketing manager at Parle Products. Confectionery and snacks account for 15% of the company’s sales, he said.

Besides selling less quantity at the same price, some companies have scaled back freebies. “We are curtailing consumer promotions – which is a proxy for price hikes – to offset inflation across various input costs,” said Sunil Duggal, CEO of Vatika shampoo and Real juices maker Dabur. “We will wait for volumes to stabilise this quarter before taking up pricing.”

Ice-cream makers including category leader Amul have topped up prices 5%-8% ahead of the peak season, a move that has come after two years. Amul managing director RS Sodhi attributed the price hike to milk, sugar and skimmed milk, which have become 30-90% costlier.

Britannia Industries Ltd, one of the major bakery and dairy products companies desires to become a global company, which is why it is aiming to double its turnover in next four to five years and also plans to expand offshore presence.

The company is primarily targeting the developing countries and expects that the exports would add on up to 14-15 percent of its turnover within next 4-5 years.

As per the reports published by PTI, Varun Berry, Managing Director, Britannia Industries, said, "In the next 5 years, I would see this going from eight per cent to 14-15 per cent. It would all be developing countries. We are not going to developed countries as it does not make sense."

He also added, "Our first step would be the countries, which has environment similar to ours. The strategy would be to seed in our products in these countries, establish a little bit of space and then start to think of a manufacturing facility there. In the meantime, if some good opportunities (acquisitions) come up in some countries, then we would look at that as well."

He further added: "Today, we are not a food company. We are broadly a bakery company only which also does dairy. We truly want to be a food company as we go forward. It’s our vision to make Britannia not just an Indian food company but a global food company. We want our footprint across the globe and made some move in that direction and a lot more would be coming in future."

Britannia clocked revenue of Rs 7,947.90 crore in FY 2015-16 and plans to double it in next 4-5 years with growth in current business and new categories in which it plans to enter.

Coca-Cola is working on an ambitious plan for the Indian market an entry into the pure dairy segment, which will pit it against Amul, Britannia and Nestle, reported ET.

The maker of Thums Up cola and Minute Maid juice plans to introduce its global milk-based beverage brand Vio in India without any carbonation. "This will be an entirely India innovation," said an official aware of the development. "The rollout could happen as early as January next year or by next quarter at the most. The front-end and back-end are being fine-tuned," said another official aware of Coca-Cola's plans.

Coca-Cola has roped in dairy giant Schreiber Dynamix Dairies for its milk drink, one of the officials said. The plan is to introduce bottled Vio in locally relevant flavours in the first phase.

"We already have an offering in the dairy space Maaza Milky Delite which has a presence in select markets. Vio is a global brand and is, therefore, an option available to us. It is too early for us to comment on a possible launch of this brand in India," said a spokesperson of Coca-Cola.

Coca-Cola's move to tap the dairy market comes as fizzy drink sales have been struggling with low single-digit growth over at least the past five quarters. While aerated drinks are an Rs 14,000-crore category, they are driven by seasonality and remain indulgence consumption. Packaged dairy is a Rs75,000-crore market that's growing at about 15 per cent. Packaged milk alone contributes as much as Rs 50,000 crore.

"It is worth the challenge because if it works, it can be a game changer for Coca-Cola. Unlike colas, dairy is a traditional, culturally deep-rooted and high-involvement daily consumption category and could bring Coca-Cola into the daily grocery consumption basket, bringing its brands very close to the Indian consumer", said Devendra Chawla, group president, food and FMCG at retailer Future Group.

In the US, Vio is a carbonated, skimmed milk-based beverage. In India, the plan is to introduce it as a flavoured milk drink without carbonation. It is introduced by the beverage giant in 2009 as a carbonated 'vibrancy' dairy drink, comes with skimmed milk and flavours such as citrus, peach and berry and is positioned as a drink free of preservatives and fortified with vitamin C. Marketers believe pure dairy could be a huge challenge for a cola maker.

"It could be a DNA challenge for a soft drink company to do dairy, which is not its core business. It's similar to a non-ayurvedic company getting into Ayurveda," Chawla said. Vio isn't the first milk-based drink from the Coca-Cola deck. Late last year, it had launched Fairlife in the US; a premium product introduced through a joint venture with dairy farmers and made using a proprietary milk filtering process.

Britannia Industries, one of the leaders in India’s biscuits market is embarking on a new growth path of becoming a total food company, aiming at Rs 20,000 crore turnover within five to six years, reported PTI.

As part of the strategy, the company, which had posted consolidated net sales of Rs 7,775.09 crore in the last fiscal, will finalise in the next six months its plans to expand in dairy segment besides introducing new variants of its value segment biscuit brand Tiger.

However, in the next two years and beyond the company plans to expand into ready-to-eat, ready-to-cook and drinks category in a phased manner.

"We have the core strength...our brands are very strong and our understanding of the food industry is very deep...Our idea to become a total food company is to move from the side of the plate to the middle," said Varun Berry, MD, Britannia Industries.

When asked about the company's ambition in terms of turnover, he said, "In the next five to six years if we have an Rs 20,000 crore turnover I will be delighted."

Further, he says on the company’s strategy that "Macro snacks and dairy categories have huge potential. In the next six months we will be ready with our plans and answers, if we should expand in the dairy segment or not. If indeed we do, dairy will entail investments of Rs 300 crore to Rs 400 crore."

"We were the market leader till 2003-04 and we lost it to Parle but we are happy to tell that we have taken back the leadership earlier this year", says Berry on Britannia's flagship biscuits category.

He said Britannia now leads Parle in terms of share by "150-200 basis points" in the estimated Rs 25,000 crore biscuits market in India. About 75 per cent of the company's turnover comes from the biscuits category.

Berry also says that apart from trying to develop the premium segment and upgrade consumers, the company will also introduce more variants of its value brand Tiger, while enhancing distribution network mainly in the Hindi belt states of North India.

"We have already re-launched Tiger glucose and chocolate ...we will launch Tiger cream next month," he said. In terms of distribution network, he said, "Our biggest weakness is the Hindi speaking states of North India."

Britannia, one of the largest biscuit makers is planning to re-launch their cream and cookies formats of Tiger brand as it looks to increase its distribution footprint in the country and market-share in the value segment.

The value segment or biscuits with lower price per kilogram has traditionally not been Britannia's forte as the company focused on the premium category, which yielded better margins and profitability.

However, the value segment constitutes 45 per cent of the total biscuit market and the organized market is dominated by Parle.

The relaunch, which is set to happen later this month, will see a change in the design, package and taste of Tiger cookies and cream. The move comes within months of the relaunch of Tiger glucose, Britannia's most important product for the mass market segment. The entire Tiger portfolio contributes about 13 per cent of Britannia's annual revenue.

"We have not made much headway in the value category compared to Parle and the relaunch is a way to improve our visibility in the segment," said Ali Harris Shere, Britannia marketing director.

He further says that the entire Tiger brand had "not kept pace with the company's overall growth" as a lack of innovation led to an undifferentiated offering.

The value segment contributes only about 15 per cent to Britannia's overall revenue while it contributes about four-fifths to Parle's total sales thank primarily to the popular Parle G biscuit.

Britannia's market share is one-fifth of the market leader in the category, thus offering scope to strengthen position, the company said in an analyst presentation in August.

Britannia is looking to increase its market share in the segment to about 18-20 per cent in the next three years from about 8-10 per cent now, said Hemant Rupani, vice president, sales.

Britannia Industries, one of the topmost FMCG company in the country is targeting to be a total foods company, forming a long-term strategy of the primarily biscuit manufacturing firm, reported PTI.

"Our long-term strategy is to make Britannia a total foods company and we are drawing up a plan towards that,” shared Varun Berry, MD, Britannia.

He also said that in early 2014, the management was working on adjacent categories where Britannia could do extremely well. The plans were not yet finalized.

The company was spending Rs 200 for setting up new Greenfield units, one each in Tamil Nadu and Bangalore, besides expanding the capacity of the Gujarat plant.

"The projects will be completed within December this year". And there was also a need to set up big scale plants to consolidate operations,” added Berry.

The present production capacity was eight lakh tones per annum, whereas growth in volume sales was 10 per cent each year.

Britannia Industries’ net profit increases by 17 percent amounting to Rs 108 crore for the fourth quarter ended on March 2014.

Commenting on the same, Varun Berry, Britannia Industries, said, “Overall, it has been a good year with double-digit revenue growth and a solid profit growth. This is the result of a disciplined effort that focused on the primary building blocks of business.”

The company has also recommended a dividend of 600 percent, Rs 12 per share.