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ITC Launches Milkshakes, Cakes As It Expands Food Portfolio

ITC to launch lower priced chocolates, milkshakes, pulses and cakes

Range of products manufactured by ITC Ltd. (Source: Company website)
Range of products manufactured by ITC Ltd. (Source: Company website)

ITC Ltd. forayed into cakes and milkshakes, while expanding in categories like chocolates and staples, according to two people aware of the details, as the consumer goods maker works towards increasing share of the non-cigarette business.

The cigarettes-to-hotels conglomerate has launched three variants of cakes under the Sunfeast brand at Rs 10 a pack, and three flavours of Sunfeast Wonderz Milk in the range of Rs 25-35, the people said on the condition of anonymity out of business concerns. The consumer goods maker is also expected to launch Rs 5 -10 packs of chocolates under the Fantastik brand and has already installed chillers in shops in North India, said the first person, a distributor for the company.

ITC Fantastik. (Source: ITC’s online store)

The company is expected to launch rice and pulses under its Aashirvaad brand, he said. All the products will be available at stores in about a month, the distributor said.

BloombergQuint awaits ITC’s response to emailed queries.

The launches are part of the company’s effort to generate Rs 1-lakh-crore revenue from its fast-moving consumer goods business. Cigarettes already account for less than half the sales for the maker of Gold Flake. In the nine months ended December, ITC generated a revenue of Rs 11,062 crore from consumer goods excluding cigarettes.

India's consumer goods makers are looking for a bigger share in the nation's food market as the economy formalises. Marico Ltd. is among ITC's peers that are foraying into newer food segments.

ITC's food business comprises staples, spices, ready-to-eat foods, snacks, baked goods and confectionery and juices and beverages.

ITC said in a statement earlier this month that it expanded its premium cookies portfolio under the Sunfeast Dark Fantasy Choco-Fills brand, a Rs 1,000-crore category for the company. It also launched Bourbon and Sandwich Crème biscuits—a Rs 3,400-crore market. And the company entered the Rs 700-crore chocolate chip segment with Choco Chip cookie.

In the cakes segment, ITC will directly take on Britannia Industries Ltd., while a foray into milkshakes will bring it in competition with Amul. With the launch of affordable packs of chocolates, ITC wants a piece of the market dominated by Mondelez India Pvt.

By launching Aashirvaad-branded rice, ITC targets a market dominated by the likes of LT Foods Ltd., the maker of Daawat, India Gate and Kohinoor Speciality Foods India Pvt. And branded pulses will bring it in a category dominated by Tata Consumer Ltd.