Wipro Consumer Care Expands Foods Portfolio With Brahmins Buyout
With this expansion, Wipro Consumer Care is looking to become a "sizable player" in the packaged foods segment, it said.
Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting, a subsidiary of Wipro Enterprises Ltd., is set to acquire Kerala-based spice mix and ready-to-cook brand, Brahmins, as it seeks to boost its food portfolio.
This acquisition follows the consumer goods maker's foray into the foods segment just six months ago, with the acquisition of the Nirapara brand —also known for its spices and ready-to-cook food. With this inorganic expansion, Wipro Consumer Care is looking to become a "sizable player" in the packaged foods segment, it said in a statement on Thursday.
Established in 1987, Brahmins is a well-known brand in the spices and ready-to-cook category, with a significant consumer recall in its home market, Kerala. Its products, purely vegetarian, range from ethnic breakfast pre-mix powders, straight powders (spices) to wheat products, pickles, dessert mixes, and others. It offers over a hundred stock-keeping units across the country. Brahmins' premium flagship products are Sambar Powder and Puttu Podi, the statement said.
"The high-quality standards adopted by Brahmins have played a key role in making it one of the most significant players in the market and we intend to make this, our 14th acquisition, as successful as our previous ones,” said Vineet Agrawal, chief executive officer, Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting.
The company, however, didn't disclose the deal size.
Largely dominated by regional players, India's spices industry is seeing a flurry of deals, as consumers switch to the organised market. The branded spices market, estimated to be worth Rs 25,000 crore, has recently seen the entry of players like Dabur Ltd. and ITC Ltd.
Last year, Dabur bought 51% stake in Badshah Masala for Rs 588 crore, while ITC Ltd. acquired spice brand Sunrise Foods in an all-cash deal valued at Rs 2,150 crore three years ago. The Emami group and Tata Consumer Products Ltd. are also present in the spices market.
Sreenath Vishnu, managing director of Brahmins, said that he expects to scale the brand to newer heights and expand its geographical presence with Wipro’s distribution strength, network and marketing expertise.
"We are jointly focused on developing the brand, supported by local consumer insights, as well as streamlining manufacturing," he said.
The consumer goods arm of Azim Premji-led Wipro Enterprises Ltd. appointed Anil Chugh to head the food business last year.
"Adding Brahmins under the Wipro fold will further bolster our position in blended spices and ethnic breakfast categories in Kerala and other markets such as the GCC countries, U.K., U.S. and Australia," said Chugh.
According to him, the market size of the ready-to-cook category is Rs 3,400 crore, and it is growing at a rate of 19%.
Wipro Consumer Care crossed the milestone of Rs 10,000 crore in overall sales in FY23, BQ Prime reported earlier. Its core business includes personal care and home care products, electrical wire devices, domestic and commercial lighting and seating solutions.
Some of its major acquisitions include Malaysia-based Unza Holdings, Yardley business in the U.K., Singapore's LD Waxson Group, China-based Zhonghshan Ma Er, South African Canway Corporation and Filipino company Splash Corporation, among others.