ITC bets big on food brand Aashirvaad
NEW DELHI: ITC Ltd has set its sights higher for Aashirvaad — the Kolkata-based cigarette-to-shampoo maker’s largest packaged food brand.
The company has set an internal target of generating ₹10,000 crore from Aashirvaad annually in five years.
For perspective, this means that in five years, ITC will generate what the country’s largest pure-play listed food company, Nestle India Ltd, notched up in calendar year 2017 sales (₹10,135 crore), and more than the financial year 2017 revenue of biscuit maker Britannia Industries Ltd (₹8,684 crore), by selling food products under Aashirvaad — a brand ITC created in May 2002 to sell atta, and later expanded to include spices, salt, ghee, instant mixes and ready-to-eat meals.
“At the retail level, Brand Aashirvaad’s current sales is around ₹4,200 crore. The brand has been growing at a compounded annual rate of 16-17% for the past few years. We hope to maintain the rate of growth, and the target is to cross the ₹10,000-crore mark,” said Hemant Malik, divisional chief executive (foods), ITC.
To hit the ₹10,000-crore mark, according to Malik, Brand Aashirvaad will see a stream of product launches — backed by a micro-regional strategy for product innovation, distribution and communication targeting to get new sets of consumers. Besides, the company is constantly working on reducing distance to market (from factory) to ensure freshness.
“We are launching readyto-bake roti (Indian chappati), with a five-day shelf life, later this year, hopefully by winter. We have already got the technology, and will soon start test marketing the product,” Malik said. The ready-to-bake roti will require only a few minutes’ heating.