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DIVERSIFIED CONGLOMERATE ITC plans to expand its food tech or food delivery business to cities such as Kolkata, Delhi and Mumbai, and beef up the menu as it identifies the vertical as a "new growth vector".

Launched three years ago, the food tech vertical today runs 23 cloud kitchens -- 19 in Bengaluru and four in Chennai – having delivered more than a million orders so far through platforms such as Swiggy and Zomato.

The business, according to the company, has received an "encouraging response" in Bengaluru since its launch with one cloud kitchen at ITC Windsor Hotel.

The food tech vertical, identified as a “new growth vector”, harnesses the strengths of ITC'S food and hotel businesses to deliver high-quality but affordable food to consumers at their convenience and location.

“The food tech business leverages the synergies and strengths of ITC'S mega food brands such as Aashirvaad and Sunfeast, culinary expertise of ITC Hotels' chefs and capabilities of the packaged food business,” says Hemant Malik, executive director, ITC.

Essentially, deep learning and understanding of cuisines is married with the manufacturing, packaging and brandbuilding capabilities of the food business, Malik says. A tech-first hub-and-spoke business model, involving a central kitchen and a number of satellite cloud kitchens around it (at

Its growth plan includes adding meal options and cuisines to its menu

a distance of 2.5-3 km), ensures that last-mile delivery is smooth.

Malik says that the food tech vertical has already become the market leader in Bengaluru in the premium space and that the Kolkatabased firm hopes to replicate it in other cities as it eyes a larger footprint across the country.

A study by market research firm IMARC Group found that the online food delivery market in India touched $36 billion in terms of size in calendar year 2023. The market, it says, is projected to grow over 7 times in the next decade to touch $257 billion by 2034 with convenience and availability of multiple food options within an app at the heart of its growth.

Currently, ITC'S food tech vertical has divided its offerings into three categories – Aashirvaad Soul Creations for freshly-prepared khichdis, curries, chapatis and rice, Master Chef Creations for north Indian cuisine such as dal makhni, kebab, biryani, halwa and kulcha, and Sunfeast Baked Creations providing a diverse range of baked products. Its growth plan includes adding meal options and cuisines to its menu. As the business expands, ITC may add more food brands to the menu as it eyes cross-promotion of its products through the vertical.