On 20th February, 2014, ITC announced its plans to foray into non-carbonated beverages and dairy businesses next fiscal to establish itself as one of the largest food companies in the country.The Kolkata-based tobacco-to-hospitality conglomerate is developing products in categories such as juices, tea and coffee in the noncarbonated beverage space, while its ambitious dairy business rollout will include products such as packaged mi milk, butter and ghee, to take on category leaders such as Nestle, PepsiCo, Amul, Hindustan Unilever, and Dabur. The company also plans to soon start scientific trials on functional foods which would address various metabolic disorders such as blood pressure, diabetes and nutritional deficiency.
Market watchers say ITC has carved out its niche in the food space and can give tough competition in the beverage and dairy space to big marketers operating in the space. ITC’s food business clocked Rs 4,720-crore sales last fiscal, 27% more than the previous year’s Rs 3,712 crore.
