ITC expects Yippee to enter Rs 1,000 crore club by 2020

BENGALURU: ITC Foods, the branded packaged food division of diversified conglomerate ITC, expects its instant noodles brand Yippee to join the Rs 1,000-crore revenue club by 2020 and emerge as the fourth power brand, turbo-charging the unit's ambitious growth plans.

Yippee, which was launched in 2010 and includes both noodles and pastas, already has a share of 22.5% in a market that is roughly valued at about Rs 4,000 crore. While Nestle's Maggi maintains a big lead in the segment as ever, the Kolkata-based ITC has seen Yippee's presence grow in the segment by 5 percentage points annually since 2014, when Maggi went off the shelves for a while due to safety concerns.

ITC divisional chief executive (foods) Hemant Malik told TOI, "Yippee will be our next mega brand, behind Aashirvaad, Sunfeast and Bingo." Aashirvaad is known for its atta, ghee and spices, Sunfeast for its biscuits, and Bingo for chips. All the three brands are worth more than Rs 1,000 crore each, according to the latest annual report from the company. All these brands are expected to be big revenue contributors as ITC targets Rs 1 lakh crore in non-cigarette revenue from packaged foods by 2030.

The noodles segment, which is growing at 15-20% annually, contributed about 10% — or Rs 804 crore — to the branded packaged food products top line last fiscal. Malik said that with the demand for its noodles on the rise, Yippee is also expected to breach the Rs 1,000-crore mark soon and generate 15% of top line by 2020. "We have observed a huge preference for Yippee, particularly among the younger consumers," he said, adding that there are plans to enter the snacking business under the brand.

ITC Limited