ITC beats Britannia, becomes India's second-largest packaged foods company

ITC Ltd has achieved a significant milestone, surpassing Britannia Industries to claim the title of India's second-largest listed packaged foods company by sales, trailing only behind Nestle, reported The Economic Times (ET).

According to its latest annual report, ITC's foods business recorded consolidated sales of Rs 17,194.5 crore for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024. This figure includes both domestic sales and exports, highlighting the robust performance of the company that owns brands such as Aashirvaad atta, Bingo potato chips and Sunfeast biscuits.

In comparison, Britannia reported consolidated sales of Rs 16,769.2 crore, with total income touching Rs 16,983.4 crore when accounting for revenues beyond its core foods segment.

Nestle India, leading the pack, disclosed total sales of Rs 24,275.5 crore for the FY24, spanning a 15-month period due to its shift in financial reporting from January-December to April-March.

The growth trajectory for ITC's food business in FY24 showed a commendable 9 per cent increase over the previous year, outpacing Britannia's more modest 2.9 per cent expansion. This performance surge was bolstered by a 7-8 per cent rise in atta prices and robust growth in categories like biscuits and salty snacks, each registering a 10 per cent growth over the previous year's figures.

An industry insider told ET that ITC's strategy of expanding its premium brand portfolio and consistently launching over 100 new products annually has been instrumental in driving its sales growth.

Earlier reports from NielsenIQ had already indicated ITC's ascendancy in the domestic packaged foods market, surpassing competitors like Britannia and Parle Products in the nine-month period leading up to September 2023. This dominance continued into FY24, with ITC's FMCG division achieving gross sales of Rs 20,966 crore, marking a notable 9.6 per cent increase Year-on-Year (YoY).