ITC to invest Rs 1000 crore in juice, dairy biz

ITC Ltd, one of the biggest FMCG major in the company is palnning to invest Rs 1000 crore in dairy and juice business, as per a report in ET.

The company which has already entered into ready to eat and snack market, is planning to enter juice and dairy business by January-March quarter, said people aware of the development.

The Kolkata-based company will make the proposed investment in the short term on manufacturing capacity, marketing and brand building and distribution expenses.

The FMCG major has alraedy undertaken over Rs 250-crore investments for these businesses. The company has also acquired Bangalore based B Natural juice brands for about Rs 50-60 crore earlier this May.

ITC's expansion into dairy is done organically and involves setting up processing plants in Munger (Bihar), Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Trial production in Munger will start this month, added the person.
“ITC will soon roll out juices across the country, whereas the entry into dairy business will be late next quarter. We plan to regionalise both juices and dairy products since the taste would vary,” said, Chitranjan Dar, CEO, Foods, ITC.

The company will enter into both 100 percent juices and nectars with 7-8 variants, while in dairy it is yet to decide the full portfolio.

"In dairy, there will be both B2B and B2C products such as milk powder and ghee to start with. However, our aim is to launch a wide variety of dairy products which we will evolve in phases," added, Dar.