ITC's Technico signs pact with James Hutton Institute to source new potatoes varieties

Fabindia, a prominent Indian lifestyle brand, has partnered with ITC Sunfeast Baked Creations to open dine-in cafes at select stores throughout India. Established in 1960, Fabindia is one of the country’s leading retailers in apparel and homeware, boasting 358 stores in 129 locations nationwide and 11 international outlets. The brand is known for its commitment to sustainable business practices.

ITC Sunfeast Baked Creations specializes in quality baked products tailored to the Indian market, offering a variety of cakes and pastries. The brand combines its expertise in baking with convenience, particularly in food delivery, ensuring customers can enjoy quality baked goods easily.

The cafes will feature a diverse menu, including pull-apart bagels, croissants, gourmet breads, and a selection of beverages. Customers can also celebrate special occasions such as birthdays and Diwali, and make bulk orders or host kitty parties at the ITC Sunfeast Baked Creations Café.

A Fabindia spokesperson stated, “We are super excited to partner with ITC Sunfeast Baked Creations. When you step into a Fabindia Experience Centre, it’s about more than just retail, it’s about the total experience. Our joint commitment to quality and freshness is in step with similar values both share. Health, nutrition, and quality are of equal importance, and Fabindia has always been about maintaining a balance between taste, ethically sourced ingredients, and our customer’s choices.”

An ITC spokesperson added, “We are thrilled to partner with Fabindia, a pioneer in not just the retail space, but in the craft space as well. Offering the best food, prepared with the finest ingredients has always been our ethos. ITC Sunfeast Baked Creations is privileged to be working with Fabindia and has a chance to reach out and touch more customers in many more places across the length and breadth of India.”

ITC Sunfeast Baked Creations has launched its first bakery café in Whitefield, Bangalore, within the FabIndia Experience Store. This new location marks the brand’s shift from a cloud-kitchen model to a broader omnichannel approach, offering a selection of baked goods, including croissants, bagels, pastries, and celebration cakes. Customers can also enjoy ITC's Sunbean Gourmet Coffee, designed to cater to local tastes.

The café, which accommodates up to 30 guests, was inaugurated by Indian cricketer Shreyanka Patil. ITC Sunfeast Baked Creations plans further expansion in Bangalore with upcoming cafés in MG Road and Jayanagar, along with plans to enter Chennai. This move is part of ITC's strategy to grow its bakery chain across India.

At the launch, Shreyanka Patil shared her appreciation for the brand’s products, mentioning favorites like the Frangipane Almond Croissant and Trinity Ganache Pastry. Rohit Bhalla, Food-Tech Business Head at ITC Limited, emphasized the brand’s focus on enhancing the bakery experience in India, viewing the café as an important step in reaching a broader customer base.

ITC Hotels opens the third dining establishment of its ground breaking and pioneering brand in reinvented Southern Indian cuisine ‘Avartana’ at ITC Maratha, Mumbai. 

Already a huge success at ITC Grand Chola in the south, and ITC Royal Bengal in the east, the legacy of this signature culinary restaurant now takes the stage at ITC Maratha in the west. 

Shining brightly at Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2023, the iconic Avartana now enters the realm of Mumbai’s culinary horizon.

“We are delighted to open the 3rd Avartana at ITC Maratha, Mumbai. Just seven years young, Brand Avartana has carved a niche for itself, demonstrating the strength and prowess of Indian ingredients and culinary techniques to the world. We endeavour to share the reimagined renditions of Avartana with diners across various cities, crafting moments that resonate long after the dining experience. At Avartana, magical flavours meet twenty-first century global technology reinventing haute cuisine fine dining into an evolved art,” shared Anil Chadha, Chief Executive, ITC Hotels.

ITC Hotels’ culinary expertise is an ode to the diversity of flavours and a commitment to delivering unmatched gastronomic experiences, setting the standards for cuisine excellence. A jewel in its crown, Avartana, stands as a distinguished icon, striking a harmonious balance between tradition and innovation exemplifying a one of a kind culinary experience showcasing Southern Indian culinary mosaics. 

The well-researched traditional and progressive renditions of peninsular southern Indian cuisine is rooted to the gravitas of diverse aromas that seamlessly marry local ingredients with modern interpretations, celebrating an exciting confluence of colours and taste.

Pronounced ‘Avartan’, this Sanskrit word refers to rhythm, mysticism and magic. Much like the restaurant’s name, the dishes are an expression of magical art, with each one featuring unique concepts in modernist iterations and progressive renditions while firmly being rooted to the traditional flavours and ingredients of the subcontinental India.  

Avartana surpasses gastronomic paradigms in a testament to the marriage of tradition and innovation. Its kitchens delve into the regions of Kerala with its treasured Ghee; the discerned Uthukuli Butter and Mango Ginger sourced from Andhra Pradesh; Sago and Jaggery from Chennai; Mochai Beans from Tamil Nadu; Tamarind from Telangana and more, deconstructed into captivating delicacies that leave your senses heightened and mind entranced.

Its brigade of chefs takes the diner through guided-dining experiences traversing across a series of small bites such as the Spiced Aubergine and Sago presented in a resplendent galaxy of flavours highlighted by a Byadagi chilli emulsion wrapped in a roasted eggplant sheet, the Sago Yogurt in a reinterpretation of the classic Bagala Bath featuring an exotic dried berry tamarind sauce, the Fennel Pannacotta egg dessert served in a bird’s nest and a mini hammer to crack it open with.

ITC, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) major, has forayed into the ready-to-drink milk-based beverages market in India under the brand Sunfeast Wonderz Milk. With this launch, the company has expanded its dairy portfolio beyond ghood, pouch milk and the curd business.

The new brand will start operations in the states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Both of them together account for nearly 25% of the national market.

Hemant Malik, Divisional Chief Executive, ITC Ltd's Food Division, said, "We are targeting young adults who are looking for a drink that could be based on milk, but with a different taste."

"The launch of Sunfeast Wonderz Milk dairy beverages reflects ITC’s focus in delighting consumers with superior and differentiated new products. The ready-to-drink milk beverage market has seen a high growth with a paradigm shift to healthier beverages," he added.

ITC's instant noodle brand YiPPee has crossed the Rs 1,000 crore sales mark in the year ended September. In noodles segment, Yippee is the second largest brand with about 22% market share.

Aashirvaad, ITC's largest brand, has garnered consumer sales of Rs 5,000 crore, further consolidating its position as one of the biggest brands in India's packaged foods segment. 

Hemant Malik, Divisional Chief Executive (foods), ITC, said, "There were certain packs where we were under-indexed, such as large family packs. So we changed our strategy to focus on supply chain, promotion and distribution of these large packs and that segment is now growing for us."

"It's become a Rs 1,000 crore brand. When we got into space, there was one very large competitor and it was very important for us to innovate and offer a differentiated product in the market. After seven-and-a-half years now, we have more than 22% market share led by innovations like round, long and non-sticky noodles sold along with vegetables in sachet," he added.

Homegrown luxury chocolate brand Fabelle from ITC Ltd has introduced India’s first ever Ruby Chocolate in the form of Fabelle's Ruby Gianduja.

The brand launched the chocolate in collaboration with Celebrity Chef Sarah Todd and Barry Callebaut, the world's leading manufacturer of application chocolates and cocoa products. Barry Callebaut is the partner of ITC Ltd to source the exotic ruby chocolate to craft Fabelle's Ruby Gianduja. 

In a bid to maintain the chocolate's exclusivity, Fabelle is launching Ruby Gianduja as a one-of-its-kind limited edition offering. It is introducing Ruby Chocolate in the form of Ruby Gianduja, which is made from a delicate balance of Ruby Chocolate and hazelnut paste.

Hemant Malik, Divisional Chief Executive (Foods), ITC Ltd, said "Fabelle was launched in India with the mission to redefine the chocolate segment in the country and I am extremely happy that the brand has already received unparalleled patronage from discerning customers. It is a proud moment for Fabelle Chocolates as we introduce the very first Ruby Chocolates to the Indian chocolate connoisseurs. It has been our continuous endeavour to provide unique chocolate experiences to the Indian consumers and today's launch is a firm step in that direction."

Ben De Schryver, President Asia Pacific, Barry Callebaut, stated, "Ruby chocolate is a big innovation in confectionery and we are very proud that ITC's home-grown luxury chocolate brand Fabelle is the first in India to feature this exciting new chocolate. As India is becoming one of the fastest growing chocolate markets in Asia, we see ruby chocolate presenting a huge opportunity and in being a key milestone in our growing partnership with ITC."

Diversified conglomerate ITC Ltd is looking to expand its dairy portfolio by launching the paneer and milkshakes segments within two months.

Earlier, ITC had entered into the dairy segment with the launch of milk and ghee in select markets. The company has recently introduced milk and curd for the Kolkata market.

Hemant Malik, Divisional Chief Executive (foods) of ITC, said, "We are going to launch paneer for the Kolkata market and milkshakes pan India within two months."

ITC's milk, ghee, paneer and curd would be sold under the 'Aashirvaad' brand while its milkshakes will be sold under a different brand.

The company started the foods division in 2002, and initiated the dairy business at Munger, Bihar.

Malik further said, "We have been selling milk in markets of Munger, Patna and Bhagalpur in Bihar. Now, we have come to Kolkata. The company had been selling ghee in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Delhi."

आईटीसी रेडी-टू-ड्रिंक, मिल्क-बेस्ड पेय की नई प्रोडक्ट रेंज 'सनफीस्ट वन्डर्ज़' नाम से लांच करने जा रही है। नई प्रोडक्ट रेंज पहले भारत की दक्षिणी राज्य तमिल नाडु, कर्नाटक, तेलंगाना और आंध्र प्रदेश में लॉन्च की जाएगी। बाद में उसे राष्ट्रीय स्तर पर प्रस्तुत किया जाएगा।

ये मिल्क-बेस्ड पेय आईटीसी के कपूरथला, पंजाब के नए प्लांट में बनाए जाएंगे। कंपनी मिल्क शेक्स के लिए असली फ्रूट पल्प का इस्तेमाल करेगी।

आईटीसी के डिविजनल चीफ एग्जीक्यूटिव (फूड) बताते हैं, "मिल्क-बेस्ड बेवरेजेज की नवीनतापूर्ण श्रेणी को हमारे एग्रीसोर्सिंग, डिस्ट्रीब्यूशन, इंफ्रास्ट्रक्चर और अन्य विभागों समेत इंस्टिट्यूशनल कैपिबिलिटीज का फायदा मिलेगा। पिछले कुछ दिनों में रेडी-टू-ड्रिंक मिल्क बेवरेज के मार्केट ने ऊंची छलांग लगाई है। उपभोक्ता अधिक हेल्दी बेवरेजेज पसंद कर रहे हैं। हमें यकीन है कि इनोवेटिव प्रोडक्ट्स के द्वारा इस श्रेणी में भविष्य में अच्छी संभावनाएं हैं।"

ITC is bringing a new product range of ready-to-drink, milk-based beverages, namely 'Sunfeast Wonderz'. The new product range will be launched first in the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Later, it will be rolled out nationally.

The milk-based beverages will be manufactured in ITC’s new facility in Kapurthala, Punjab. The company will use real fruit pulp for the milkshakes.

Hemant Malik, Divisional Chief Executive (Foods) at ITC, said, "This innovative range of milk-based beverages will be powered by the company’s institutional capabilities including agri-sourcing, distribution, infrastructure, among others. The ready-to-drink milk beverages market has seen high growth in the recent past with a paradigm shift to healthier beverages and we believe innovative offerings in this segment could have great potential for the future."

Kolkata-based conglomerate ITC plans will explore every possible consumer category and launch 30-40 new products each year in its effort to become the country's biggest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company, a company executive said.

“To achieve our revenue target of Rs 1 lakh crore by 2030 from the new FMCG businesses, we are strengthening our existing categories and venturing into newer ones,” B Sumant, president of the FMCG business, told ET in an interview at ITC’s Virginia House headquarters in Kolkata. “A lot of resources are being invested in product development with a strong R&D team.”

ITC’s FMCG business includes cigarettes, packaged food, personal care, stationery, safety matches and agarbattis. The company will launch more products in the packaged food space since it’s the largest FMCG business for ITC. Last fiscal, it launched 30 products, next only to the rapidly expanding Patanjali Ayurved.

The maker of Sunfeast biscuit, Aashirvaad atta and Engage deodorant is also actively scouting for acquisitions to plug portfolio gaps. However, ITC will only acquire brands that can be scaled up using its own distribution network as it would be easier to break even.

Hence there’s unlikely to be any big-ticket deal, said Sumant. ITC in the past few years have acquired brands such as B Natural, Savlon, Shower to Shower and, Charmis. Last month, it ventured into the herbal floor cleaner space by acquiring Nimyle. Sumant said the company has already grown brands such as B Natural and Savlon exponentially.

The company recently ventured into the premium skincare market with the Dermafique range of products, centre-filled snacks under Mad Angles, Bounce Mini biscuit, Dark Fantasy Jelifills cake and chicken instant noodles under Yippee. While Sumant refused to divulge details on categories ITC would enter in the future, analysts said it’s likely to expand in food besides beauty and homecare, having acquired the Nimyle brand.

To be sure, ITC has some way to go before it can dislodge Hindustan Unilever from its longtime perch as India’s biggest consumer goods company. In FY18, ITC's non-cigarette FMCG business clocked sales of Rs 11,328.60 crore driven by the packaged food business at Rs 8,668.72 crore. In contrast, HUL's consolidated total income was over three times more than that of ITC at Rs 36,622 crore in FY18. On the other hand, Patanjali Ayurved is fast gaining ground despite a late start.

“Going by ITC's track record, it should expand its play in food since it is either number one or two in almost all categories,” said Edelweiss Securities senior VP Abneesh Roy. “It has strong sourcing capabilities and understands local taste which several MNCs have failed to crack. In personal care and home, it will have to face a lot more competition from strong MNCs and hence things would be tough. Which is why it is yet to gain a sizeable share in soaps and shampoos.”

The cigarette-FMCG hospitality giant will indeed have 60-65% of the new launches in the packaged food segment which contributes over 22% to its net revenue, next only to the cigarette business, which contributes 46%.

Aashirvaad atta, Sunfeast cookies, and Bingo snacks are helping cement ITC’s credentials on the Indian packaged foods leaderboard, helping the segment log about half the annual sales of the conglomerate’s traditional mainstay cigarettes.

At the tobacco products FMCG-hotels major, which just published its annual report, the branded packaged food business made up 22.1% of the net turnover in FY18, compared with the 46% contribution from cigarettes, which also had a far higher base. Agri-business was the third largest about half of packaged foods in net sales contributions. ITC’s net revenue in FY18 was Rs 39,255 crore.

The packaged foods business was the first FMCG category the conglomerate had entered 17 years ago to reduce its reliance on the cigarette revenue stream. It clocked sales of Rs 8,668.7 crore in FY18, ITC reported in the annual report.

In FY17, packaged food sales were at Rs 8,036.4 crore, but the revenues are not comparable due to the transition to the GST regime, in which sales are calculated net of GST. Earlier calculations included the impact of the excise levy.

The company’s packaged foods division now accounts for 76% of the total sales of non-cigarette FMCG business, which also includes personal care, stationary products, lifestyle retail, safety matches and incense sticks.

The non-cigarette FMCG business also clocked gross profit of Rs 164.1 crore in FY18, driven by the food business, with other categories yet to break even. ITC continues to be the third largest listed packaged foods company in India: Nestle (Rs 9,472.5 crore domestic sales in CY17) leads the table, followed by cookies maker Britannia (standalone sales of Rs 9,380.2 crore in FY18). ITC has ambitions to establish itself as India’s biggest packaged foods company.

In foods, ITC is the market leader in packaged atta, premium cream biscuits, and the bridges segment in snacks. It is the second largest in instant noodles and the third in packaged juice.

By way of consumer spend that includes taxes, Aashirvaad is the largest non-cigarette food brand at more than Rs 4,000 crore, followed by Sunfeast at more than Rs 3,500 crore, and Bingo at more than Rs 2,000 crore. In FY18, ITC had entered into packaged fruits and vegetables, blended spices and frozen prawns, and is betting on the dairy business as the next big growth driver.

Casual fine dining restaurant chain TGI Friday’s rolled back 25% of its outlets over the past 20 days and has put its growth plans on hold, mainly due to a rollback of the input tax credit (ITC) in November last year.

Besides the tax levy, the industry had seen a tough year due to various factors including SC’s liquor ban along highway.

“The rollback of ITC led to an almost overnight 18% increase in all capital expenses and rentals,” TGI Friday’s India chief executive Rohan Jetley said. Since all our investments have been only by internal accruals, our growth plans are on hold,” he told a financial daily.

The company closed three TGI Fridays stores — one each in Delhi, Gurugram and Bengaluru — and let go 150 employees. “This is the first time in 23 years that we have had to shut down three stores back to back,” Jetley said.

“The situation in the long term looks unsustainable as of now; our international partners are apprehensive,” he said.

The government had withdrawn input tax credit against goods and services tax when GST on restaurants was slashed to 5% from 18% in November last year.

“Shutting down a restaurant has a multiplier impact on employment, consumption and foreign investors. We are hoping that the government relooks at ITC,” Jetley said.

From its overall presence of 12 stores, the American chain’s India store count is now down to nine. Globally, TGI Friday’s Inc operates 900 stores across 60 countries and is owned by private equity firms Sentinel Capital Partners and TriArtisan Capital Partners.

TGI Friday’s started operations in India in 1996, as a joint venture between Indian firm Bistro Hospitality and TGI Friday’s Inc.

The company had early last year said it was working on plans to bring in a second brand in the country based on a small-format bar model, to focus on liquor and snacks. At that time, it said India would be the first country where Friday’s is setting up the bar model, as it looks to respond to fast-changing consumer demographics, lifestyle evolution, and urbanization.

Restaurant operators say the removal of input tax credit directly impacts profit margins by 10-15%. According to industry experts, 2017 was a tough year for the industry on multiple counts, including the goods and services tax rollout, the impact of demonetization and a ban on selling and serving liquor near highways.

Packaged foods companies PepsiCo India and ITC are in market leadership race for Rs 23,000-crore salty snacks market which have come in the spotlight due to two competing companies.

The Rs 3,400-crore subset in question is ‘bridges’, where ITC’s Bingo Tedhe Medhe and Bingo Mad Angles compete with PepsiCo’s Kurkure. Bridges primarily consist of two formats — sticks and triangles. While most players in the category operate in sticks, the triangular format is pioneered by Mad Angles, inspired by the traditional Gujarati snack khakra. The four broad sub-segments of the salty snacks industry are Indian namkeens (Rs 9,500 crore), potato chips (Rs 5,500 crore), extruded (Rs 4,300 crore) and bridges. PepsiCo and ITC compete in almost all segments of salty snacks. Besides, they also compete in juices.

According to Nielsen data for February and March 2018 in the bridges segment, ITC Bingo, with a share of just over 30%, has overtaken PepsiCo’s Kurkure by a small margin. ITC has displayed consistency in being a leader in this subset for three months (January, February, and March) this year.

However, according to Nielsen’s moving annual total (MAT) data for March 2018, PepsiCo has a higher value share of about 31% as compared to ITC’s share of about 30%. MAT data is relied upon by the FMCG industry to get a picture of the rolling yearly sum. However, any event such as a change in leadership — no matter how minor — in a particular month indicates a turning point for a brand.

“ITC Bingo is today the market leader in the bridges segment. The category has become a lot more challenging with the expansion of various smaller and regional players. However, ITC Bingo has been steadily growing in the segment and has maintained a very high share vis-à-vis competition. Tedhe Medhe has been the growth driver for ITC in the bridges segment. The brand continues to grow in double digits every year,” ITC divisional CEO (foods) Hemant Malik said.

PepsiCo India, however, doubts the data related to the subset. “In our view, the understanding of the category is important. The bridges category appears outdated and does not hold relevance given the evolution of the snacks market and consumer preferences. PepsiCo looks at the broader extruded segment and so does Nielsen (that includes sub-categories like collet, puffs, triangle-shaped chips and others) where bridges are only a subset. Hence, it is not a like-to-like comparison,” said the PepsiCo India spokesperson.

In extruded snacks, PepsiCo India has a higher share of 26% (MAT data for March 2018), while ITC is at around 21%. The PepsiCo India spokesperson said considering that salty snacks are a very complex category — with multiple segments and sub-segments operating within it — different manufacturers and brands may assess their performance based on classifications best suited for them in the market. This is done by taking into account factors such as the presence of branded products in a segment, average selling price of segment or sub-segment.

PepsiCo India, which extended its portfolio with the launch of Kurkure Triangles, is the market leader in salty snacks, which is also the fastest growing category in overall snacks. “Our flagship brand Kurkure is growing at a healthy double-digit and we aim to double our volumes on the brand in the next five years on account of regionalisation and innovation,” the spokesperson added. ITC, on the other hand, has utilised its in-house culinary expertise of ITC hotels’ chefs to understand the needs of variety-seeking consumers in different geographies.

“ITC has a widespread distribution network that plays a critical role in ensuring product availability across the length and breadth of the country. Strong distribution growth is also a key driver for Tedhe Medhe’s business growth. In the last one year, ITC has added over 2.9 lakh retailers in the bridges segment,” said Malik.

India’s FMCG major, ITC has planned to enter into Rs 7,000 crore mango drink market with its B Natural brand in the next few months. Coke’s Maaza is the leader in the mango drink market in India followed by Parle Agro’s Frooti and Slice from Pepsico.

ITC had created B Natural brand primarily for fruit juices other than mango two years ago and the company would now extend it for mango drink.

The mango drink market, which is almost three times of the total fruit juice market in India, is growing at 14%-15% CAGR in the last couple of years. The Rs 2,500crore fruit drinks market, too, is growing a little over 15% CAGR. It is regarded as a separate category in India.

Hemant Malik, the divisional chief executive of foods division of ITC said that it is likely to enter mango drink market in the next four-five months. “We want to innovate in mango drinks space,” he said.

A company source said that B Natural as a brand has already crossed Rs 100crore mark and it is eyeing Rs 200 crore mark by the end of this fiscal.

Recently, Coca-Cola, too, has introduced new variants of Maaza in order to keep its dominant position in the mango juice market in the form of MaazaGold and Refresh. As per the industry source, Maaza has almost 40% market share nationally in the mango drink market followed by 25%-30% of Frooti.

“Maaza is our mango specialist and is India’s most-loved beverage brand with the highest consumer love scores. Maaza maintained its absolute leadership in the segment. We continue to invest in building the best consumer experience that will maintain and increase love for Maaza brand and its shelf offtake,” a Coca-Cola spokesperson said.

Malik pointed out that besides entering a new territory in the form of mango drink, ITC is also eyeing a double-digit market share in the fruit juice segment. In the fruit juice category, according to him, ITC would focus on indigenous pulp-based drink rather than imported fruit concentrate.

According to him, B Natural Juices will shift its entire fruit beverage portfolio to ‘Not from Concentrate’ range. “With this paradigm shift, the brand endeavors to offer its consumers juices that are made from fruit pulp and not from fruit concentrate. This shift towards a ‘Not From Concentrate’ range is in line with ITC Foods’ vision and commitment towards crafting differentiated offerings in this category,” Malik added.

The major players in fruit juice market are: Dabur (Real) and Pepsi. Coke is a relatively new entrant. Dabur has 50% market share in the segment, while Pepsico has around 25%. The fruit juice market is largely concentrate-based with only 10% formed by pulp-based juices.

FMCG major ITC is expecting 10 to 12 per cent market share in the packed juices and fruit beverages segment by next year as the company bets on its not from concentrate' range of juices, said a top company official.

ITC would continue to add more flavours in B Natural's portfolio and plans to add 4-5 new variants in next few months. Besides, the Kolkata-headquartered company is also looking to tap the export market.

"We believe that we should get a double-digit market share of the juices by next year," said Hemant Malik, ITC Divisional Chief Executive, Foods Division.

ITC has around 7 per cent share in the juices and fruit beverages market, which is estimated to be around Rs 2,500 crore. The market is growing 13 to 14 per cent annually and is dominated by players like Pepsico's Tropicana and Dabur's Real, the company said.

"This will lead to sourcing of over 2.5 lakh tonnes of fresh fruits directly from Indian farmers annually instead of importing concentrates," said Malik.

He further added, “Globally, the trend is moving towards not-from-concentrate based juices, and in markets as the US, it is sold at 30 per cent premium. We have 13 products and now our entire range would be made not from concentrate and fruits sourced from the domestic market.”

It is also strengthening the distribution network of B Natural and would focus on small tier III markets, which have also started consuming packed juices, besides tier I & II places.

"We are using our distribution strength to expand availability across both rural and urban markets," he said.

Besides ITC has also started exporting B Natural to Middle East targeting the Indian diaspora and is looking at markets as US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The company has also come on the heel for branding and promotions of their business.

Local candy makers, including Parle, ITC and DS Foods grabbed shares from multinationals in the Rs 7,500-crore confectionery segment, as per latest Nielsen data elicited from the familiar Industry officials.

Global firms such as Perfetti Van Melle, Mondelez and Nestle either remained stagnant or lost share last calendar year, hurt by higher prices of their wares in a stressed market due to demonetisation. Marketers feel even a 50 paise price hike could impact growth in the price sensitive category.

The candy companies went through the price revision like Mondelez India relaunched Halls from 50 paise earlier to Rs 1 and doubled its price of Choclairs to Rs 2 while Perfetti Van Melle India launched most of its candies including Alpenliebe at Rs 1 and upwards. Parle Products, however, kept their product prices unchanged. “Post demonetisation, lot of lower denomination currency came back into circulation that had helped sales for a 50 paise product.

Category head at Parle Products that sells brands including Mango Bite and Poppins B Krishna Rao said, “But at the same time, the practice of consumers accepting a Rs 1 toffee from grocers stopped to a large extent. Parle gained 160bps in 2017 with 16% in the confectionery space, while Perfetti lost share marginally by 20bps at 10.2%. Including chewing gums, Perfetti is by far the market leader controlling nearly a quarter of the overall market. As a category, the entire industry has been trying to move to Rs 1 price point after increase in the price of sugar, other raw materials and even packaging costs.”

One of the spokesperson said, “The focus has been on premiumisation with significant growth achieved for the Rs 1 and above portfolio in the confectionery segment. Growth has been achieved through introduction of differentiated offerings under the Candyman range.” To be sure, India’s leading chocolate makers too posted near decade-low growth in sales last fiscal, as health-conscious consumers cut back on discretionary buying in a slowing economy.

Mondelez, India’s largest chocolate maker and Nestle’s chocolate divisions saw sales rise by about 6% each in the year to March 2017 — better than a year ago but far from the double-digit growth the candy rivals have seen in most of the last decade. Yet, they remain bullish in the candy segment that has also seen a rush of new players both from large food companies such as DS foods as well as regional local brands.

Associate director Amit Shah said, “As leaders in chocolates and strong challengers in other categories we operate in, we continue to invest and innovate our brands,” marketing (gum, candy & beverages) at Mondelez India, that sell Halls and Cadbury Choclairs. Perfetti too posted below 1% growth for the second consecutive year last fiscal and said competition is getting intense, especially in the candies segment.

In the annual filing with Registrar of Companies, it said, “Whilst we had moved much of our portfolio from the 50 paise price point to Rs 1, with product value addition, the bulk of the market stays at 50 paise, leading to strong market challenges.”

Brand packaged food division of diversified conglomerate, ITC food expects its instant noodles brand Yippee to join 1000 crore revenue club by 2020 and emerge as the fourth powerful brand.

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 said 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. 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. There are plans to enter the snacking business under the brand.

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.

ITC Ltd, which aspires to register revenue of Rs 1 lakh crore from the new FMCG businesses by 2030, said on Friday the "tax structure" on processed food products "does not treat them as providing impetus to the agriculture economy".

"Unfortunately, there seems to be a view that packaged branded food products are a source of elitist consumption. Therefore, the tax structure does not treat them as providing impetus to the agricultural economy," ITC Chairman Y C Deveshwar told shareholders at the 106th annual general meeting here. He also said the current levels of processing of less than 10 per cent is way behind that of major food producing countries. "Given the tremendous potential of the food processing industry to transform the future of the agricultural sector and create jobs, it is critical that this sector is allowed to grow faster with strong policy impetus," he said. The tax incidence on food processing must be viewed from the perspective that it adds tremendous value to farmers and helps in ameliorating huge agri-wastage, Deveshwar said. He also said the company has decided to foray into fruits, vegetables and other perishable segments and investments are underway to climate-controlled infrastructure for an efficient supply chain to unlock the potential latent in this area. Deveshwar said that around 20 integrated consumer goods manufacturing and logistics facilities were under various stages of development. He said agro-forestry sector, as a source of raw material for wood-based industry, is "woefully constrained by policies that not only prevent job creation in India but promote avoidable imports".

India currently imports significant part of its demand for wood and wood based products, given a regime of near zero import duties. Taken together with a policy framework that does not permit corporate farming, it leaves the hapless farmer to compete with automated farms overseas," he said. 

The apex Court has given a chance to Britannia Industries Limited and ITC Limited to settle their dispute regarding the alleged deceptive packaging of their digestive biscuits out of court.

A bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Navin Sinha said, "The matter is adjourned sine die to enable the parties to effect an out-of-court settlement."

The order to this effect was passed as the two companies sought time to try to amicably settle the dispute.

ITC has moved the Supreme court challenging the Delhi High Court's March 10 verdict allowing Britannia to use its earlier blue and yellow coloured package for selling its 'Nutri Choice Digestive Zero' biscuits.

The order by a division bench of the high court had come on Britannia Industries Ltd's plea challenging its single judge's decision which had said the blue and yellow package was "deceptively similar" to that of ITC's 'Sunfeast Farmlite Digestive All Good'.

The division bench had allowed the appeal saying that in the short span from 2016, when ITC first started selling its digestive biscuits in a package of blue-yellow colour, the combination could not have become identified with the company.

The single judge had on September 6 last year granted relief to ITC Ltd by stopping rival Britannia Industries Ltd from selling its Nutri Choice Zero digestive biscuits in a package having the blue-yellow colour combination.

Britannia had thereafter approached the larger bench against the order, saying it was erroneous as the single judge had not considered the fact that their packaging was different from that of ITC's.

The single judge's order had come on a plea filed by ITC Ltd seeking to restrain Britannia from violating its rights in packaging or trade dress of Sunfeast Farmlite Digestive-All Good'biscuits by allegedly using a deceptively and confusingly similar trade dress for Nutri Choice Digestive Zero biscuits.

Revenue Secretary, Hasmukh Adhia, said that restaurants, hotels and eateries should cut rates on food items in their menu to reflect the benefit of being able to set off tax paid on inputs under GST.

He said, "GST will be levied on entire sum of food bill, including service charge, in a restaurant, while the value of alcohol or alcohol products consumed will attract VAT."

Previously, a service tax was levied on the bill. But the tax the hotel or restaurant operators paid on inputs could not be set off against the tax on final bill. This facility, called input tax credit (ITC), is available in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime.

In the GST Master Class, Adhia said, "Most of the restaurants should revise downward the rate charged on food items in their menu because of ITC which is now available. So ITC should be accounted for now in form of reduction in the value of supplies which they are giving."

Under the GST regime, while non-air conditioned restaurants attract 12 per cent tax, AC restaurants and those serving liquor will attract 18 per cent.

Adhia further said that anything that is served as part of restaurant bill will be subject to GST, barring alcohol on which Value Added Tax (VAT) will be levied.

He said, "On the entire value of food bill, including service charge, on that portion also GST will apply."

Adhia further said that the tax department has received representation for transition provision of lease service industry. As per the GST provisions, ITC will not be available for central excise already paid on cars which are on lease.

He said, "There are a lot of representations on this about transition for lease service industry. We are looking at the representation but we are not sure how to handle this."

Kolkata-based FMCG major, ITC Ltd, makers of the Fabelle luxury chocolate brand, has decided to open up India's first branded chocolate boutiques by setting up luxury boutiques till now confined to the premises of its hotels. The fast-moving consumer goods major aims to come up with one store each in Delhi and Kolkata by the end of September.

Hemant Malik, Chief Executive of foods, ITC told Business Standard, "Spaces have been identified and will be operational sometime next quarter. The identified spaces will be our own in the current phase to ensure quality and a befitting experience for the consumer."

The company’s luxury chocolate brand, Fabelle sells in boutiques inside seven of its hotels. In September last year, ITC had indicated plans to take this brand outside its hotel premises. Since then, it has been scouting for space in luxury malls to suit the brand’s premium positioning and to give the brand good visibility.

Malik said, "Plans are on to take the range outside ITC Hotels to premium modern trade outlets and select malls as well as Wills Lifestyle stores for greater accessibility and visibility."

Currently, the Fabelle boutiques inside the ITC hotels are built over an area of 700-800 square feet each.

According to the company, limiting Fabelle to select company-owned hotels was effective, helping the brand to establish itself in the luxury market.

Apart from chocolates, the current Fabelle boutiques in the ITC hotels will also offer desserts and cocoa beverage. 

Tata Group, one of the country’s largest conglomerate ia likely to enter the market dominated by the likes of ITC, MTR and Patanjali, with its ready-to-eat food.

It will look at manufacturing and marketing vegetaranian, non- vegetaranian, nonalcoholic, carbonated and non-carbonated food products.

The company confirmed the development but said the project right now is in experimental stages, which may or may not evolve into a business in the future.

The Tata Industries spokesperson said, "Market opportunities we see are at the intersection of consumer preferences, especially millennial, for recipes in a convenient and quick format. The conventional domestic ready-to-eat market is too small currently to be seen as a standalone market opportunity."

The spokesperson also added, "It is premature to quantify investment on an exercise which is in the nature of an experiment. In case, hypothetically, there is a substantial market opportunity in the future which we can address, we will look at all viability parameters before making an investment decision."

ITC aims to outrun Nestle and Britannia as the leader of India’s packaged-foods industry in the next two-three years, crowning the two-decade transformation of the century old tobacco giant into a diversified consumer-goods company.

Hemant Malik, Divisional Chief Executive, Food Business, said that the formula for dominance in the increasingly competitive packaged foods industry would be accelerated introduction of new products, and entry into seven-eight newer categories.

He said, "We are constantly evaluating different categories, and our R&D team is working on multiple products that would be superior and differentiated. A lot of back-end exploratory work is going on."

ITC is said to be evaluating staples and edible oil, health foods, and value-added dairy products as categories it might enter.

The maker of Sunfeast biscuits and Bingo chips is now the third-largest player in the packaged foods market, with Rs 7,097 crore sales in 2015-16.

By contrast, Nestle had Rs 8,175 crore sales in calendar 2015, and Britannia reported Rs 7,947 crore revenue in 2015-16.

ITC plans to introduce about 40 new food products in the next year – a record for ITC – and sell premium chocolates and coffee through retail chains and online stores.

Malik said the 40 new differentiated products will not only be variants, but also new products. ITC’s foods business is expected to be the majority contributor to its goal of achieving a turnover of Rs 1 lakh crore from its non-cigarette FMCG businesses by 2030. The company is expecting Rs 60,000 crore to Rs 65,000 crore will be generated from the foods business by then.

Malik said, "We can achieve our goal, given the huge opportunities that lie in every segment, and the GDP growth rate that India will be witnessing over the years. ITC has forayed into multiple categories and we are constantly expanding our portfolio of offerings."

FMCG major ITC is spicing up its food portfolio, with master chefs from its hotels curating different blends of spices for a premium range to be sold under the 'ITC Master Chef' brand.

The company, which is pursuing to create world class brands by leveraging on enterprise strengths, is banking on spices sourced by its Agri Business division from different states, including Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Hemant Malik, Divisional Chief Executive, ITC Foods Division, said, "We are focusing on blended spices through ITC Master Chef brand. This is one new segment on which we are working."

Elaborating how the company has leveraged on its internal expertise, he said: "Master chefs from ITC Hotels have curated each spice blend. We are positioning it as a premium range considering the effort taken to develop the blends."

A lot of effort has been put into developing the spice range with over 470 tests so that the product is compliant with not just Indian standards but also EU standards, he added.

The company has launched ITC Master Chef super-safe spices in the capital. It is promoting the brand as "super safe spices" through its communication in print, outdoor, radio and digital platforms.

ITC's idea behind the spice blends is to celebrate the local cuisine and bringing alive the flavors and taste of North India.

The company is relying on its integrated pest management programme under which it has worked with farmers to produce crops that are compliant with not just Indian standards but also EU standards.

The Kolkata-based firm, which has set a target of achieving Rs 1 lakh crore revenue from its FMCG business by 2030, is also expanding retail points of its luxury chocolate brand Fabelle and is targeting shop-in-shops.

"Right now they are sold in hotels only but very soon we are trying to take it outside, such as malls," he said.

ITC is also setting up new integrated factories for its food division and has completed some of them.

Malik said, "We have already started two units in West Bengal, one in Guwahati and by July or August this year our unit in Punjab should start and around same time one more unit in West Bengal would start."

ITC is also expanding its juice portfolio with an aim to garner around 20 per cent market share in five years in the packaged fruit juice segment, currently estimated to be around Rs 2,500-crore market. The company is adding new flavours and focusing on local fruits. It is also boosting its sales network to meet the target.

When asked about the contribution of Food Division in ITC's total fold, Malik said: "In the FMCG space, ITC Food is the largest contributor".

Criticising the move by India's food regulator to join hands with Coca-Cola to teach street vendors about hygiene, a green body said the contract should be cancelled as it was against the country's interests.

Vandana Shiva, Founder, 'Navdanya' under Mahila Anna Swaraj Network, said, "First, we as citizens of India have the right to know on what basis this contract was allotted to Coca-Cola. Given their past record how did this corporation be given the contract?"

She alleged that given Coca-Cola's track record of pollution, contamination, water theft, food un-safety, and blatant transgression of Indian environmental laws, it does not qualify to teach Indians about food safety.

Shiva said, "We know this is an egregious step taken under corporate pressure by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). Far from bringing food safety, this will ruin the diversity of India's street foods and will victimise the honest small street vendors of India, who for generations have been giving us taste and health."

Food regulator FSSAI recently tied up with Coca-Cola India to train 50,000 street food vendors over the next three years and plans to rope in other players like ITC and Mondelez under its 'Clean Street Food' campaign.

ITC, one of the giants of FMCG sector in India is planning to scale up its production in food products. The company is aiming to install around eight to nine manufacturing units across the country in next two-three years and these factories will be set up with a mammoth investment of Rs 4000 crore from ITC.

While taking the curtains off from the news, VL Rajesh, CEO, ITC Foods revealed that the company plans to put eight-nine massive factories over the next two-three years and it will invest about Rs 4,000 crore to manufacture products across different categories that the company operates in.

The recent ITC report reveals that the company’s packaged food division has witnessed a tremendous growth of almost 11 per cent with a turnover of Rs 7,097,49 crore (2015-16). Food is the second largest business for ITC after cigarettes.

The company, which recently expanded its new Sunfeast Farmlite biscuits portfolio catering to health conscious consumers, is looking at tapping this fast growing consumer segment.

Health segment of the biscuit market is about one per cent of industry right now but it is growing the fastest. Key approach is to have a full portfolio across segments. ITC will make a big play in this segment for sure. Its claims on health benefits are validated by its labs and research centre in Bengaluru. Company recently launched Sugar release control Aashirvaad Atta for people who have sugar issues, adds Rajesh.

ITC's instant noodles brand Yippee is inching closer to become Rs 1,000- crore brand, making the most out of the controversy that hit rival Nestle's Maggi, reported PTI.

"Sunfeast YiPPee! as a brand is now in its fifth year post the national rollout. We are proud to say that Yippee Noodles is poised to enter the Rs 1,000 crore club in the ITC Foods stable," said V L Rajesh, Chief Executive, ITC Ltd Divisional, Foods Division.

Explaining Yippee's growth pre-and post-Maggi ban, he said it was "growing at more than 40 per cent before the controversy broke out... (in June 2015), with all the competitors in the market".

"The controversy and confusion that prevailed adversely affected the whole industry. However, with our proactive inputs and innovative campaigns, we were the fastest to recover and then exceed our old sales levels," Rajesh added.

The company's campaigns had focused on "world-class product and manufacturing processes", he said.

Nestle had re-launched Maggi in November following a Bombay High Court order, which in August had lifted ban on the instant noodles brand imposed by food safety regulators.

Exuding confidence of taking on the market leader in the instant noodles segment, he said, "We were gaining market share month-on-month even before the controversy happened and are continuing to grow even now."

In 2015, ITC had revenue of Rs 36,507.40 crore. During 2015-16 ITC's net sales was Rs 17,310.23 crore, in which non-cigarette FMCG segment including branded packaged food business had contributed Rs 4,522.63 crore.

ITC is planning to set up new manufacturing units for Yippee considering its growth rate, he said, "We will continue to invest in line with our ambitions in this category."

In a lab testing in the state of Uttar Pradesh, the lab has allegedly found ITC's Yippee noodles sub-standard, a charge that the company vehemently denied.

According to ITC, the standards prescribed for different categories of products are being applied to its products, which comply with strict quality and hygiene norms, reported PTI.

Food Inspector of the UP government, in a report dated August 27, 2015, stated that after testing sample of ITC's Yippee noodles manufactured at Haridwar, it was found that "total ash of the tastemaker exceeds the maximum prescribed limit of 1 per cent. Hence, the sample is sub-standard."

ITC strongly refuted the claims, saying all its products are "manufactured in state-of-the-art, world-class facilities, complying with strict quality and hygiene norms."

"The contention raised by the food inspector is erroneous. The standards being referred to are for a separate category, Macaroni products. These cannot be applied to instant noodles which is a proprietary food," it said.

ITC said food regulator FSSAI has, in an order dated October 19, 2015, clarified to the Commissioner of Food Safety, Bihar that "instant noodles cannot be tested against the parameters prescribed for dried noodles but have to be tested against the standards stipulated for instant noodles."

ITC, the FMCG major in the country has announced an investment of Rs 700-1400 crore in the food park coming up in Punjab.

The company is increasing its investment in the Food Park at Kapurthala, ITC FMCG Businesses President Sanjiv Puri informed Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal during an interaction with PTI.

Badal met with the corporate honchos to hard-sell the state as a favoured destination for investment, an official release said.

He told industrialists that the state was coming out with a policy offering cheapest power in the country to new investors and government was in the process of banning Inspectors from entering factory premises, it said.

Puri said that ITC had succeeded in making Kinnow juice and the product was under consumer testing and would be in the market within the current financial year.

Godrej Agrovet Managing Director Balram Yadav said that his company would evaluate setting up a green house and food park over 100 acres.

Badal said the government was ready to create the entire infrastructure for the green house at Ladhowal. "Companies and farmers taking up area in the green house would have to pay operating costs only", he said.

Molson Coors president Ravi Kaza announced that his company was upgrading a plant by investing Rs 50 crore.

Representatives of Marks and Spencer, Cannon, Walmart, Dabur and Shaktibhog Atta also held one-to-one meetings with Badal.

Dabur representative Sunil Duggal expressed interest in processing kinnows, while Walmart representatives said there was scope of opening a dozen more Walmart stores in Punjab as the company's stores in Punjab had the best sales, the release said.  

ITC, one of the largest FMCG companies, is set to debut its range of dairy product starting with ghee, which would be available in the market by the end of the current quarter, a top company executive said.

"We will bring our first dairy product into the market with ghee by the end of the current quarter," said Sanjiv Puri, president of FMCG businesses at ITC, reported PTI.

In the few years, the Company’s ambitious dairy business will rollout other products subsequent ghee will include packaged milk, butter, cheese and chocolates to take on category leaders such as Amul, Nestle, PepsiCo, Hindustan Unilever and Dabur.

"Work on this plan is at various stages and when we are ready, we will launch products based on how the market evolves," Puri said.

While Puri did not ascertain the exact investment that has gone into setting up the dairy business as it is "an ongoing process", he said a "significant portion" of the targeted investment of Rs 25,000 crore for ITC over the next few years would be in foods.

The corporation has set up a milk processing unit in Munger, in Bihar and there are plans to set up similar processing facilities in other parts of the country as well.

The Kolkata-headquartered business group also entered the non-aerated juice market last fiscal and launched seven variants under the B-Natural brand in January, which Puri said saw robust double-digit growth in both the South and East where they began marketing.

ITC's stated vision is to see its revenue go up to Rs 1, 00,000 crore by 2030 from the new FMCG businesses. It saw revenue of Rs 6,411 crore in 2014-15.

In the course of an attack on various food products over safety concerns, Y C Deveshwar, ITC chairman said that noodles manufactured by the company under the 'Yippee' brand are safe and passed all the tests, reported PTI.

He also said, "No fault has been found with our noodles brand and it had passed all the tests at a time when most noodles brands were asked to stop sale of their products after the (Maggi) controversy broke out".

ITC's brand, before the controversy was authoritative 18 to 20 per cent of the whole market share. But after the storm on Maggi, the market was shrunken as the consumers became suspicious of the products.

"Consumption of some other packaged products has also gone down. It requires reassurance for markets to revive", he added.

ITC has set a target of garnering revenue of Rs 1 lakh crore by 2030 from its FMCG business. Y C Deveshwar, chairman said today it look to increase presence in this segment.

Presently, revenue from FMCG business stands at around Rs 9,000 crore.

ITC was targeting to gather a business volume of Rs 1 lakh crore from FMCG business alone by 2030, Deveshwar said the company was investing heavily in brands to create consumer franchise in number of ways.

"The company has made relentless efforts in building world class brands, which had garnered an annual consumer, spend of Rs 11,000 crore," added Deveshwar.

Deveshwar said ITC was not on the bottom-line growth path but on the top line instead. He adds, "This is why the company is creating the brands of tomorrow".

On the cigarettes business, he said the regulatory environment was not entirely rational.

"I wonder some NGOs are acting as agents of overseas cigarette companies helping smuggling of cigarettes into the country. Smuggling of cigarettes is rising while the legal cigarette industry is losing volumes which are causing the Indian farmers to lose income", he said.

Deveshwar also states that ITC would be one of the most profitable FMCG companies in future.

He says, "Profits are not the only indicator of success. For instance e-commerce companies are losing cash as they are in the process of building market position. This is what ITC is doing by investing in brands”.

Regarding investments, he said ITC was investing Rs 3,500 crore in West Bengal in two factories, InfoTech centre and one hotel. The company is also investing Rs 6,000 crore at the Telengana paper mill to double capacity. ITC was envisaging an outlay of Rs 25,000 crore across 65 projects in the country.

ITC Ltd has also posted yesterday a subdued 3.61 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 2,265.44 crore for the first quarter ended 30th June, due to pressure on cigarette sales and sluggish demand for other FMCG products.

ITC also said in the previous fiscal, during June quarter, net sales have been declined 7.18 per cent to Rs 8,505.53 crore for the quarter as against Rs 9,164.42 crore.

ITC, which sells Yippee noodles under Sunfeast brand, has decided to remove ‘no-added MSG’ from its labels on the instant noodle packets.

ITC has taken the decision to remove the same following the Maggi noodles controversy wherein FSSAI has pointed that  if a product does not contain monosodium glutamate (MSG), the manufacturer should refrain from using the phrase 'No added MSG' on its packets.

“In connection with another brand of noodles, the FSSAI has expressed the opinion that such a statement is inappropriate. Therefore, ITC is voluntarily taking steps to remove the phrase 'No added MSG' from its labels in its new batches of packaging and consumers should ignore this phrase on the current packaging,” added an ITC statement.

Hence, ITC claims that all new manufactured packets will now strictly follow the FSSAI norms by removing no added MSG on the fresh packets.

The company has also assured its customers of safe food products mentioning that YiPPee! noodles has been found to be in compliance with all food safety regulations and safe for consumption.

Food Security and Standard Authority of India has ordered the testing of various noodles, pasta and macaroni brands, including Top Ramen, Foodles and Wai Wai, manufactured by seven companies to check compliance of norms in the wake of Maggi controversy, reported PTI. The food safety body has also has to test different variants of Maggi Pazzta along with tastemakers.

"Various test results on Maggi and some other similar products have raised serious health concerns. In view of the same, it would be advisable to draw regulatory samples for similar products for which product approvals have been granted by the FSSAI. These samples should be sent to the authorised labs for testing," said YS Malik, CEO, FSSAI in a letter to Commissioners of Food Safety in all states and UTs.

As per FSSAI order, the companies whose products have been listed for testing are Nestle India, ITC, Indo Nissin Food Ltd, GSK Consumer Helathcare, CG Foods India, Ruchi International and AA Nutrition Ltd.

The regulator has ordered the testing of products registered with it.

The products include Wai Wai noodles and bhujiya chicken snacks by CG Foods; Koka instant noodles from Ruchi International, Foodles by GSK Consumer Helathcare and Nestle's Maggi instant noodles with nine variants.

Others in the list are Indo Nissin's Top Ramen Aata Masala, ITC's three variants of instant noodles and Yummy chicken and vegetarian noodles of AA Nutrition.

When contacted CG Foods CEO GP Sah said: "Our brands meets all regulatory standards as listed by Food Safety and Standard Authority of India. We are not closed to any tests and will cooperate with authorities if required."

Comments from other companies could not be obtained immediately.

The development comes after the Indian unit of the Swiss multinational recalled Maggi from the markets after several states banned the famous '2-minute' instant food brand as tests showed them containing taste enhancer MSG (Mono Sodium Glutamate) and lead in excess of the permissible limits.

Meanwhile, FSSAI on Friday banned all variants of Maggi noodles terming them as "unsafe and hazardous" for human consumption.

ITC Ltd, the FMCG major which earlier announced its plan to enter into the dairy sector is entering the sector next fiscal, reported Hindu BusinessLine.

The brand is planning to sell a bouquet of value-added products such as ghee.

ITC is expecting its 2, 00,000 litres a day milk processing facility at Munger, Bihar, to be operational over the “next few months”.

However, the brand name of the dairy business is yet to be finalised.

“We are hopeful of launching the dairy products by next year (2015-16),” said Chitranjan Dar, Chief Executive, ITC's Foods Division.

The Munger plant will produce a number of value added products like ghee.

“Pulp milk is unlikely to be the immediate focus of the company,” added Dar.

ITC is planning to set up similar processing facilities in other parts of the country.

According to Dar, ITC would leverage its own backend process to facilitate procurement of milk from the farmers.

ITC Ltd, one of the largest FMCG company in India has announced that it is in the process of setting up 20 factories for its FMCG products, reported PTI.

The group is targeting to garner Rs 1 lakh crore revenue from FMCG business alone by 2030.

"We are in the process of building 20 factories. There are some roadblocks, we are stuck on land but let us contribute to this country in a significant way,” said YC Deveshwar, Chairman, ITC.

In the previous fiscal, ITC's revenue from FMCG including cigarettes stood at Rs 23,555 crore.

The company's FMCG business includes cigarettes, foods, lifestyle retailing, personal care, education & stationery, safety matches and agarbattis.

ITC is also planning to achieve a turnover of over Rs 1 lakh crore from its brands in the FMCG business by 2030.

Meanwhile, the company is aiming to create global Indian brands in the years to come.

ITC, the FMCF major has reported over 10.47 per cent rise in third quarter which ended December 2014, reported PTI.
The Kolkata based company has reported net profit at Rs 2,635 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2014.

ITC has earlier posted a profit of Rs 2,385.34 crore in the corresponding quarter a year earlier.

Net sales increased by marginal 2.05 per cent to Rs 8,800.22 crore as against Rs 8,623.11 crore in the same period last year, ITC said in a BSE filing.

Earnings from the company's FMCG business, including cigarettes, increased by 4.23 per cent to Rs 6,456.06 crore, while that from the non-FMCG business section grew by 0.31 per cent to Rs 9,582.95 crore.

Meanwhile, ITC’s share was trading at Rs 359 on the BSE in afternoon trade, down 3.29 per cent from the previous close.

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.

Hassad Food, the Qatar based company which acquired Delhi’s Bush Food last year has filed an FIR against the Indian Basmati Company, as per a report in ET.

The Qatar based company said in a statement that Bush Foods had fudged accounts and indulged in fictitious sales amounting to Rs 1,000 crore.

Hassad Food, owned by Qatar Investment Authority has alleged that it invested around Rs 750 crore in Bush Foods in April 2013 for 69.5 per cent stake based on false financial statements and nonexistent inventory.

The company’s legal counsel Simon Henders on its FIR said Bush Foods' top management including promoter Virkaran Awasty provided incorrect financial statements to induce investment.

Hassad Food has also accused Standard Chartered Private Equity officials, claiming that they were aware of the financial affairs of Bush Foods and helped negotiate and seal the deal. Hassan Food's acquisition of Bush Foods had given an exit option to Standard Chartered PE that held around 30 per cent while promoters including Awasty family too sold part of their stake.
An email query to Hassad Food didn't get any response as of press time while Bush Foods was unreachable for comment.  And the Standard Chartered declined to comment.

Bush Foods was founded in 1992 by Awasty who still holds 30.5 percent stake in the company.

"The internal investigations reveal significant discrepancies between the actual inventory available with the company and inventory that was shown in its books of accounts up to October, 2013, which has been represented to various shareholders / lenders ," said Henders in the FIR.
"The misrepresentations indicate a huge accounting fraud, which is to the tune of approx Rs 1,000 crore," it read. Hassad Food alleged that Bush Foods, during the deal process, maintained it had at least 12 months of stock of inventory at any given time in order to ensure continuity of supply for the branded products.

A vendor due diligence report dated October 31, 2013 prepared by PwC at the request of Bush Foods, also stated that the company had inventories of Rs 895.50 crore as on March 31, 2012.

However, Hassad Food in its internal investigation this year found that the actual extent of the stock of inventory to be in the range of Rs 18-30 crore as substantial number of bags were filed with husk and wooden pallets, giving an impression that warehouses are filled with stocks. Hassad Food also alleged that credit facilities have been availed on behalf of Bush Foods on the basis of non-existent stocks.