Britannia seeks to grow in bakery post-Daily Bread buyout

Packaged food maker Britannia Industries Ltd is seeking to increase its footprint in the multi-million-dollar Indian bakery market following the buyout of Bangalore-based bakery food retailer Daily Bread.     

"The Daily Bread business provides Britannia with the opportunity to engage with a new shape of business opportunity in retail which is different in that it requires a different profile of outlets and resources to man it," Britannia Industries Ltd Vice-President (Sales, Marketing and Innovation) Neeraj Chandra told PTI.     

"Equally, however, the business is aligned to bakery which is Britannia's core competency," he added.     

Chandra said the focus would be on intensifying the bakery business of the Daily Bread brand, while seeking to expand the retail opportunity.     

"In this manner, the Daily Bread business would complement and synergise with the Britannia brand which is India's foremost food brand with leadership across the extended bakery space of biscuits, cakes, rusks, bread and so on," Chandra said.     

Last week, Britannia, which already controlled 75 per cent stake in Daily Bread, had announced the acquisition of the remaining shares in the company for an undisclosed amount, almost a year before the originally-targeted date of May 2010.

Britannia had in June 2006 acquired a 51 per cent stake in the Bangalore-based firm from its promoter Arjun Sekri and then raised it (the stake) to 75 per cent with progressive investment during the following period.     

"Daily Bread is as an incubation venture that it is currently being perfected in order to be rolled out once the external environment improves," Chandra said.     

Daily Bread is a manufacturer and retailer of bakery products, including specialty breads, across the institutional and retail segments.     

It operates around a dozen standalone retail outlets and some kiosks in Bangalore and Goa and has also tied up with large-format retailers to set up shop-in-shop formats.     

"Daily Bread's operations in these cities (Bangalore and Goa) would be scaled up using the franchise route to expand the retail store footprint. The company’s operations would continue to strengthen the Daily Bread brand which is already established as a leading bakery brand offering gourmet experiences," he said.     

Regarding the operational structure of Daily Bread following the takeover, Chandra said: "The Daily Bread business would become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Britannia Industries Ltd but would continue to operate as a standalone business."