ITC expects food biz to touch Rs 10,000 cr in 2 yrs

Company's new luxury chocolate brand Fabelle will be pan-India and in the next few months

Conglomerate ITC is hoping to cross Rs 10,000 crore annual revenue in its food business in the next 18-24 months, It was Rs 7,200 crore in FY16, now the second largest business within ITC, with contribution of nearly 18 per cent.

Speaking to Business Standard after launching Fabelle, a chocolate boutique at the ITC Grand Chola here on Friday, G K Suresh, vice-president, new category development, said one of the key drivers are the new products launched by the food business.

It had begun its journey in foods with biscuits, entered snacks by launching the Bingo brand and then to instant noodles through brand Sunfeast Yippee. Last year, it added juices, ghee and later expanded into dairy whitener and premium chocolates.

Suresh said it had forayed into a premium segment in the chocolate space, where no other brand exits. The country's chocolate market is around Rs 7,000 crore and growing at Rs 10-12 per cent yearly.

The starting price of  Fabelle would be around Rs 400 a box of five pieces and goes as high as Rs 675 a box.

It has been in the making for almost a decade, with extensive research, the aim being to craft the “finest luxury chocolates in India that rival the best in the world”, said Suresh.

He said the Fabelle creation were put up to the senior management at ITC headquarters at least eight times over the past decade, every time being sent back to the drawing board to excel the previous version.

After a final nod this April, Fabelle was launched at ITC Gardenia in Bengalaru and in July at the ITC Sonar in Kolkata. The third market is Chennai with the launch at ITC Grand Chola.
 

"Initially we are planning to have it in the luxury ITC hotels before the end of this year and then we will look at malls and high streets with standalone stores," said Suresh, who declined to share revenue expectation from the new business stating that company's initial focus is to establish the brand first.