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Nusli Wadia-promoted Britannia Industries is looking to enter into a joint venture (JV) with a global player, to expand its presence in the dairy segment. At present, dairy is a Rs 4,000 million business for the food major.
Within diary, Britannia’s focus has been the cheese segment, which includes products like cheese slices, cheese cubes and blocks that have a longer shelf life. With this joint venture, the company is looking to take complete control of the entire process — from collection of fresh milk to processing and then to introduction of value-added products such as cheese deserts, cheese rolls and lollypops, Varun Berry, managing director, Britannia Industries, told Business Standard.
“We are also evaluating whether it makes sense to have a joint venture for some of these categories. Hopefully, in another 3-4 months, we will be ready with the answer,” Berry added.
There is fierce competition in the dairy segment, with existing companies like Nestle, Amul, Mother Dairy and Danone, and new players like Patanjali, Coca-Cola and ITC jostling for space.
However, Britannia does not want to get into the commodity market, which includes fresh milk and where the competition is more, and instead focus on the premium segment, where there are hardly any international players, Berry said.
“If you are getting into value-added categories, then it’s not that fierce. If you think about it, there are not many international players because it’s a protected business; you can’t import. If you are able to do international quality products with the right kind of taste, then the opportunities are huge,” he added.
If the joint venture materialises, this would be Britannia’s second operational JV focusing on the Indian market after the one with Chipita, the Greek baker, announced in February last year.
Within diary, Britannia’s focus has been the cheese segment, which includes products like cheese slices, cheese cubes and blocks that have a longer shelf life. With this joint venture, the company is looking to take complete control of the entire process — from collection of fresh milk to processing and then to introduction of value-added products such as cheese deserts, cheese rolls and lollypops, Varun Berry, managing director, Britannia Industries, told Business Standard.
“We are also evaluating whether it makes sense to have a joint venture for some of these categories. Hopefully, in another 3-4 months, we will be ready with the answer,” Berry added.
There is fierce competition in the dairy segment, with existing companies like Nestle, Amul, Mother Dairy and Danone, and new players like Patanjali, Coca-Cola and ITC jostling for space.
However, Britannia does not want to get into the commodity market, which includes fresh milk and where the competition is more, and instead focus on the premium segment, where there are hardly any international players, Berry said.
“If you are getting into value-added categories, then it’s not that fierce. If you think about it, there are not many international players because it’s a protected business; you can’t import. If you are able to do international quality products with the right kind of taste, then the opportunities are huge,” he added.
If the joint venture materialises, this would be Britannia’s second operational JV focusing on the Indian market after the one with Chipita, the Greek baker, announced in February last year.
