Covid-19 slows Britannia's total foods journey as biscuits get priority

Plans to scale up its croissants and salted snacks offerings put on backburner

With the Covid-19 spread giving a boost to biscuits sales, Good Day maker Britannia has prioritised the production of such products while putting plans to scale up its croissants and salted snacks offerings on the backburner. This has led to a slowdown in the company’s journey to become a total foods company.

During an investor call on Wednesday, the company’s MD Varun Berry said that for the past two months it has followed an 80:20 strategy by focussing 20 per cent of the products which give 80 per cent volumes. 

Because of this prioritisation of biscuits and shortage of labour, a few of Britannia's new launches like croissants have taken a back seat. Starting this month, however, the company will slowly get back to its entire variety being back in the market.

Its chocolate and vanilla croissants are still in test markets in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal as the company failed to scale it up because its flagship Ranjangaon plant in Maharashtra, where the product is manufactured, was in the heart of Covid territory and a limited number of workers could reach the factories. Its baked salted snacks have also not been able to go beyond the south India test markets.

The company had earlier said in February that it was hoping to take the croissant offerings pan India by May-June this year and salted snacks nationally in the next six months.

“But our walk in total foods has been reasonably good and some products such as wafers are doing reasonably well,” said Berry.

While normalcy won’t return for a year or so but as things start inching back towards normal, Berry said the company will have to start to build its innovation funnel slowly and steadily.