Itc To Enter Packaged Food Business

With this, ITC's first packaged food product, the 'Bukhara Daal' will be available at all FoodWorld outlets all over the country.

According to sources, this is the beginning of a trend of frontline corporate houses joining hands to leverage their marketing and distribution networks in the fast moving world of the retailing business. ITC is scouting for similar arrangements with other chain stores for retailing its packaged food products all over the country.

"We intend to leverage ITC's competencies in Indian cuisine through the food packaging business. ITC has been promoting Indian cuisine through its restaurants in the hospitality business for quite some time", said ITC sources.

 

Primarily, ITC has been promoting three types of Indian cuisines through its restaurants like the north-west frontier cuisine in the Bukhara restaurant of Welcomgroup Maurya Sheraton, south Indian cuisine through Dakshin restaurant available at Welcomgroup Park Sheraton, Chennai and Welcongroup Grand Kakatiya at Hyderabad and Welcomgroup Grand Bay at Visakhapatnam. The Lucknavi or Avadhi food has been popularised through the Dum Pukht restaurants at Welcomgroup Maurya Sheraton at New Delhi and Wlecomgroup Grand Kakatiya at Hyderabad.

While Bukhara cuisine has already developed into a brand for packaged food, development of Dakshin and Dum Pukht into similar brands for packaged authentic Indian food products is also not ruled out. 'The cuisines have been developed over time and are quite popular with our clients. Keeping in view, the popularity of the Bukhara cuisine, it was decided to get into packaged food products in a major way, with supporting technology to improve shelf life", pointed out ITC sources.

ITC has already created a task force to prepare a detailed road map for achieving the targeted growth in this business. Overall, he said, the company will invest Rs 600 crore this year in all its operations.

The new business will also have a presence in the overseas markets in the later stage. The aim is to consolidate the foray domestically first and subsequently grow in the overseas markets.