ITC Plans Expansion For Its Sunfeast Brands Of Biscuit

'Sun feast ' brands of  biscuit   owned by  ITC   group  which is amongst  major  corporates in Indian industry with   products ranging  from stationery items , paper , hotels , food products   and  its main stay tobacco . ITC  is new entrant  to biscuit segment  which has been dominated by  Parle and Britannia .  ITC deep pockets and distribution channels  have helped  it  to make dents in already entrenched market  . It claims to have  9-11% market share of organised or branded  Indian biscuit  market. With competition hotting up  with slew of new products  and expansion by its  competitors   and with arrival  of  new players like  Mcvities , Unibic ,GSKB,Pepsi ,It  plans   to counter these developments  through various  expansion plans for its biscuit division . 


A report

ITC Foods is investing in research and development projects to launch new variants in Q3 FY 2011.On the company’s growth strategy, Chittaranjan Dhar, CEO of ITC Foods said, “We want to create new products to fight competition. We are extending our distribution network both in rural and urban India. Our core strategy is to offer quality products at optimum prices. “

According to Dhar, the company has extended its manufacturing capacity by setting up three new biscuit plants in UP and West Bengal. “We are sharpening our focus on our supply chain management strategy to enhance product freshness, market servicing and margins,” he added. ITC has 14 manufacturing facilities.

To promote its flagship brand Sunfeast, ITC is investing in mass media ad campaigns and non-traditional media in Q3 FY 2011.

“Sunfeast biscuits grew by 32% in the September quarter driven by products mix improvement with growth in the sales of value-added variants of cookies and creams,” said Dhar. Master blaster Sachin Tendular will continue to be the brand ambassador of Sunfeast. Like ITC, Parle Foods is also investing in new product developments to woo new consumers.


source : financialexpress  dt 5/11/10  author : lalitha  srinivasan