Britannia vs ITC: A Tale of Two Titans in the Indian Food Industry

In the fiercely competitive landscape of the Indian food industry, Britannia Industries Ltd and ITC Limited stand out as two formidable titans, each commanding a significant share of the market and vying for consumer attention. While both companies have carved out their own niches and built strong brand identities, a closer examination reveals distinct strategies, strengths, and contributions to the culinary landscape of India.

Britannia Industries Ltd:

Britannia, with its rich legacy spanning over a century, has become synonymous with taste, trust, and tradition in Indian households. The company's extensive product portfolio encompasses a wide range of biscuits, cakes, dairy products, and snacks, catering to diverse tastes and preferences across the country. Britannia's unwavering commitment to quality, innovation, and consumer satisfaction has earned it a loyal following and cemented its position as one of India's leading food brands.

Britannia's success can be attributed to its deep-rooted understanding of Indian consumers and their culinary preferences. The company's ability to blend traditional recipes with modern flavors and packaging has resonated with consumers across generations, fostering a sense of nostalgia and familiarity. Britannia's iconic products like Good Day biscuits, Marie Gold ,50-50,MilkBikis , Nice ,Croissant , NutriChoice range, and Treat cakes have become household staples, evoking fond memories and moments of shared joy. Alongwith bakery they are into dairy and croissant business

ITC Limited:

ITC Limited, a diversified conglomerate with interests in various sectors including food, agriculture, and hospitality, has emerged as a dominant player in the Indian food industry. ITC's food division offers a diverse range of products spanning packaged foods, snacks, beverages, and culinary essentials, catering to the evolving tastes and lifestyles of Indian consumers. With a focus on innovation, quality, and sustainability, ITC has established itself as a trusted name in the Indian culinary landscape.

ITC's food division leverages its expertise in agriculture and supply chain management to source high-quality ingredients and produce a wide array of premium food products. From the popular Sunfeast biscuits and Yippee noodles to the innovative Bingo snacks and Fabelle chocolates, ITC's food portfolio reflects its commitment to excellence and consumer satisfaction. The company's emphasis on sustainability and responsible sourcing further underscores its commitment to environmental stewardship and social responsibility.

Points of Distinction:

While Britannia and ITC compete in the same market space, each company brings its own unique strengths and strategies to the table. Britannia's heritage and legacy give it a distinct advantage in terms of brand recognition and consumer trust, while ITC's diversification and innovation capabilities enable it to explore new product categories and markets. Britannia's focus on traditional recipes and flavors resonates with consumers seeking familiar tastes and experiences, while ITC's emphasis on premiumization and culinary innovation appeals to those looking for indulgent and gourmet offerings.

Comparison:

BRITANNIA VS  ITC 
Business

Description	Britannia	ITC
Established	1896	1910
Nature of business	Public ltd	Public ltd
Turn Over INR	4015.00 Crore	69480Crore
Market share ( value)	38%	11.0 %
Ads Major methods	Cricket events and players	TVC
New areas of promotion	Health and wellness	Health and wellness

IMPORTANT BRANDS PITCHED AGAINST EACH OTHER

Category	Britannia	ITC	Leader
Cookies	Good Day	Moms Magic	Good Day
Cream	Treat ,Jim Jam	Bounce	Treat
Glucose	Tiger	Sunfeast Glucose	Parle G
Chocolate	Pure Magic	Dark Fantasy	Pure Magic

ITC launches Delishus Premium Cookies

With stiff competition in generic biscuit category  ITC  has  launched  Dilshush cookies to cater  demand of  cookies thus competing  with Unibic  which produces whole range of cookies on mass scale . Britannia and Parle too have there own variant of cookie biscuit such as Good day and  Twnety - Twenty  respectively  but with different production process .

Choco Fills From ITC Sunfeast

ITC 's  Brand  Sunfeast has  been aggressive  on  covering all segments  of  biscuit  categories   has  now  launched  Dark  Fantasy   Choco Fills   with  innovative  enrobed biscuits  with  chocolate  fillings inside . ITC  Sunfeast  has  taken  a lead  in  manufacturing  new variants  of  biscuit  in premium  segment of  biscuits . ITC  Choco Fill has attractive  box packaging with  wrapper   for the  primary packaging . Each  box of Choco fills contains six packs  for  biscuits . ITC  has launched  aggressive advertisement and tvc for Dark Fantasy across cities .ITC  has already  launched dual cream biscuits .

This  type of biscuits  were attempted earlier by  Britannia  and Parle  by  their  Date Rolls and Fruit  Rolls  which failed  to  entice  the targeted customers. Lets  see the  impact  of  Choco Fills .

ITC  Plans expansion for Sunfeast Brand
Indian biscuit industry review

Dark Fantasy From ITC

Sunfeast brand of  biscuit  from ITC has recently launched its premium  cream biscuit  "Dark Fantasy "   with  chocolate and vanilla flavours . Its cream biscuit  for premium segment of biscuits priced Rs20/-  for 104 g  . ITC  have launched   Dark Fantasy biscuit to compete with Britannia s Pure magic  and Parles Hide n Seeks  premium biscuits .ITC  has now representation in all major categories of biscuits from glucose , marie ,nice , cream, bourbon and salty .

ITC  Chocofills - Innovation in biscuits

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