ITC, one of the dominant FMCG companies in the country is all set to enter the dairy market this festive season. Well, the company will introduce the Aashirvaad ghee this Diwali. This way, ITC will extend its product range with its biggest non-cigarette brand. The conglomerate is looking forward to repeat the success that it achieved in the segment of unorganized and commoditized atta with its Aashirvaad brand. The company also sells other food products such as spices, etc. under this brand name.
The Divisional Chief Executive of ITC, VL Rajesh stated that the Aashirvaad brand has enormous brand equity among the households as well as housewives. Hence, the company has decided to introduce ghee under the same brand name to make an impact instantly in the market. This way, the product will grab a big leg up in the dairy market of the country quickly.
ITC’s Aashirvaad is a brand that is worth Rs 2,600 crore and it controls 74 percent of the atta market share in the country. ITC entered the segment in the year 2002, which is a year after it launched packaged food with the ready to eat products. ITC is in plans to extend its portfolio with many dairy related categories in different stages of development. These dairy products include butter, ice-cream, curd, cheese, ready to mix products such as Horlicks and Complan and milk based drinks.
The packaged dairy market in India is worth Rs 75,000 crore. It is expected to grow by around 15 to 16 percent as many companies are expected to introduce value added products, claim the industry estimates. The packaged milk market of this segment is around Rs 50,000 crore and the ghee market is around Rs 8,500 crore. In fact, India is the largest producer as well consumer of dairy products.
