Journalism of Courage
Bakery food company Britannia Industries will seek to tap opportunities in the cake category through the launch of innovative products at different price points and expansion in rural markets, according to the company’s latest annual report.
Britannia’s strategy is to strengthen the cake portfolio by launching new products, premiumising and growing the base cake portfolio, and creating new-to-market formats at affordable price points.
“This category offers various opportunities for launch of innovative products at different price points and expansion in rural markets,” it said.
However, the category also faces a primary threat from inflation in commodity prices and the emergence of disruptive formats at entry-level price points, said Britannia.
Moreover, overall, the industry growth in the cake segment has been affected due to school closures on account of the pandemic, decline in out-of-home consumption, and sluggish economic conditions, it added.
For its flagship biscuit business, Britannia is working on diverse regional preferences and will continue to build on localised strategies to win in ‘many Indias’.
It has introduced Milk Bikis Atta in the Hindi-speaking states, Britannia 50-50 Golmaal for eastern markets, and recently Marie Gold Jeera, which has been developed in partnership with selected homemakers in Tamil Nadu by curating local flavors from their kitchen, to cater to the taste buds of the state.
Besides, it is also engineering upgrades to tap into consumers moving up the economic ladder into the biscuits segment.
It has “continued to nourish its long-term strategy of driving upgrades through launches such as Good Day Harmony and Milk Bikis Classic aimed at upgrading consumers of these brands to more premium offerings”.
It has “continued to nourish its long-term strategy of driving upgrades through launches such as Good Day Harmony and Milk Bikis Classic aimed at upgrading consumers of these brands to more premium offerings”.
It plans to “incubate the ‘fresh business’ through the launch of multiple products viz., dahi, paneer, greek yogurt and smoothies under the ‘Come Alive’ brand.”
Britannia is also working on growth in the segment through channel mix and is evaluating partnerships with Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs) and restaurants.
“Scaling up availability is key to meeting the business goals and your company has improved distribution of cheese and Winkin’ Cow across traditional channels while developing e-commerce as a pivotal part of its distribution strategy,” it said, adding Britannia is “also evaluating partnerships with QSRs and restaurants in the coming years”.
Last month Britannia had said its dairy beverages brand Winkin’ Cow has surpassed Rs 100-crore revenue mark and it is expanding its offerings to various segments in the category — with the infusion of consumer-led franchise-building as well as portfolio expansions.
However, the company also faces challenges and has been using the power of technology through an app to monitor procurement and secure quality and productivity while curbing dependency on co-packers by commissioning a state-of-the-art dairy manufacturing facility in Ranjangaon, Maharashtra.
“Since the dairy business is environment friendly, it has high salience for your company’s long-term quest to develop sustainable businesses. The challenges continue to come from our dependencies in milk procurement and manufacturing through co-packers,” it said.
Moreover, an increasing trend in input prices such as labour and raw material in recent times also poses major challenges to the dairy business.
In the bread segment, it is increasing the share of the value-added portfolio.
The company has continued its focus on improvements in infrastructure and distribution to ensure better quality products and greater reach, particularly in e-commerce and modern trade in the segment, the report said
