ITC Ltd is increasing its exports of its FMCG products and is all set to be a significant contributor to revenue in the years to come, said chairman and managing director Sanjiv Puri. The company intends to scale up the FMCG portfolio and take these world-class brands to more overseas markets. “At present, we have already inked distribution agreements in 60 countries,” he said.
ITC’s FMCG products are now sold through 70 lakh outlets in the country, and ITC is the largest incubator of FMCG brands. He said the new FMCG business last fiscal clocked Rs 24,000 crore in annual consumer spending with 110 new products launched during the last fiscal.
“The carefully selected portfolio, with substantial headroom to grow, is estimated to have a total addressable market potential of Rs 5,00,000 crores by 2030, which is amongst the highest in the Indian FMCG space,” said Puri.
He said the ITC’s next strategy will be to fortify and scale up mega brands such as Aashirvaad, Sunfeast, Bingo!, and Yippee!, leveraging some of these brands to address value-added adjacencies and invest in categories of the future.
“We will continue to invest in categories of the future such as frozen snacks and floor cleaners,” said Puri. “The interventions in the newer FMCG businesses have enabled robust growth of 25% in revenue during the last two years of the pandemic, reaching nearly Rs 16,000 crore in FY22.”
Despite the unprecedented inflationary headwinds, ITC sustained EBITDA margins last year and also improved margins by 650 basis points over the last 5 years, “said Puri. The chairman said the cigarette business recovered last year and is currently ahead of its pre-pandemic levels. The relatively stable tax regime will help the legal industry claw back volumes over time from smuggled and tax-evaded products.
“To counter the menace of illegal cigarettes and reinforce market standing, ITC will continue to fortify the product portfolio with a focus on innovation, premiumisation and superior on-ground execution,” said Puri.