ITC clocked food FMCG sales of ₹17,100 crore in the period, while Britannia was at ₹16,700 crore, Adani Wilmar at ₹15,900 crore, Parle Products at ₹14,800 crore, Mondelez at ₹13,800 crore and Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) at ₹12,200 crore, NielsenIQ data showed.
ITC has jumped from the fourth spot in the same period last year, when Adani Wilmar was leading the market. Adani Wilmar’s sales in the January-September period last year stood at ₹16,100 crore, while Britannia was at ₹14,900 crore, Parle at ₹14,800 crore, ITC at ₹13,900 crore and Mondelez at ₹12,400 crore, as per NielsenIQ data.
The industry executives said one of the key reasons ITC managed to overtake Adani Wilmar was due to the steep fall in edible oil prices.
That has impacted the revenue of the country’s largest edible oil company in the nine-month period. In September, edible oil prices were hovering at less than $1,000 per tonne levels, down from a peak of $2,000 per tonne in April-May 2022. At the same time, an increase in atta prices helped ITC. Its packaged atta, sold under the Aashirvaad brand, is the largest revenue contributor to the food business.
Apart from this, most of the constituents of its wide-ranging product portfolio are on a growth trajectory. The company has been launching 100-plus food FMCG products every year.
ITC Ltd executive director Hemant Malik said every product category of the company’s food business has supported growth this fiscal.
Its portfolio includes high-growth categories such as biscuits, the market for which has grown 11% this calendar year, and salty snacks, the market for which has grown upwards of 20%, said Malik, who oversees the foods business for ITC. “The current trends along with the increase in atta prices have contributed to boosting revenue growth,” he said.
