Adani Wilmar, Britannia or Parle are no longer India’s largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies. In the first nine months of 2023-24 till September, one company has overtaken these companies in terms of domestic sales.
ITC is now India’s largest FMCG company, according to data released by NielsenIQ quoting a report by The Economic Times (ET). ITC recorded food sales of Rs 17,100 crore during the period, followed by Britannia at Rs 16,700, Adani Wilmar at Rs 15,900 and Parle Products at Rs 14,800 crore.
Mondelez and Hindustan Unilever reported sales of Rs 13,800 crore and Rs 12,200 crore, respectively. Interestingly, last year Adani Wilmar was the market leader and ITC was at fourth position. After Adani Wilmar, Britannia and Parle were at second and third position.
ET’s report quoted experts as saying that ITC has been able to overtake the Adani Group company due to the huge fall in edible oil prices, which has affected Adani Wilmar’s revenue. In September, edible oil prices were less than $1,000 a tonne, half of their high of $2,000 a tonne in April-May 2022.
Another reason for ITC being bigger is the jump in revenues of Ashirwad brand due to rise in flour prices. Additionally, the company has been aggressive in launching new products. The company has been introducing more than 100 new products in the market every year for the last few years.
It should be noted that the success of the food business is a good news for ITC. Because the company has now announced its separation from the cigarette business. Currently, its food business contributes 82 percent of non-cigarette FMCG sales.
In October, ITC announced a 6.02% rise in consolidated net profit for the July-September quarter of 2023-2024 (Q2FY24) to Rs 4,898.07 crore, compared to Rs 4,619.77 crore. The growth was driven by the performance of cigarettes, FMCG and hotels.
