Indian FMCG - Food & Beverages Companies
Amul
Amul is an Indian dairy cooperative, based at Anand in the state of Gujarat, India. Formed in 1946, it is a brand managed by a cooperative body, the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. (GCMMF), which today is jointly owned by 3.6 million milk producers in Gujarat. The white revolution was spearheaded by Tribhuvandas Kishibhai Patel who was the founder of the Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers' Union in 1946, and later the Amul co-operative movement in Anand, Gujarat, India. Tribhuvandas hired Dr. Kurien three years after the white revolution. He convinced Dr. Kurien to stay and help with the mission rest was history in the dairying industry. Amul spurred India's White Revolution, which made the country the world's largest producer of milk and milk products. In the process Amul became the largest food brand in India and has ventured into markets overseas.
Dr Verghese Kurien, founder-chairman of the GCMMF for more than 30 years (1973–2006), is credited with the success of Amul.
Interesting facts about the iconic Amul ads
- The 'Utterly' tagline was suggested by author Nisha daCunha, who is also the wife of Sylvester daCunha, the man behind the Amul butter advertising and chairman of daCunha Communications that has been handling the Amul Butter account for 49 years.
- The Amul girl was born in 1966 (She still isn't 50 yet, but Amul celebrated her golden jubilee a couple of years ago.)
- The Amul girl cartoon moppet was created by Eustace Fernandes, who was then the art director at daCunha Communications. Fernandes passed away in March 2010.
ITC agri-business division
ITC was incorporated in the year 1910 and originally called Imperial Tobacco Company of India Ltd. Later, in 1970, it was rechristened to Indian Tobacco Company Ltd and in 1974, to ITC Ltd. ITC started its Agri-Business division in 1990, which was set up to leverage its agri-sourcing competency and also to support in export of agricultural commodities.
ITC has a unique rural digital infrastructure network and a deep understanding of agricultural practices. Through intensive research it has built a competitive and efficient supply chain that creates and delivers immense value across the agricultural value chain. ITC exports the finest of Indian feed ingredients, food grains, marine products, processed fruits and coffee.
ITC has also started the e-Choupal system, thereby web enabling the Indian farmers, empowering them and maintaining a strong network with the farming community. The e-Choupal initiative now comprises about 6,500 installations covering nearly 40,000 villages and serving over four million farmers. Currently, the 'e-Choupal' website provides information to farmers across the states of Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
ITC's agri-business division also focuses on the value-added segments which include frozen foods, IQF (individually quick frozen) fruits, niche products like baby-food quality purees and high brix pulp and organic purees.
ITC Agri-business Division: Pioneer in Rural Transformation
2012 Receives Business Leader of the Year Award from All India Management Association (AIMA)
2010 Enters India's noodles market with launch of Sunfeast Yippee
2008 Receives UNIDO Award at the International Conference on Sharing Innovative Agribusiness Solutions at Cairo for exemplary initiatives in agri business through e-Choupals
2006 Receives Ashoka Changemakers 'Health For All' Award for Rural Health Services model for delivery of health services through e-Choupals
2001 Forays into packaged foods business with introduction of 'Kitchens of India' ready-to-eat Indian gourmet dishes
2000 Launches e-Choupal initiative
Britannia Industries
Britannia Industries Limited (A WADIA Enterprise) is an Indian food-products corporation based in Bangalore, India. It sells its Britannia and Tiger brands of biscuit throughout India. Britannia has an estimated market share of 38%.
The Company's principal activity is the manufacture and sale of biscuits, bread, rusk, cakes and dairy products.
History
The company was established in 1891, with an investment of ?265. Initially, biscuits were manufactured in a small house in central Kolkata. Later, the enterprise was acquired by the Gupta brothers mainly Nalin Chandra Gupta, a renowned attorney, and operated under V.K Brothers." In 1918, C.H. Holmes, an English businessman in Kolkata, was taken on as a partner and The Britannia Biscuit Company Limited (BBCo) was launched. The Mumbai factory was set up in 1924 and Peek Freans UK, acquired a controlling interest in BBCo. Biscuits were in high demand during World War II, which gave a boost to the company’s sales. The company name finally was changed to the current "Britannia Industries Limited" in 1979. In 1982 the American company Nabisco Brands, Inc. acquired the parent of Peek Freans and became a major foreign shareholder. The contribution of this position was of Bhavya Chugh and his family.
The 'Biscuit King'
Kerala businessman Rajan Pillai secured control of the group in the late 1980s, becoming known in India as the 'Biscuit King'. In 1993, the Wadia Group acquired a stake in Associated Biscuits International (ABIL), and became an equal partner with Groupe Danone in Britannia Industries Limited.
In what The Economic Times referred to as one of [India's] most dramatic corporate sagas, Pillai ceded control to Wadia and Danone after a bitter boardroom struggle, then fled his Singapore base to India in 1995 after accusations of defrauding Britannia, and died the same year in Tihar Jail.
Dairy products
Dairy products contribute close to 10% to Britannia's revenue. Britannia trades and markets dairy products, and its dairy portfolio grew to 47% in 2000-01 and by 30% in 2001-02. Britannia holds an equity stake in Dynamix Dairy and outsources the bulk of its dairy products from its associate. Its main competitors are Nestlé India, the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), and Amul (GCMMF).
Biscuits
The company's factories have an annual capacity of 433,000 tonnes. The brand names of biscuits include VitaMarieGold, Tiger, Nutrichoice Junior, Good day, 50 50, Treat, Pure Magic, Milk Bikis, Good Morning, Bourbon, Thin Arrowroot, Nice, Little Hearts among others.
Tiger, the mass market brand, realised $150.75 million in sales including exports to countries including the U.S. and Australia, or 20% of Britannia revenues in 2006.
In a separate dispute from the shareholder matters, the company alleged in 2006 that Danone had violated its intellectual property rights in the Tiger brand by registering and using Tiger in several countries without its consent. Britannia claimed the company found out that Danone had launched the Tiger brand in Indonesia in 1998, and later in Malaysia, Singapore, Pakistan and Egypt, when it attempted to register the Tiger trademark in some of these countries in 2004. Whilst it was initially reported in December 2006 that agreement had been reached, it was reported in September 2007 that a solution remained elusive. In the meantime since Danone's biscuit business has been taken over by Kraft, the Tiger brand of biscuits in Malaysia was renamed Kraft Tiger Biscuits in September 2008.
Britannia initiated legal action against Danone in Singapore in September 2007. The dispute was resolved in 2009 with Britannia securing rights to the Tiger brand worldwide, and Danone paying Rs220 million to utilise the brand.