Tata Consumer, the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) arm of Tata group, will step up its focus on food and beverages by entering new categories organically and making select acquisitions, MD & CEO Sunil D’Souza told FE during an exclusive interaction.
The move is timed with a larger FMCG revival in the domestic market, where the need for functional beverages as well as packaged food items is set to grow.
Tata Consumer had acquired Capital Foods and Organic India for a combined enterprise value of `7,000 crore in January 2024, spending much of FY25 to integrate these businesses into the company.
The company has a presence in tea, coffee and salt under its core portfolio; in ready-to-drink products and water under NourishCo; in pantry and kitchen essentials under Sampann; in breakfast, mini-meals, snacks and cereals under Soulfull and Ching’s Secret and in health supplements, cold pressed oils, honey and saffron among other products.
The company, which closed FY25 with a topline of Rs 17,618 crore and a bottomline of Rs 1,287 crore, up 16% and 6%, respectively, over the previous year, is counting on growing urbanisation, evolving lifestyles and the need for convenient products to grow its business in the future. The company also sees urban demand reviving in FY26 following the government’s fiscal stimulus measures which kicked in from April, though inflationary pressures in commodities such as tea and coffee are key monitorables, D’Souza said.
“In foods, we are targeting demand spaces that are emerging, not crowded with giants and have less of a commodity play. In beverages, the accent is on functional drinks that are affordable; address a specific need and appeal to a wider set of consumers,” he added.
First up will be the launch of a sports drink in the cup format (180-ml packs) by the end of May in general trade across India. This will be priced at Rs 10 per unit. In the next few months, the company will likely roll out energy drinks nationally, also in 180 ml packs for Rs 10, after test-marketing it in the south.
“We are ready with the sports drink after testing it on all parameters that were internally set. We also test marketed the product in some parts of the east. We will unveil it shortly in general trade. On energy drinks, we are tweaking some aspects of the product and marketing mix, which is expected to take a little time,” D’Souza said.
The company is also likely to beef up its Ching’s Secret portfolio with a new range of Korean noodles and continue adding specialised teas and products under its Organic India portfolio.
“We are clear that we will not play in crowded food spaces such as mainline edible oils, rice, atta or maida. We are clear that we want to pick and choose our spaces carefully,” he added.