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Our Bureau

Hopes to garner about 10-20 per cent market share in a year

Coimbatore , Sept. 3

Competition in the Rs 1,050-crore branded spices market in the country is hotting up with the entry of ITC Foods division in the basic spices segment with the launch of its `Aashirvaad' brand of spices.

The company expects to grab a 10-20 per cent market share in this segment in a full year by the end of which it plans to enter the value-added spices segment too.

However, ITC Foods has no plans as of now to enter the staples market.

Spices Market

Speaking to presspersons in Coimbatore after launching `Aashirvaad Spices', Mr Sanjay Srinivas, Branch Manager, ITC Ltd, Coimbatore, said the company has come out with three products — chilli powder, turmeric powder and coriander powder — which according to him are the three most basic spices used by the Indian housewives in their cooking.

The company has gained valuable experience in the foods segment after the launch of `Aashirvaad atta' and the entry into spices segment was a natural extension of the foray into the atta market.

Pilot launch

He said already a pilot launch of the three spices had been made in the North, West and Eastern markets.

In the South, after the launch in Andhra Pradesh, they have been introduced in Tamil Nadu and the roll out in other States in the South would follow.

Branded Spices

Asked as to how the company expected to penetrate the branded spices market in the State where already there were strong local brands, Mr Srinivas said similar doubts were expressed when the company came out with its atta product as there were strong atta brands in the various States.

But ITC's `Aashirvaad atta' has emerged as the country's largest atta brand. Similarly, by focusing on quality and by being a national brand, he was confident of penetrating the branded spices market in the country.

With a view to catering to the differing tastes of people, there would be minor variation in the blend of the spices made by the company.

While the chilli was procured from the Guntur belt in Andra Pradesh, turmeric was sourced from Erode region in Tamil Nadu.

The company outsourced the manufacture of spices by two factories in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra but they were produced according to ITC's specifications and the company also stationed its own personnel to oversee production.

He said the branded spices market consisted of basic and value added spices.

The size of the basic spices market was estimated to be around Rs 650 crore and nearly 70 per cent of it was accounted for by chilli, coriander and turmeric spices. He expected ITC to grab a 10-20 per cent of this market in about a year.

Value-Added Spices

Mr Srinivas said the company expected to enter the value-added spices market such as sambar, rasam and curry powder in about a year.

But it has no plans to enter the staples market as of now.

He said the company has priced its spices competitively. While a 50-gm chilli powder packet was priced at Rs 6, it was Rs 12 for 100 gm and Rs 24 for 200 gm.

The turmeric and coriander powder packets have been priced at Rs 5.50 (50 gm), Rs 11 (100 gm) and Rs 22 (200 gm).

Wheat price

Asked about the furore over the rise in the price of wheat, he said the atta market constituted only a `miniscule portion' of the wheat produced in the country.

Even after the price of wheat had spiralled in the open market, ITC Foods division did not raise the price of Aashirvaad atta for long and it was only a few weeks ago that it made a small increase in price of atta.

More Stories on : Spices & Condiments | New Products & Services | Brands | I T C Ltd

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