Vinita Bali, 59, came to Britannia at a time when the Nusli Wadia-owned company had just sacked Managing Director Sunil Alagh for alleged financial irregularities.
Not many expected Bali to stay for long, considering the fact that Wadia never had an easy relationship with the heads of his group companies, more so in the case of Britannia. Not only did she buck that trend, but Bali also managed to weather a major storm that enveloped Britannia midway through her tenure.
In 2008, the Wadias came to know that the company’s Tiger brand of biscuits was being sold in several countries by the company’s joint venture partner, the French dairy major Groupe Danone, without their permission. An angry Wadia dragged the French company to court. After a bitter war, which was fought more in the media than in the courts, the French company had to eventually pay a heavy price and completely withdraw from the 13-year-old joint venture in 2009.
When Bali joined Britannia around 2005, the biscuit maker was known more for its controversies, starting from the days of Rajan Pillai.
Each controversy would end with the emergence of another. Bali realised that while she couldn’t change what had happened, she could shape the fortunes of the company.
Known for her no-nonsense style of working, Bali focused on transforming a stodgy company into a professionally managed international giant.
She came in with enormous international exposure, having successfully managed multinational giants Coca Cola and Cadbury. At Britannia, Bali decided to bring back the focus on customers to expand the business. She managed to do that by taking biscuits out of cookie jars and repositioning them as something to be eaten anywhere. It would no longer be a snack mothers served at home.
She created six major biscuit brands — Tiger, Good Day, Milk Bikis, 50-50, Marie and Treat.
Each was positioned for a certain occasion. She got the biscuits major to launch small packs of biscuits, priced ₹5, so that they were accessible to people with different income levels.
When she took over, the biscuit company was growing at about 9 per cent. Today, it is growing at around 22 per cent.
Bali leaves behind a very strong company that is a leader in various categories. She has also been able to achieve the near-impossible: earn the respect of her difficult-to-please boss, Nusli Wadia.
She remains on the board of various Wadia companies, including GoAir and Bombay Dyeing, something some of her predecessors were not able to achieve.