ITC to scale up luxury chocolates, premium coffee brands

ITC, which recently ventured into the handcrafted luxury chocolates segment with brand Fabelle and gourmet coffee brand Sunbean, is focusing on scaling up their presence across key metros.

The chocolates and coffee are retailed through boutique stores at its hotels, offering a range of handcrafted pralines, personalised chocolate cups, ganache and beverages.

“We have already launched our luxury chocolates in three markets — Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata — and hope to bring them to Delhi soon. We have also launched our premium coffee brand,” said Sanjiv Puri, COO of ITC. “We are going to take these brands to key metros through our hotel properties. Over time we could look at selling them through other retail channels, but we will first focus on retailing them through our hotels.”

The company has stated that it plans to achieve ₹1-lakh crore turnover from its non-cigarette FMCG businesses by 2030, and has been aggressive with launches in the past year.

From dairy, juices, chocolates and coffee in the food segment, to handwash and antiseptic liquids in personal care, the company has had made an entry into several new categories. ITC also has big plans for the dairy segment.

“We have started with Aashirvaad Svasti Ghee and Sunfresh Dairy Whitener. We have a host of products in the dairy segment at various stages of development, which we will launch once plans are finalised,” he said.

Replying to a query on key growth drivers in the FMCG business, Puri said: “Most of the categories that we are present in are big categories that have huge potential — whether they are agarbattis, personal care, food products or stationery. Each of these categories has huge headroom to grow. Within these categories, too, there are segments we may not be present in and will look to get in, besides looking at newer categories,” he added.

At the same time, the company has been looking at a strong wellness play, with products such as a sugar release control atta variant and digestive biscuits with no maida and no added sugar.

“Our strategy has been to address consumers’ wellness and nutritional needs, and to offer them products with functional benefits. Consumers will see much more of such products in the future,” Puri added.