ITC enters snacks business; to pump in Rs 150 cr

New Delhi, Mar 14: ITC Ltd's Food Division today expanded its product portfolio with the launch of 'Bingo' snacks and said it will pump in Rs 150 crore to be invested in the next two years.

ITC, country's leading cigarette maker, aims to grab 25 per cent market share of the Rs 2,000 crore organised market in the next four-to-five years.

''We have already invested Rs 60-70 crore for our foray into the snacks segment. In a couple of years we will be investing Rs 150 crore for the foray,'' Mr Ravi Naware, Divisional Chief Executive, ITC foods division said at a conference here.

The launch of Bingo in 16 flavours represents ITC Foods' fifth major line of foods business after staples, biscuits, ready-to-eat and confectionery businesses.

Major companies like Pepsi India and Britannia Industries Ltd also exist in the organised snack foods category which is growing at a rate of 30 per cent.

Mr Hemant Malik, Head (Marketing), ITC Ltd, talking about the marketing plans for the product, said ''The new brand will leverage the retail and marketing expertise of ITC Foods to establish reach across the target markets.'' ITC's Bingo brand will initially sell varieties of potato chips and finger snacks priced at Rs 5 and Rs 10 per pack.

Demand is growing on rising incomes, a preference for packed foods and the expansion of modern retail, he said.

Bingo has been strategically timed around the cricket world cup to leverage the tremendous popularity that such leisure and cocktail snacks will find among cricket lovers in the country.

The organised snacks category is sub-divided into the traditional segment (bhujia and chanachur), Western segment (potato chips and cheese balls ) and the newly established finger snacks segment, which is an adaptation of traditional offerings to the western format.

UNI