Makeover of Britannia

A Path Less Travelled Contd...

However, some analysts were of the opinion that the diversification of BIL into relatively new areas was risky, and that it should have concentrated on its core competence, the biscuit business. By the end of 2000 the exploits of BIL seemed to have fructified, at least in the short-run. In a survey conducted by A&M¹, BIL emerged as the number one food company well ahead of competitive brands like Nestle and Cadbury. BIL's dairy business seemed to be doing reasonably well.

In the cheese segment it stood second with about 35% market share. In the bakery segment also it was doing well, with its biscuits business making significant inroads. Its positioning plank, 'Eat Healthy, Think Better' also seemed to have struck the right chord with its customers. Said Sunil Alagh (Alagh) "Our brand today represents family trust, quality with a contemporary, youthful image."

Flashback

1892: Inception as a small house manufacturing biscuits in central Calcutta with an investment of Rs 295.
1897: The Gupta Brothers acquired the business, and moved the operations to Dum Dum, a suburb of Calcutta, under the name of V.S.Brothers.
1918: An English businessman C.H.Holmes joined as a partner.
1918: The BIL Biscuit Company (BBCo) was registered.
1924: BBCo established its second factory at Mumbai.
1954: BBCo acquired the Delhi Biscuit Co and began the manufacture of sliced and wrapped bread in Delhi.
1961: The production of bread was started in Mumbai.
1967: The company set up a fourth factory for the manufacture of biscuits and bread in Chennai.

1971: BBCo diversified into seafood.
1973: An integrated processing and freezing plant for seafood was commissioned at Thane.
1976: Bread was introduced in Calcutta with the commissioning of two modern indigenously fabricated automatic baking plants.
1978: BBCo came out with a public issue as a result of which the Indian public's shareholding crossed 60% and the foreign shareholding (which was 53.37% held jointly by Control Nominees Ltd. and Associated Biscuits International Ltd, both of the UK), decreased to less than 40%.
1979: In October the company's name was changed from Britannia Biscuits Company to Britannia Industries Limited (BIL).

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1] A&M market survey conducted in 1999.

Case Details

Case Code : MKTG006
Themes: Marketing Mix
Case Length : 8 Pages
Period : 1997-2000
Organization : Britannia Industries Ltd
Pub Date : 2001
Teaching Note : Available
Countries : India
Industry : Food, Beverages & Tobacco

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