ITC stepped into dairy whitener market with its Sunfresh brand and intensifies rivalry with Amul and Nestle

India: ITC, an Indian conglomerate headquartered in Kolkata has stepped into dairy whitener market with its Sunfresh brand. The dairy whitener is its second offering in the dairy business. In October 2015, the company entered the dairy segment by offering packaged ghee. The company has intensified its rivalry with Amul and Nestle who are two major players in this segment and capture more than 85 percent of market share combined.

 

The company has launched its dairy whitener Sunfresh in the North-East, which is the largest market for dairy whiteners, further, the company has plans to launch the dairy whitener in Kerala and West Bengal, then the company will launch its dairy whitener nationally. Soon the company will expand its product line by introducing few more categories in its dairy business.

 

The company’s focus is to serve the customers by offering different, superior and value added products from its dairy segment. ITC’s dairy whiteners are manufactured in Munger, Bihar which is ITC’s hub for dairy business. The company is exploring areas like butter, ice-cream, curd, cheese, ready-to-mix products and milk-based drinks. 

 

According to TechSci Research, around 61% of the dairy whitener business is being generated from North-East, Kerala and West Bengal and the dairy whitener market in India is growing at 6 percent per annum. Companies like Nestle and Amul has captured the largest chunk of the dairy whitener segment and ITC by entering in this segment will intensify the competition as previously also it has been successful by entering into the polarised and crowded categories of food business.

According to a recent report published by TechSci Research, “India Dairy Products Market Forecast and Opportunities, 2011 – 2021”, the market for dairy products in India is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 7% during 2016 - 2021. In 2015, North India dominated the country’s dairy products market, on account of increasing per capita expenditure, rising youth population, introduction of value added dairy products, changing consumption patterns, and growing penetration of international players. India dairy products market is witnessing a shift towards healthier products such as probiotic drinks, yogurts, etc. Few of the leading players operating in India dairy products market include Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd., National Dairy Development Board, Karnataka Cooperative Milk Producers Federation Ltd., and Tamil Nadu Co-operative Milk Producers' Federation Limited, among others.