India at 75: Building a fortified future

Britannia has a unique vantage point to look at India’s economic history through the lens of evolving consumer choices over the past hundred years, writes Varun Berry

The first few decades of independent India were about building state capacity and deploying our limited resources on physical and intellectual infrastructure. Britannia has a unique vantage point to look at India’s economic history through the lens of evolving consumer choices over the past hundred years.

In the 80s, with demonstrated resilience of our democracy, we were ready to look economically outward. With liberalisation in 1991, our markets opened up and we became a more self-assured economy. Reforms such as reducing import tariffs and deregulating markets led to high foreign investment and higher competition. The Indian consumer finally had access to variety, in plenty. As global competition found a fertile new market in our country, Indian industries enthusiastically rose up to the challenge. Over the last 30 years, we have proven ourselves to be competitive, resilient and innovative to compete with the best. Our domestic market started flourishing, releasing demand that exceeded most analytical estimates. The average annual growth rate in GDP post the 1990s, has been around 6.25 per cent, substantially higher than the average 3.5 per cent over the previous decades. Today, India is the third largest economy in the world in terms of Purchasing Power Parity.

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Britannia’s journey mirrors this evolution of the Indian economy. It has held its own as a made-in-India brand with over a century-old legacy. The brand has truly embodied and celebrated India’s diverse and plural identity. In the early decades when India firmed up her democratic credentials, Britannia became a national favourite — albeit with a limited portfolio of mostly biscuit brands. When the Indian economy opened up, Britannia’s portfolio also expanded to reflect the growing aspirations of Indian consumers. In these decades we took on formidable global competitors and established new rules of the game in the market.

In this 75th year of Indian Independence, we at Britannia are proud of having flourished as a wholly Indian brand. We are animated by the vision to become a global total foods company in the near future. Today we are present in categories such as biscuits, bread, cakes, rusk, salted snacks and dairy products and export to more than 80 countries across the world. Britannia is a market leader in the bakery category in India and betting on growth in innovation to fulfil evolving consumer preferences.

As our planet faces unprecedented complexity and challenges, the world looks to India as the largest democracy, for leadership in sustainable growth. We at Britannia recognise our role as a responsible business leader of our country and as an ambassador of its values. Thus, we made plastic neutrality a strategic focus, and earlier this year we achieved 100% plastic waste neutrality. In this landmark year in our nation’s history, we redouble our commitment to building a sustainable, enduring and socially responsible business in all the markets we serve.

I believe that India has the potential to achieve a GDP growth of over 8 per cent for the next couple of decades and drive equitable growth. India’s enormous talent base and innovative zeal can provide the levers for this growth. Britannia’s journey of over a century has taught us many remarkable things about our country. We are diverse, complex and discerning. Our consumers are resilient and our markets entrepreneurial.

When given free rein, we know that Indian consumers will demand and Indian businesses will deliver world-class products. The true test of a mature economy is after all, in how it makes responsible choices. As the Britannia experience shows on that count, India is a winner.

(The author is the Managing Director of Britannia Industries.)