ITC will enter the fruits, vegetables and other perishables segment, Y C Deveshwar, the non-executive chairman said at the company's 106th annual general meeting.
The Kolkata-headquartered diversified conglomerate is also looking to invest in farming of aromatic and medicinal plants. ITC has started working on creating the infrastructure for it and is investing in supply chain, Mint reported.
"Investments are underway to create climate-controlled infrastructure for an efficient supply-chain to unlock the potential latent in this area," Deveshwar said in his speech to shareholders. "Investments have also been made in farming for aromatic and medicinal plants, keeping in mind ITC's focus on agri-based health and wellness products," he added.
The move is aimed at providing options to consumers and consumers alike. The company will also offer fresh, frozen and dehydrated agri-products. ITC Master Chef Frozen Prawns, which was recently launched in select cities, will soon be sold across the country.
The fruits and vegetables under the new brand will also be sold online, first via sellers like BigBasket, and later on other platforms.
The company is working in the rural areas with the farmers from the year 2000 through its network of e-Choupal and over 4 million farmers have benefited from this initiative so far.
The cigarettes-to-hotels conglomerate also has 20 integrated consumer goods manufacturing and logistics facilities under various stages of development.
ITC's consumer business presently comprises packaged food, personal care and educational stationery products, and is worth more than Rs 10,000 crore in revenues, having crossed the golden milestone in 2016-17. As per an official statement, ITC is now among the fastest growing branded packaged foods businesses in India, Business Insider reported.
ITC's net profit rose 7.4 percent to Rs 2,561 crore in the quarter ended June 30, over the corresponding quarter last year. The firm's revenue increased 4.1 percent to Rs 13,800.4 crore, driven primarily by cigarette sales, which grew 6.6 percent to Rs 8,774 crore.
