ITC charts future-ready course with focus on portfolio expansion and resilient supply chains
Sanjiv Puri, chairman of ITC Limited, outlined the company's strategic vision at its annual general meeting (AGM) on 25 July 2025. He emphasised the creation of a future-ready portfolio and the development of antifragile supply chains. This, he said, was necessary to navigate a critical ‘TURN’, a pivotal inflection point shaped by turbulence, uncertainty, and rapid change that required novel strategies, innovation, and solutions to reimagine the future.
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Puri highlighted ITC's commitment to building a diverse portfolio across all its businesses, aiming to capitalise on emerging opportunities through extensive institutional synergies. This strategy is underpinned by a three-horizon approach: fortifying core brands, addressing value-added adjacencies, and nurturing categories of the future, aligned with emerging trends.
A significant aspect of ITC's strategy, according to Puri, is its sustained investment in integrated supply chains across India. These chains, from farm to fork and plantations to paper and packaging, are pillars of resilience and competitiveness. They support large-scale livelihoods, foster local entrepreneurship and MSMEs, and promote domestic sourcing, offering multiple alternatives to ensure resilience in uncertain times. ITC's manufacturing ecosystem, comprising over 250 factories, includes several integrated consumer goods manufacturing and logistics facilities strategically located nationwide.
Puri also underscored the company's substantial investment in research and development, focused on developing proprietary formulations for specialised value chains.
Aligned with the ITC Next strategy, the company is building a future-ready portfolio through a blend of organic growth and strategic acquisitions. The company has also embarked on several value-accretive deals in the past year aimed at strengthening competitiveness for the future. In line with its portfolio expansion agenda, ITC has launched over 100 differentiated products anchored on the vectors of health and nutrition, hygiene, naturals, protection and care, convenience, and on-the-go. For example, serving these evolving preferences, ITC Master Chef brand's frozen food range now features over 80 Indian and Western snacks, Indian breads, prawns, and vegetables, and has garnered positive consumer attention. ITC anticipates continued growth in the frozen food category, a commitment further solidified by the acquisition of Prasuma. Prasuma has a strong presence in over 100 cities with more than 170 first-to-market Pan Asian frozen products.
Commenting on the acquisition of Mother Sparsh, Puri stated, "As consumers seek specialised natural solutions, more so young mothers for their newborns, ITC has signed definitive agreements for the acquisition of Mother Sparsh, a front-runner in the premium ayurvedic, natural baby care and hygiene space. This segment is under-penetrated in India, providing the opportunity to scale up and create a category of the future."
Last November, ITC announced a significant capital expenditure of INR 20,000-crore for medium-term growth. This investment includes the establishment of eight new manufacturing plants to scale operations across FMCG, paperboard, and other verticals.
ITC, one of India's leading private sector companies, reported a gross revenue of INR 73,465-crore and an EBITDA of INR 24,025-crore as of 31 March 2025. The ITC Group boasts a diversified presence in FMCG, packaging, paperboards & specialty papers, agri-business, hotels, and information technology.