Food brands major Britannia Industries has continued to thrive even in adverse market conditions through the sheer strength and resilience of its brands as well as the agility of its leadership.
For fiscal year 2021-22, the company reported an 8.2 per cent rise in net sales to Rs 13,944.67 crore over FY21. The fourth quarter was especially encouraging as it saw over 15.5 per cent increase in net sales to Rs 3,508.35 crore over Q4 FY21. The consolidated operating profit for the fourth quarter was Rs 499 crore registering a growth of 10 per cent on a year-on-year basis.
"In this quarter, we delivered a robust top-line growth of 15 per cent and a mid-single-digit volume growth which demonstrates the resilience of our brands and a reflection of our execution strengths across divisions and channels,” said Varun Berry, Managing Director, Britannia Industries
Berry’s tenure at the helm has coincided with the steady march of the FMCG major in terms of growth, reach and market share expansion. His credentials have been as impressive as the company he has been steering since his appointment as managing director in April 2014.
An FMCG industry veteran of 27 years, Berry had worked with industry giants like Hindustan Unilever and PepsiCo, both in India and abroad and came with an impressive track record of leading startups, turnarounds, joint ventures and growth businesses. His last assignment with Pepsi was as CEO of PepsiCo Foods, South Asia.
Earlier at PepsiCo, Varun wore several hats such as CEO of the International Dairy and Juice business based in the Middle East, CEO of Beverages and Foods in the Philippines, COO of PepsiCo, Vietnam as well as various sales roles in India. Before joining PepsiCo in India in 1993, Varun worked with Jumbo Electronics in the UAE and Hindustan Unilever in India.
A Mechanical Engineering graduate from the Punjab University, Berry has also attended a course in Strategic Management from Wharton University and the Global Leadership Programme at IMD, Switzerland.
Under Berry’s leadership, Britannia Industries has continued to accelerate its rural journey with a focus on enhancing the reach and sustaining its diligent market practices, and which is evident in the consistent market share gains over the years. He also announced that the company's new dairy greenfield factory is on track for commercialisation in the next few months. “In addition, we are also in the process of setting up three greenfield units, one each in Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu & Bihar,” said Berry.