“While prawns account for a majority of seafood exports from India valued at around Rs 22,000 crore, domestic frozen prawn consumption is pegged at around Rs 300 crore, with institutional sales making up for two-thirds of it,” said S. Sivakumar, group head of ITC’s agri business division.
The company has begun selling frozen prawns in 200-gram packs under the ITC MasterChef label in Delhi and Hyderabad, with further distribution slated for at least five more major cities within the next four months.
“To start with, we’ll cover 200 top retail outlets, including modern retail chains, in each city. These will also be sold through online marketplaces such as Big Basket, and we’ll take care of the delivery if need be,” said Sivakumar. “We plan to launch a product every quarter.”
The domestic market for frozen vegetables and fruits is also being targeted, and the company aims to sell a variety of frozen ITC MasterChef products to restaurants and other foodservice outlets as well as retail stores.
In business since 1910 when established the Imperial Tobacco Company of India, the conglomerate changed its name to ITC Limited in 1974. Ranked as the nation’s largest cigarette maker, tobacco sales account for approximately 42% of revenues. The remainder is generated from a wide portfolio of goods and services ranging from hair shampoo and other personal care items, to paper, packaging, agricultural products and branded packaged foods, to hotels and information technology.
ITC directly employs some 32,000 people nationwide, and revenues amounts to US $8 billion last year.
