Britannia Begins Phased Price Hikes Of Up To 5% Across Some Products Amid Rising Commodity Costs

"We had mentioned in our analyst call about the steep rise in inflation, especially in flour and cocoa prices. There has also been an increase in import duty of palm oil, which has resulted in almost a 40% hike in terms of the cost of palm oil for the consumer," Britannia's Chief Executive Officer Rajneet Singh Kohli told NDTV Profit in an interview on the sidelines of the Confederation of Indian Industries' fifteenth National FMCG Summit.

"We had mentioned in our analyst call about the steep rise in inflation, especially in flour and cocoa prices. There has also been an increase in import duty of palm oil, which has resulted in almost a 40% hike in terms of the cost of palm oil for the consumer," Britannia's Chief Executive Officer Rajneet Singh Kohli told NDTV Profit in an interview on the sidelines of the Confederation of Indian Industries' fifteenth National FMCG Summit.

Kohli explained that the company is making efforts to manage rising costs through various cost-optimisation programs. He noted that Britannia aims to avoid passing the full burden of these commodity price increases onto consumers.

"But clearly, price increases in some parts are inevitable. We have talked about a 3-5% price increase, which may not even be enough to cover the inflationary costs. But the main idea here is that price hikes will be rolled out in phases, some of which have started taking effect from December," he said. "Price hikes are happening in a phased manner; some of them will be rolled out in the fourth quarter of this fiscal."

In the consumer goods major's analyst call for the second quarter earnings, Executive Vice-Chairman and Managing Director Varun Berry had said that the company expects a 4-5% price increase in the coming quarters in order to respond to inflationary pressures.

Kohli also shared with NDTV Profit that the company’s pilot project in its snacking business is experiencing strong demand in the two southern Indian states where it has been launched.