Rakshit Hargave Takes Over At Britannia; Signals Open, Non-Hierarchical Work Culture

Britannia Industries will move to a culture without hierarchy and foster an open, approachable work environment, its new managing director and chief executive officer Rakshit Hargave told employees on his first day, the Economic Times reported.

Addressing employees at a town hall on Monday, Hargave said he would remain accessible to everyone and plans to travel extensively across markets and manufacturing plants, people familiar with the development said.

Hargave has taken over from Varun Berry, who stepped down last month as managing director, vice-chairman and CEO after a long tenure. The Nusli Wadia-backed company has also appointed Subhashis Basu as chief business officer–dairy, according to an exchange filing.

Basu will lead Britannia’s key joint venture with France’s Bel SA, formed in late 2022 to develop, manufacture and market cheese. He joined the company on Monday.

Before this appointment, Basu was CEO of Lactalis India-backed Anik Milk Products and chief commercial director at Lactalis India. He succeeds Abhishek Sinha, who has been appointed chief sales transformation officer effective December 15, the filing said.

An email seeking comment from Britannia remained unanswered until press time Tuesday.

“Look forward to work together as we build a total foods global company,” Hargave wrote in a LinkedIn post on Monday.

Berry stepped down after nearly 13 years at Britannia, during which he led the maker of GoodDay and NutriChoice biscuits through premiumisation and expansion into cheese and dairy. He previously held leadership roles at PepsiCo and Hindustan Unilever before joining Britannia in 2013.

Brokerage Motilal Oswal said after Berry’s exit that he steered Britannia into “one of India’s best turnaround stories.” During his tenure, profit margins nearly tripled and operating margins rose from 7% in FY13 to 18% in FY25.

Hargave played a key role in scaling the decorative paints business and has previously held leadership roles at Beiersdorf (Nivea), Unilever, and Nestlé, the Economic Times reported.

The leadership changes come as legacy FMCG companies face intensifying competition from regional and digital-first brands.

For the July–September quarter, Britannia reported a 23% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 655 crore and revenue from operations of Rs 4,840 crore, up 4.1% year-on-year. The company competes with Parle Products and ITC.

The board has identified key levers for the next phase of growth, including innovation, diversification, global expansion, cost efficiencies, and addressing regional competition.