ITC Aims to Double Aashirvaad Consumer Spends to ₹20,000
ITC expects consumer spending on its Aashirvaad food brand to double to ₹20,000 crore within five years. The company plans to achieve this by strengthening its core atta business and expanding into ready-to-cook foods, frozen snacks, and other adjacent categories.
ITC Ltd expects total consumer spending on its flagship Aashirvaad food brand to double to ₹20,000 crore over the next five years. The figure currently stands at around ₹10,000 crore, according to Hemant Malik, Chief Executive Officer of ITC's Foods Division and an Executive Director of the company.
Malik outlined a two-pronged growth strategy for the brand. The plan involves strengthening Aashirvaad's core atta, or wheat flour, business while simultaneously expanding into adjacent food categories.
Strengthening the Core Atta Business
The atta category itself continues to offer substantial growth opportunities, Malik said. He pointed to segmentation and premiumisation as key drivers, with consumers increasingly seeking products for specific nutritional, wellness, and regional needs.
Aashirvaad has expanded its atta portfolio far beyond the regular whole wheat product it launched with in May 2002. The brand now includes multigrain, high-protein, organic, and millet-based variants. "Premiumisation is not merely about a higher price point," Malik stated. "Consumers today are willing to spend on products that offer tangible value, whether through superior quality, convenience, health and nutritional benefits built through meaningful innovation."
Expansion into Adjacent Categories
ITC is use Aashirvaad's brand equity to enter new food categories and increase consumption occasions. The portfolio now spans over 200 stock-keeping units across staples, spices, and fresh foods.
Products like besan (gram flour), vermicelli, rava (semolina), and soya chunks are part of this expansion. The company has also entered the frozen category with items like naans and parathas, and the fresh foods space with ready-to-cook chapatis, chutneys, and sambar.
"The objective is to be present in categories where ITC can meaningfully address consumer pain points through innovation and differentiation," Malik explained. He added that the company's product development is backed by deep consumer insights and extensive research.
A New Bet on Sattu
ITC's newest product under the Aashirvaad umbrella is sattu, a flour made from dry-roasted gram that is rich in protein and fiber. The company has launched Aashirvaad Chana Sattu in Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal, using a traditional sand-roasting process.
The product comes in regional variants and includes a ₹10 value pack offering 10 grams of protein. This launch has been supplemented by a 'Sattu Masala' under ITC's Sunrise spice brand, which it acquired in 2020.
Malik said this category holds significant potential for expansion. "While we have initially launched it in the eastern markets, we see significant potential in the product," he said. "Our ambition is to scale it nationally and make 'sattu' a widely accessible and affordable protein option for consumers."
Manufacturing and Distribution Scale
Aashirvaad products are manufactured across a network of 66 facilities spread throughout India. This extensive network allows ITC to cater to diverse consumer needs nationwide and deliver products with what Malik described as "the highest freshness."
In the financial year 2026, ITC's overall FMCG products reached approximately 28 crore households, generating nearly ₹37,000 crore in consumer spending. Consumer spending is defined as the total amount spent by consumers on products, encompassing net sales turnover, channel margins, and applicable taxes.
