ITC, the maker of Aashirvaad atta and Sunfeast cookies is the first mainstream consumer company to enter the Vegan segment in India. While the vegan market has seen a number of new companies, such as Good Dot, Ahimsa Foods, Vezlay, Goodmylk etc. dominate the space for the past few years, ITC will be the first large company to dip its toes into the Vegan tide that’s been on the rise in India.
To begin with, ITC plans to launch plant-based burger patties and nuggets which mimic the taste of chicken and are the two largest non-vegetarian frozen food categories. They plan on initially selling these products in e-commerce and large retail chains in the top eight cities - and to institutional customers such as hotels and restaurants.
Hemant Malik, ITC’s divisional chief executive for the foods business, said the company will target plant protein products mostly among non-vegetarians seeking animal-meat replacements.
This is a significant step, given that Nestle, Unilever, Kellogg's and Cargill have globally launched products for consumers conscious about health, animal welfare and the environment.
