To sustain growth in the second quarter, ITC plans to increase its investments in the FMCG business, including food brands. The company is investing in manufacturing and distribution infrastructure for ITC Foods division to drive volumes during this quarter. The company plans to focus on supply chain improvements to enhance product freshness, market servicing and margins.

Chittaranjan Dhar, CEO, ITC Foods, said, We plant to set up new manufacturing facilities for our biscuits in East and Central India to meet the growing demands. We also plan to increase our penetration levels in both rural and urban markets to reach out to a wider audience. ITCs branded packaged foods business registered 34% growth in sales for the quarter ended June 30, 2010. Sales of Sunfeast biscuits grew 43% during the quarter along with product mix improvement, with sales of value-added variants of cookies and creams growing significantly, said Dhar.

At present ITCs major food brands include Aashirvaad (aatta), Sunfeast (biscuit), Kitchens of India (packaged ready-to-eat food), Minto and Candyman, among others.

ITCs personal care division is investing in building a strong portfolio of products and brands through research and development strategies backed up by the companys R&D centre. ITCs personal care revenues grew 86% for the quarter. The company is also planning g to foray into new segments to cater to the growing needs of consumers.