ITC’s Aashirvad Flour takes the traditional route to floor consumers

It was quite common to see flour grinding shops at neighbourhood areas across India atleast until the late 90s. With the advent of packaged atta (flour) from reputed brands as well as retail chains offering their own private labels, the industry has almost completely faded away. The freshness of such packaged flour from the factory floor to the kitchen pantry due to its packaging innovation, has ensured a steady flow of flour for daily consumption at households.

Sensing an opportunity to somewhat revive this line of traditional business with modern and innovative solutions, ITC has come up with an interesting model to serve consumers with freshly ground floor. This D2C – Direct to Consumer model – has been launched in India’s most cosmopolitan city – Bangalore – whose consumers are among the first and fastest adopters of such new consumer initiatives.

The launch of ITC’s latest offering of its coveted Aashirvaad Atta is aptly named ‘Namma Chakki’. As the name suggests ‘Namma Chakki’ is poised to be a one-stop destination for all flour needs of consumers. The name is also synonymous with “Namma Metro”, the official name of the Metro Rail in the city. “Namma” in the local language Kannada means “ours”.

The flour is specially ground, only after an order is placed by a consumer through the company’s official website. 12 distinct flour varieties are currently made available to suit new age consumer requirements. Some of the exclusive variants being launched include millet-based flours like 100% Jowar, 100% Ragi flour, Atta with millets & quinoa, fortified flour (Fortified with Iron, Folic Acid & Vitamin B12), Atta with high protein& single grain flours like 100% Khapli Atta & 100% MP Lokwan Atta and 100% Chana dal besan.

Ganesh Sundararaman, SBU Chief Executive – Staples, Snacks, and Meals, ITC Ltd., said, “Every customer is unique and each one has their own taste, need, preference etc. It is no longer one size fits all. Personalisation is going to be the next growth lever and we are delighted that as an iconic brand we are committed to offering consumers with high quality products and products that address their evolving needs. Namma Chakki, is our endeavour to offer personalised quality atta to consumers, leveraging the Company’s years of experience and expertise in wheat. We have created a platform where one can directly order their preferred atta and get it delivered at their door-step hassle-free. We are excited and look forward to receiving encouraging consumer franchise“.

The highlight of the product packaging is that it would have the name of the consumer written on the pack, just like in olden times, when the shopkeeper would do a similar thing.

ITC continues to take strides towards contributing to sustainability, while simultaneously meeting the expectations of environmentally conscious consumers. Therefore, the flour would be delivered fresh and safely to consumers in a high quality paper-packaging.

ITC has morphed from being a pure-play Cigarettes company to a Hospitality-led and FMCG behemoth over the past 20 years. The company’s FMCG products now reach more than 200 million households in India through general trade kirana stores and modern trade retail store formats.

For FY 2022-23, the company’s gross revenue grew 17.6% over the previous year to Rs. 69,480.89 Cr, while Ebitda was up 26.5% to Rs. 23,944 Cr for the same period. The contribution of the company’s once-upon-a-time core business from cigarettes is now around 12%.