Introduction

Introduction

Bakery industry in India is probably the largest among the processed food industries, production of which has been increasing steadily in the country.  Bakery products once considered as sick man’s diet have now become essential food items of the vast majority of population. The two major bakery industries, viz., bread and biscuit account for about 82% of the total bakery products. The annual production of bakery products which includes bread, biscuits, pastries, cakes, buns, rusk, etc  most of which are in the unorganized sector, is estimated to be in excess of 3 million tonnes.  The production of bread and biscuits in the country both in the organized and un-organized sectors is estimated to be around 1.5 million tonnes and 1.1 million tonnes respectively. Of the total production of bread and biscuits about 35% is produced in the organized sector and the remaining is manufactured in the unorganized sector. Indian Bakery sector is indicating significant growth both in terms of volumes and customer base. The sector, which is estimated at Rs 3,500 crore, is currently registering a 40% growth according to industry sources. The production of Bakery products has increased from 5.19 lakh tonnes in 1975 to 18.95 lakh tonnes in 1990 recording four-fold increase in 15 years.

Some of the frequented bakeries in the country: Sweet Chariot, Modern Bakery, Daily Bread in Bangalore, Monginis, Birdie's, Croissants in the west and in the north and eastern parts of the country, there are quite a few big players too.

There are three segments in the Indian bread industry such as Regular, Popular and Nutrichoice. Britannia's major strength has been to build presence across all price segments. They have succeeded in doing so in a well-balanced manner, each segment contributing approximately a third of revenues. Britannia approaches the high-volume, low-price category, through its Regular Bread.