ITC to invest Rs 4,000 cr to set up to nine plants

"We plan to put 8-9 massive factories over the next 2-3 years and we will invest about Rs 4,000 crore to manufacture products across different categories we operate in," ITC Foods CEO V L Rajesh said on Tuesday.

ITC's branded packaged foods division grew by around 11 per cent to clock a turnover of Rs 7,097.49 crore in 2015-16. Food is the second largest business for ITC after cigarettes. The company, which recently expanded its new Sunfeast Farmlite biscuits portfolio cateringa to health conscious consumers, is looking at tapping this fast growing consumer segment.

"Health segment of the biscuit market is about one per cent of industry right now but it is growing the fastest. Key approach is to have a full portfolio across segments. We will make a big play in this segment for sure," Rajesh said.

He further said: "Our claims on health benefits are validated by our labs and research centre in Bengaluru. We recently launched Sugar release control Aashirvaad Atta for people who have sugar issues. We back our claims with science."