ITC, best known for everything from cigarettes to cookies, is quietly building its next big bet in food. Under the banner of ITC Food Tech, the conglomerate is carving a space in India’s fresh foods and food delivery market, led by cloud kitchens and new-age dining experiments.
Launched in 2020 with a single cloud kitchen in Bengaluru, the business now operates over 60 kitchens across Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai and Hyderabad. Three flagship brands sit at its core: Aashirvaad Soul Creations, serving affordable, homestyle vegetarian thalis; ITC Master Chef Creations, a premium North Indian gourmet line with butter chicken, kebabs and dal makhani; and Sunfeast Baked Creations, an extension of ITC’s popular FMCG cookie brand into breads and desserts.
Recently, ITC introduced Sansho, a Pan-Asian delivery brand, and acquired frozen foods player Prasuma to strengthen its reach in ready-to-cook and gourmet segments. The group says expansion will remain “measured”, with Delhi joining its network this year and the target of crossing 80 kitchens by December.
Rohit Bhalla, who heads ITC Food Tech, calls it a “startup within ITC” but one built on the strengths of the conglomerate. These include procurement at scale, packaging innovations, and most importantly, culinary expertise from ITC Hotels. “Indian cuisines are hard to standardise and scale. That is the gap we want to solve,” he says.
The strategy is not limited to delivery apps. ITC has started piloting Aashirvaad thalis in five Bengaluru corporate food courts and is experimenting with a café format for Sunfeast Baked Creations. Bhalla insists scale will not come at the cost of consistency. “Cloud kitchens are operationally complex. We spent our first three years cracking Bengaluru before adding more cities,” he adds.
With food delivery growing fast but still fragmented, ITC is betting that its brand trust and backend muscle can help it win a long game.
