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A premium chocolate brand of ITC Foods called Fabelle is all set to scale operations with expansion across manufacturing and retail footprints. The brand has seven boutiques across India housed within ITC hotels. These boutiques have live dessert counters as well as over-the-counter products which caters to a niche market.
Fabelle plans to open up its market by entering the high-street retail format. Divisional Chief Executive, ITC Foods Division, Hemant Malik stated that the company is all about the experience. The first cafe in Delhi will soon be ready for launch, while Bangalore will get the next one by next year.”
The company even plans to enter the modern trade retail space, considering the scope and potential of the Indian chocolate market. As per market research company, the country’s chocolate market is set to touch Rs 32,000 crore by 2020, from Rs 12,000 crore in 2015.
“We are looking at moving into the packaged chocolate (FMCG) space. We are working on it with a dedicated team focusing on product development and packaging. In the case of this format, maintaining temperature is a challenge,” Malik said.
ITC Foods will set up their second factory for Fabelle in Haridwar. As of now, it has one factory in Hoskote. Recently, ITC announced an investment of Rs 10,000 crore in food processing for the next 5-7 years.