Wipro Consumer Care set to buy foods brand Brahmins

Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting agreed to acquire Kerala-based packaged foods company Brahmins Foods on Thursday, building on its purchase of the Nirapara brand from the same region last year.

Bengaluru-based Wipro Consumer, known for its popular brands such as Santoor soap and Yardley talc, is bolstering its presence in the packaged foods business with its acquisitions of Nirapara and Brahmins. The aim is to consolidate its position in the market and expand beyond its traditional home and personal care offerings.

The Indian packaged food market, valued at approximately ₹5 trillion, is experiencing a shift as middle-class households switch from unbranded to branded food items. This trend has prompted several large companies to diversify their product lines and expand their offerings in the packaged foods sector.

Brahmins, established in 1987, sells a range of ethnic breakfast pre-mix powders, spice mixes, spice powders, pickles, dessert mixes, wheat products and other packaged foods. Its flagship sambar powder and puttu podi enjoy leadership in its home market.

The company’s products are available across Kerala, metro cities in the rest of India, and overseas markets, including GCC countries, the US, UK and Australia.

In December, Wipro Consumer Care acquired KKR Group-owned Nirapara, marking the household goods company’s foray into the packaged snacks, spices, and ready-to-cook food market.

“We entered the food category with our first acquisition of Nirapara, and within six months, we are happy to share our latest acquisition of Brahmins. In Kerala, Brahmins is a strong heritage brand leading the spice and ready-to-cook category with a significant consumer recall,” Vineet Agrawal, CEO of Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting and managing director of Wipro Enterprises, said.

This is the company’s 14th acquisition overall. Wipro Consumer earlier acquired the energy drinks brand Glucovita and personal care brand Yardley.

Acquisitions aside, the company is also planning to launch its own packaged foods brand in the future. “In fact, we are setting up our R&D lab in Bengaluru, and are working to launch our own brand in the next nine months. Our initial plans were to grow our foods business organically. Since these two deals with Nirapara and Brahmins came our way, we decided to take these up as these are great brands,” said Agrawal.

Wipro is witnessing an unprecedented expansion of its foods business, said Anil Chugh, president of the foods business at Wipro Consumer Care. Spices and ready-to-cook are big categories that are poised to grow significantly. The deal will further bolster the company’s position in the blended spices and ethnic breakfast (puttu podi, appams and other rice products) categories in Kerala and other markets such as the GCC countries, UK, US and Australia, Chugh said.

In FY23, Wipro Consumer Care recorded sales of ₹10,000 crore, with 51% of sales generated from overseas operations. Its flagship Santoor brand reported sales of over ₹2,650 crore, and its female toiletries brand Enchanteur exceeded ₹1,000 crore in the year.

Kochi-based investment banking firm Kafco Backwater provided advisory services to Brahmins on the acquisition by Wipro Consumer Care.