Adani Wilmar will transition to a new name and increase its investment in food and FMCG after the exit of the Adani group from the joint venture at the end of the current financial year (FY25). In a conversation with FE on Wednesday, Adani Wilmar CEO & MD Angshu Mallick, who has been with the company since 1999, said the firm would be called AWL Agri Business following a shareholder vote. The strategy and the management of the firm would remain intact even as Wilmar takes control of the company in a bid to maintain continuity.
“As JV partners, Wilmar and the Adani group have been on the same page over the last 25 years. Wilmar has similar line of businesses globally, namely, in kitchen essentials and the plan is to stay the course following the exit of the Indian promoter. There will be no change in management or strategy,” Mallick, an FMCG veteran, said.
Adani Wilmar is also expected to step up its focus on new launches in FY26, both at the mass and premium ends within kitchen essentials, taking advantage of the revival likely in urban areas with the income tax cuts announced in the Budget. Its capital expenditure plans may also get a fresh impetus as the current cycle of investment including a nearly `1,300-crore food processing plant, set up with its 2022 IPO proceeds, is completed. The plant, located in Sonepat district, Haryana, commenced operations last month. It will manufacture food products and edible oils.
Rural areas, on the other hand, Mallick said would continue on its recovery path, buoyed by a good kharif and rabi harvest, though the monsoons in 2025 would be a key monitorable for the company. “Food is among the first areas that an average household will look to put its money. We expect some of the extra money following the income tax cuts to go into good branded food. For this, we will tap q-commerce which has grown in strong double-digits for us in the last few quarters,” he said.
The strategy in rural areas would be to continue expanding distribution as the broader shift continues from unbranded to branded products. Mallick says that Adani Wilmar has been expanding its distribution network to access more rural towns. By the end of the December 2024 quarter (Q3FY25),
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