Welcome to the FMCG Guys podcast. I'm your co-host Daniel Torres. Hello Christina, how are you?
Hi Daniel, I'm doing well, great to be here again. Likewise, likewise, interesting times.
India was recently named the most populated country in the world by some sources. So it's one of these countries we'll have to keep an eye on, no Christina?
Oh absolutely. It's one of the fastest growing economies as well, right? Yeah, it is, it is.
So today we're bringing a guest right up that alleyway who can answer many questions about this mega economy. You've probably heard about the famous Tata company, known for steel, cars, chemicals, but it's also active in consumer goods. Today we welcome Sunil D'souza, CEO of Tata Consumer Products, who joined after a long tenure at international companies like Pepsi and Whirlpool.
I'm Sunil D'souza, Managing Director and CEO of Tata Consumer Products, the FMCG arm of the Tata Group, one of India's largest and oldest business houses. The company was formed on February 9, 2020 to build Tata's stature in FMCG. We started by combining Tata Global Beverages (tea and coffee) with Tata Salt and Tata San pantry staples. Over three years we expanded into multiple categories: in India we have Tata Tea (second largest brand), Tata Coffee, Tata Salt (38% share), Tata San (pulses, spices, cooking mixes), ready-to-drink beverages (Himalayan water, Tata Copper Plus, Tata Gluco Plus), and we entered energy drinks and sports drinks. We have breakfast and snacking with Tata Soulful, and we are dabbling in protein and alternate meat. Internationally we have Tetley Tea (number two globally) and Eight O'Clock Coffee in the US, plus a Starbucks joint venture and plantations.
Oh my God, this is huge. And it's only the Tata Consumer part. Out of curiosity, could you tell us a little more about how extensive Tata's footprint is in India and globally?
Tata is one of the biggest business houses in India and globally, probably India's most recognized and valuable brand. Founded in 1868, it has over 20 listed companies: Tata Steel (India's number one), Tata Motors (automobile), Tata Consultancy Services (IT), Tata Chemicals, Indian Hotels (Taj brand), and many more. It's often called the 'salt to software' conglomerate. The structure is unique: a holding company called Tata Sons owns stakes in these businesses, and Tata Sons itself is owned by trusts that must give back a significant amount to charity.
Very interesting. And that mandate to give back to society, is it a legal thing or more of an ethos?
It's a bit of both. The trust charters require that money goes to charity – education, healthcare, infrastructure. The founders' sons willed their assets to these trusts, which have specific mandates to give back.
Awesome, very cool. Going back to Tata Consumer – you mentioned your India portfolio and international business. What does the footprint look like and where is the business going?
When we started in 2020, the business was roughly 35% India beverages, 30% India foods, 30% international. Today, India is growing faster, about 75% of revenue comes from India, 25% international. Revenue grew from $1.1 billion to about $1.7-1.8 billion this year, with a top-line CAGR of 13%. Group net profit grew at 40% CAGR, and market cap moved from $3 billion to over $10 billion.
These are very impressive numbers. I'd like to go back to you. Before this you worked in large international corporations, American ones, and now you're back at a native Indian company. How has the shift been? Were there challenges?
When I moved from multinationals, there's no other Indian company I would move to other than the Tatas. The professionalism, ethics, and values are on par with any Western MNC. But what changed for the better is that I get the best of both worlds: the professionalism and ethics of Western MNCs with the decision-making agility of an Indian entrepreneur. In a big MNC, you have to jump through many layers of bureaucracy; here, as long as you have logic, you convince the board and chairman and move quickly. Our ability to decide our own destiny is in our hands.
Absolutely, that's the best of both worlds. If you can nail that balance between rigor and entrepreneurship, you're bound to grow. Sorry, Christina, go ahead.
I'm thinking of the notion of 'freedom within a framework' we used to talk about at P&G. It feels like you're nailing that – being able to move fast while adhering to high ethics and professionalism.
Exactly. We align strategy with the board, then bring it to life with the agility to make changes as opportunities arise. We're structured by category – International, India Beverages, India Foods – each with P&L ownership, so they can move line items to deliver value.
