Britannia moves Vinita Bali to international ops, Berry to be India MD

Britannia Industries, one of India's leading packaged-food companies, on Monday announced a restructuring of its top management, replacing long-time managing director Vinita Bali with Varun Berry.

Berry, currently the chief operating officer, has considerable experience in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry, but is a relative newcomer to Britannia.

Bali will now shift her focus to the company's international business, a statement from its Mumbai headquarters said.

Berry has 27 years of experience with leading companies like Hindustan Unilever and Pepsico Foods, which he led as Pepsico's India chief executive before joining Britannia.

The company statement said, "Vinita Bali (managing director) will focus on international business, Britannia Nutrition Foundation, and new business development so as to create adjacencies and new opportunities that will lead Britannia from being a bakery company to becoming an all-embracing food company.''

Britannia chairman Nusli Wadia added, "With these changes we are preparing Britannia for high growth in Britannia's India operations by catering to changing food habits of the evolving Indian consumer and pursuing opportunities for growth in the overall food domain, here and abroad."

Commenting on the development, Vinita Bali said the new structure will help Britannia grow faster in India while it also focuses on growth in the international markets and addresses new business opportunities for the company.

Currently, international business contributes about 12-13 per cent of Britannia's total business. The company said these changes are geared to help its transition from a purely bakery to a bakery-dairy company.