Tata Consumer Products is seeing sustained momentum in its growth businesses even as urban discretionary demand remains uneven, with the company sharpening focus on profitability-led expansion and premium categories, Sunil D’Souza, MD & CEO, Tata Consumer, said.
The company recently approved a capital investment of up to ₹160 crore to set up a new 2,000 tonne instant tea manufacturing facility in India, signalling a stronger push into higher-value beverage formats and export opportunities.
Speaking after the company’s Q4FY26 results, D’Souza said growth businesses now contribute nearly a third of the India portfolio, reflecting Tata Consumer’s gradual shift beyond its traditional tea-and-salt identity.
“Tea continues to remain a very strong category for us, but newer categories and growth businesses are becoming increasingly important drivers of the portfolio,” he said.
New facility
On the new instant tea facility, D’Souza said the investment is aimed at strengthening the company’s position in value-added tea formats amid rising global demand for ready-to-drink and convenience-led beverage solutions.
The comments come at a time when the company is also recalibrating expansion at Tata Starbucks amid softer urban discretionary spending trends and rising competitive intensity in premium cafés.
D’Souza said discretionary consumption continues to remain uneven across certain urban pockets, impacting traffic growth in premium café formats.
“We are calibrating expansion based on store economics and long-term viability,” he said, adding that the company has rationalised a few underperforming Starbucks stores as part of normal portfolio optimisation rather than chasing aggressive expansion.
He added that categories linked to convenience, health and premiumisation continue to see relatively stronger traction despite broader consumption pressures.
Tata Consumer has been expanding aggressively across packaged foods, ready-to-drink beverages and health-focused products through acquisitions such as Capital Foods and Organic India, while also scaling innovation-led launches across channels including quick commerce