Turbulent Times Ahead, Warns Britannia CEO on Urban Demand Woes

Concerns around urban demand sentiment are coming into sharper focus as Britannia Industries vice-chairman, MD & CEO Varun Berry warned of turbulence ahead, citing macro uncertainties such as tariffs, job insecurity, and tech-sector disruptions. Addressing investors in a post-earnings call, Berry said, “It is difficult to gauge where sentiment is headed in the current market. These are turbulent times, but the policy interventions from the government and central bank could give a boost to consumption."

This has been an echo of the same warnings as given by Rohit Jawa, a previous executive officer of Hindustan Unilever, who referred to the recession effect of job losses through technological changes and visa-related concerns on white-collar urban consumers. On the one hand, informal rural demand has been displaying some signs of revival, whereas on the other hand, the urban consumption and especially that of the salaried population in this case is still cautious.

Britannia, which derives 75–80% of its revenue from biscuits and the remainder from bread, cakes, and dairy, is focusing on core categories while actively preparing to fend off rising competition from regional players. “We are going to fight many battles in smaller territories… with the inflation-deflation cycle behind us,” Berry said.

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In Q1 FY26, Britannia reported a 3% YoY increase in net profit to ₹521 crore, slightly below estimates, and a consolidated revenue growth of nearly 9% to ₹4,622 crore. EBITDA margin stood at 16.4%, down 130 basis points YoY.

Looking ahead, Berry added, “We are pretty happy with our transaction growth of 12%... we are in a good position today.”