Britannia in talks to acquire Northeast’s Kishlay Foods.

Britannia Industries is in talks to acquire a majority ownership in Kishlay Foods, a Guwahati-based manufacturer of tea, biscuits, candies, potato chips, noodles, and western and ethnic snacks, executives aware of the development said.

The deal is valued between 600 and 700 crore.

Kishlay Foods, founded in 2001 by Sandeep and Krishna Bajaj, started out as a biscuit manufacturer and has developed into one of Northeast India’s top snack food producers, producing brands including Non-Stop, Kishlay, and Mamooz, according to their website.

The company recorded annual revenue of $41.8 million, or about 350 crore for the year ended March 2023, Tracxn said in a valuation report on Kishlay Foods.

Many established companies have been considering the purchase of regional brands, according to one executive cited in the report.

However, a number of these deals have been put on hold because of conflicts about valuations.

“The negotiations, if they go through, will get Britannia a captive market in the Northeast, besides a play in large categories such as noodles and tea where it does not have a presence yet,” another executive said.

Regional brands have had a noticeable renewal in sales since the Covid-19 pandemic in a number of different categories, including tea, biscuits, noodles, soap, and hair oil.

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