New Delhi, May 29 (PTI) Tata Consumer Products Ltd is expanding its presence in the southern markets and focussing on building distribution channels in rural and semi-urban markets now, the company said in its latest annual report.

"We are expanding our presence in South India across tea, coffee, salt and spices with the launch of South-specific products to cater to regional consumers," said TCPL.

Also Read | Delhi Minor Murder Case: 'Your Responsibility to Take Care of Law and Order', CM Arvind Kejriwal Tells Delhi L-G Vinai Kumar Saxena Over Teen's Brutal Killing.

The company continues to "gain ground in the South" in tea and coffee. In tea, TCPL's Chakra Gold and Kanan Devan brands continued to make strong inroads into the south and Tata Coffee Grand was restaged with a new pack design.

"We have identified the rural market as an area of opportunity and are focussing on building distribution in rural and semi-urban markets now. In salt, we launched Shuddh, a brand specifically targeted to the South market," said TCPL.

Also Read | Gujarat Weather Forecast: Heavy Rains, Thundershowers Expected in Ahmedabad and Other Districts Today, Says IMD.

While in the spices category, TCPL launched a range of customised spices under the Tata Sampann brand for the southern market.

TCPL aspires to be a leading player in the FMCG industry by expanding its play in existing categories and venturing into new spaces, the annual report said.

Overall, In FY23, TCPL increased the direct distribution by 15 per cent to 1.5 million outlets pan India.

"This has allowed us to take our portfolio to a larger outlet universe with more impact. Tata Consumer currently has a direct reach of 1.5 million outlets across India, a 2x+ increase from two years ago," it noted.

TCPL has scaled up its network during FY23 and is now focusing on enhancing semi-urban and rural distribution.

In FY23, TCPL e-commerce has continued to grow at a "rapid pace", with 32 per cent year-over-year growth.

"Several new initiatives were carried out during the year, including a dedicated customer marketing vertical, the use of data and analytics to generate insights and improve efficiency, and redesigning of the team structure to include a key account team for driving sales," the company said.

While its sales from modern trade "grew 21 per cent and increased its share in India sales to 14 per cent".

For the financial year ended March 2023, TCPL's revenue from operations was up 11 per cent at Rs 13,783 crore.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)