ITC, Godfrey Phillips India bet on flavours to burn illicit trade

An ITC spokesperson, too, said the company was relying on innovative products across different price points to maintain its market dominance

Coming up with new flavours was not exactly how cigarette firms thought they would be expanding their market share, but that is exactly what ITC and Godfrey Phillips India are doing.

The firms, hit by the increase in the National Calamity Contingent Duty in this year’s Union Budget, had to raise prices of their offerings. This, analysts say, is helping illicit cigarette trade. ITC increased cigarette prices between 10 per cent and 20 per cent — the steepest hike by the firm in the past three years. Analysts say the hikes would result in a volume decline of 3-4 per