Intermission E04: ITC

ITC is the great paradox of Indian business: a tobacco company that spent decades trying to become something other than a tobacco company, and pulled it off. Getting there meant surviving a tax demand five times its net worth, the arrest of two former chairmen, and a long, bruising war with BAT for control of the company. It meant winning at atta when even Hindustan Unilever couldn't, rewiring how India's farmers sell their crops, and building it all without a founder or a family at the helm. Today ITC turns over roughly ₹80,000 crore, owns a ₹9,000 crore brand in Aashirvaad alone, and counts the Indian government as its single largest shareholder. Among them, LIC, which insures the lives of the very smokers keeping ITC's profits alight. This is the story of how a colonial cigarette company became one of India's most valuable — and most unlikely — conglomerates. Tune in! --------- We also have an interactive companion page to explore the history of ITC with reading lists, infographics and source notes: https://the-ken.com/intermission/the-fmcg-company-in-a-cigarette-pack-itc/ ---------- Credits: Hosts: Rohin Dharmakumar, Seetharaman G Podcast Producer: Vidhatri Rao Director: Vijay Subramaniam Video Producer: Vishnu S Sound Design and Technical Producer: Rajiv CN Lead Researcher: Raghav Batra Art Direction: Kavipriya OG Data Visualisation: Anuj Debnath Production Agency: Nesara Films Creative Direction: Sunayana Kashyap DoP: Subash KP Animation:⁠⁠ Karthik N Video Editing Team: Spandan Joshi, Prajwal Colourist: Akhil Raj Graphic Design and Styleframes: Anusha Sarah On-Set Production: Veeresh and team Production Coordination: Kevin Raj Audio: ⁠⁠Murthy and team Spot Edit: Girish Set Design: Saanvi Joshi, Thejaswini Promotions: Pranav Pate, Adhavan RK Writer (Microsite): Brady Ng Editor: Sumit Chakraborty Product Design (Microsite): Praveen Gopal Krishnan, Ritika Sanikere, Sushmita Vavilala, Karan Kumar' Intermission' Title Track by Sameer Rahat ---------- About Intermission: Intermission dives into the histories of iconic Indian companies. It was produced with vital support and assistance from Zerodha, our sponsor for season 1. Disclosure: Zerodha’s perennial fund, Rainmatter Capital, is an investor in The Ken. About The Ken: The Ken is India’s first subscriber-only business journalism platform reporting on business, technology, and startups in India. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://the-ken.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ and explore our stories, newsletters, podcasts and more.