Century Old Britannia Industries Baked its Last Batch of Biscuits in Taratala Britannia Industries has foreclosed its factory in Taratala, West Bengal after 100 years of manufacturing last Monday.
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Britannia Industries, a renowned FMCG powerhouse, has shuttered its century-old factory in Taratala, West Bengal. This move aligns with the company's strategy to phase out older, less efficient factories in urban areas and replace them with state-of-the-art facilities designed for higher production capacities.
The future of the Taratala site remains uncertain. However, Britannia holds a lease on the property until 2048, offering potential for future developments. This lease was renewed in 2018 for a 30-year term, according to the Times of India.
In a report by The Statesman, it was revealed that Britannia has compensated its permanent employees with payouts ranging from INR 13 to 22 lakh, based on their length of service. The Taratala factory employed about 120 permanent staff and 250 contractual workers, though the latter group received no compensation.
Historically, Tata Motors, too exited from Bengal, following a massive protest by then-opposition leader Mamata Banerjee and as a result Nano car factory was shut there. It is now under her tenure as chief minister that another giant is likely to close its factory.
Taking to social media platform, X, Kanchan Gupta, who served as an advisor at the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in the Modi 2.0, shared a detailed post titled: 'From Tata Motors to Britannia: A bit of Bengaliness, if not Bengal, dies', listing a host of products that had come to be identified with Bengal such as Kanta scent, Jabakusum hair oil, Afghan Snow face cream, Tuhina body lotion, Darjeeling tea, Bengal Potteries dinner set, Philips radiogram, Boroline, Cuticura talcum, and Britannia Thin Arrowroot biscuits.
"Most of these products have disappeared; some have been rebranded; and some have survived with a bit of spit and polish. Britannia Thin Arrowroot was among the survivors till about a week ago," he said on X.
Britannia Industries stands as one of India's top food companies, with West Bengal being its third-largest market, contributing over INR 900 crore in revenue annually. Apart from West Bengal, Britannia operates three additional biscuit manufacturing plants in the eastern states of Bihar, Odisha and Assam.
