Britannia CEO Varun Berry quits abruptly, Hargave to take over on 15 Dec

New Delhi: Britannia Industries Ltd on Monday announced the sudden departure of Varun Berry as vice chairman, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO), ending his nearly 13-year tenure at the packaged foods major.

The company has appointed Rakshit Hargave as the next managing director and CEO for a period of five years, effective December 15, 2025. Meanwhile, managing director and chief financial officer N. Venkataraman will take on the additional role of CEO until Hargave takes over. On November 5, the company announced that Hargave had been appointed CEO of the biscuit maker.

In a letter dated 6 November, Berry tendered his resignation to chairman Nusli Wadia and offered to serve his notice period in accordance with his employment contract.

In his note, Berry wrote: “Thank you very much for your support over the past 13 years. I would like to tender my resignation from the position of CEO and Managing Director of Britannia Industries Ltd. I will serve my notice period as per the contract. Please consider November 6, 2025 as my resignation date. Beyond my departure from the company, I will be available to guide Rakshit in any way you wish. I hope Britannia grows from strength to strength in the coming years.” Resignation, a copy of which is submitted to the stock exchanges.

Also Read | How did India’s FMCG companies navigate sales after structural GST changes?

However, the board of directors, upon the recommendation of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee, accepted his resignation and waived the notice period, thus relieving himself of his responsibilities as of the end of business hours on November 10, 2025.

During the company’s earnings call last week, Berry said Hargave was the “perfect choice” for the role.

“He’ll run the entire business as a portfolio between him and me, and my job will be to help him out whenever he needs help. I won’t be directly involved in anything when he joins. My job will be to make sure he’s perfectly well settled into that role,” he said during the company’s post-earnings analyst call on Nov. 7.

New Management

Hargave joins Britannia from Grasim Industries’ (Aditya Birla Group) paint venture Birla Opus, where he served as CEO. Prior to Birla Opus, Hargave held leadership, operational and marketing roles at Beiersdorf (makers of Nivea), Hindustan Unilever, Jubilant FoodWorks, Nestlé India and Tata Motors, both in India and abroad.

He is an alumnus of the Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Delhi, and holds a degree in electrical engineering from IIT Varanasi.

Also Read | Former Benetton honcho set to take over as Puma India CEO

Berry Era

Berry joined the company on February 1, 2013, as vice president and chief operating officer. He has over 27 years of experience in companies such as Hindustan Unilever and PepsiCo. Berry was given several promotions by chairman Wadia, including his appointment as executive director in November 2013.

He took over as managing director (MD) from Vinita Bali in April 2014. He was re-appointed MD for a period of five years from 1 April 2019.

In fiscal year 2013, the company’s sales have been: ₹5,564.38 crore in the year Berry was appointed chief operating officer. The company’s standalone income from operations in FY25 was as follows: ₹17,295.92 crore.

Berry strengthened the company’s position as a “total food” business; increased market share gains by expanding the company away from its biscuit and cookie focus and into categories such as croissants, wafers and milk drinks. It also expanded its cheese portfolio with the joint venture it established with French cheese producer Bel SA in 2022, enabling Bel SA to sell The Laughing Cow brand in India.

The company increased the number of preferred dealers in rural areas from 19,000 to 31,000 between March 2020 and March 2025, according to its FY25 annual report.

Also Read | Premiumisation, aiding beauty sales Shoppers Stop returns

Meanwhile, analysts following the company described Berry’s resignation as “sudden”.

“Given the abrupt end to Varun Berry’s illustrious 13-year tenure, stocks will get an immediate negative reaction. The departure clearly looks sudden and sudden, something we have seen in Britain before as well. Even his predecessor Vinita Bali was abruptly shifted to a junior role when Varun Berry joined. However, Varun is 63 years old. Rakshit Hargave, the company’s new Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, has a strong track record. He has been at Birla Opus, HUL, Dominos etc.” said Abneesh Roy of Nuvama Institutional Equities.

“Over time, Berry brought both growth and margins back to the company. However, we see this exit as sudden as the Street expected Berry to help in the transition to the new CEO. For example, he pushed the company’s products into the Hindi heartland – a market where the company was under-indexed – with lower price packs. Historically, Parle has always led the biscuits category; Varun brought volume and growth for Britannia. He also helped premiumise the portfolio,” another analyst told Mint. he said. on condition of anonymity.

Britannia competes with Parle Products and ITC Ltd; According to analysts’ estimates, they have around 70% market share in the country’s biscuit category.

Berry was promoted to vice president and general manager at the cookie maker in September 2022. The company has appointed Rajneet Singh Kohli as chief executive officer, effective September 26. Kohli also left his post at the beginning of this year.

At its meeting on November 5, 2025, Britannia’s Board of Directors outlined key growth tools that will help the company become a global total food player. These include encouraging innovation and diversity, overcoming regional competition through stronger cost efficiencies, and improving profitability through turnover growth and market share gains.