here was no stopping ITC in 2004. The company claimed to have grabbed the number one slot in branded atta with Aashirvaad. It continued to expand its presence in the ready-to-eat food segment with ReadyMeals and launched multi-purpose cooking pastes under the Aashirvaad brand. In October 2004, the company extended its compressed mint brand Mint-O to launch a hard-boiled variant Mint-O Fresh in the confectionery market. With this, the company hopes that Mint-O�s contribution to its confectionery division will increase to 30 per cent by the end of 2004-05 from the current 10 per cent.

Later in the year, some newspapers reported that the company was scouting for opportunities in the lucrative personal care market in India. The market is valued at Rs 15,000 crore, with soaps and shampoos alone accounting for Rs 7,000 crore worth of sales. In the last three years the segment is estimated to be growing at 8-9 per cent, which is considered to be among the highest in the Rs 45,000-crore FMCG market. The company�s FMCG range now has more than 45 food products, covering staples, ready-to-cook pastes, confectionery, snacks and biscuits and ready-to-eat meals. ITC emerged as the most profitable FMCG company (according to Business Standard listing) in the second quarter in the financial year 2003-2004. ... more