Varun Berry Steps Down at Britannia, Rakshit Hargave to Take Over

Britannia Industries Ltd on Monday said its Executive Vice-Chairman, Managing Director and Chief Executive, Varun Berry, has resigned with immediate effect.

The board waived Berry’s notice period and relieved him at the close of business on Monday, 10 November a decision disclosed in a stock exchange filing. Rakshit Hargave will take over as Managing Director and Chief Executive, effective 15 December.

The abrupt transition rattled investors as Britannia’s shares fell as much as about 7% intraday on Tuesday.

Until Hargave formally assumes office next month the company has asked Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer N. Venkataraman to serve as interim chief executive, ensuring continuity across operations and finance during the handover.

The appointment of Hargave, who most recently led Birla Opus, the decorative paints venture of Grasim Industries under the Aditya Birla Group, is for a five-year term subject to customary approvals.

Berry’s departure closes a defining chapter for the biscuit maker-turned-broader packaged foods firm. He joined Britannia in 2013 and became Managing Director in 2014, steering the company through a decade of portfolio expansion and margin discipline.

On Monday, the board accepted Berry’s resignation and waived his notice period, relieving him the same evening.

Hargave arrives with a cross category resume that spans paints, personal care and food service. Before leading Birla Opus, he held roles across Beiersdorf, Hindustan Unilever, Jubilant FoodWorks, Nestlé India, and Tata Motors in India and overseas markets.

People who have worked with him highlight execution in manufacturing and route to market as well as team building at scale capabilities that are likely to be watched closely.

The change at the top comes just days after a scheduled board meeting on 5 November where directors signed off quarterly results and discussed the company’s next phase.

A strategy note shared with markets around that date said Britannia aims to evolve into a global total foods company with emphasis on innovation and diversification taking on regional competitors and leaning on cost efficiencies profit improvement and market share driven top line growth while expanding adjacencies and international business.

For investors and partners, the immediate questions are execution through the handover. With Venkataraman doubling up as interim CEO, the company maintains institutional memory in the C suite for key vendor negotiations commodity hedging and capex prioritization while Hargave transitions in.

Analysts flagged the optics of the immediate exit without notice as a short-term overhang but have also pointed to Britannia’s depth in systems brands and distribution as mitigating factors.

Berry is widely credited with sharpening mix and pricing discipline and tying innovation to profitable growth while expanding the profit pool beyond biscuits.

Prior to Britannia, he worked with PepsiCo and Hindustan Unilever in roles that shaped his approach to category building and supply chain scaling.