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Informist, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026

 

--Eveready CEO: Plans afoot to start white labelling alkaline battery

--Eveready CEO: Aim 25?pacity utilisation from Jammu plant in FY27

--Eveready CEO: Aim 80?pacity utilisation from Jammu plant in 4-5 yrs

--Eveready CEO: Target 50% market share in alkaline battery in India 

 

By Avishek Rakshit

 

KOLKATA – Five months after commissioning its maiden alkaline battery plant in Jammu and Kashmir, which incidentally is the first such plant in South Asia, Eveready Industries India Ltd. is set to initiate talks with its competitors to manufacture such batteries for them. It will help open up new opportunities for future revenue growth, Chief Executive Officer Anirban Banerjee told Informist.

 

"We will have enough capacity to be able to offer it to other brands, peers, etc. should they be willing to. We will definitely reach out to them and check," Banerjee said. 

 

The current production capacity in Jammu plant is a little over 430 million units per annum and the alkaline battery market in India is estimated at around 350 million units per year. Eveready is targeting 25?pacity utilisation from this plant in the current financial year and it will take another four-five years for the company to achieve 80?pacity utilisation from this plant. 

 

Banerjee said that the current capacity in its alkaline battery plant in SIDCO Industrial Complex in Bari Brahmana in Samba district of Jammu is enough to cater to the company's requirements for at least the next four years which leaves the company the option to pursue contractual manufacturing operations for its peers. 

 

While Eveready will make these batteries in accordance to its own specifications and quality standards which will be sold under the company's brand name, it is open to make such batteries in accordance with specifications and guidelines set by other brand owners to cater to their needs. 

 

"We are more than happy to scout, explore, hunt, as we become more competitive in supplying to whoever wants it, let's say, the western world to start with, where the penetration of alkaline and the consumption of alkaline is probably much higher. So, we will start scouting in the West," Banerjee said clarifying that the company is open to white labelling business both in India and in export markets as well. 

 

Banerjee said that as the current macro-economic volatility, resulting from the war in West Asia, US tariffs, and other factors start cooling off, a lot of European countries will rejig their trade and evaluate new options for future growth. 

 

"It's the only (alkaline battery) plant in SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Corporation). The nearest other plant is somewhere in Vietnam. Of course, you can get it from China as well," he said. 

 

However, India's maritime trade routes and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust's proximity to European countries compared with that of Vietnam, provide Eveready the necessary scope to further its white labelling business globally, the top company official said. White labelling refers to a business strategy where a product is created by one company and then rebranded and sold by another company as its own. 

 

"As it (global macro-economic volatility) settles down, there is a lot of rejig in the balance of trade. So, we have signed an FTA (free trade agreement) with the UK, there is a lot of ‘China Plus One' (talks), options that people are evaluating," Banerjee said. 

 

In global political economics, the 'China Plus One' strategy refers to a business plan where global companies keep their main manufacturing or sourcing of components in China but add at least one additional production base in another country. Countries such as India, Vietnam, Thailand, and others are believed to benefit from this business strategy. 

 

At the same time, Eveready is ambitiously targeting at least 50% market share in the alkaline battery segment in India which is currently valued at INR 6 billion. Currently, it has a market share of around 17% in this battery segment. 

 

"I have a target to get the fair share of whatever it is should be even in the alkaline segment, and that share should be at about a 50% level," Banerjee said. "It is difficult to predict now that in what time period we will reach 50%."

 

Banerjee said that in the total dry-cell battery market in India, estimated at around 2.75 billion units annually, Eveready has over 50% market share which presents the company the necessary opportunity and market penetration to drive alkaline battery growth and gain market share. 

 

At 1350 IST, shares of Eveready traded 4.5% lower at INR 341.90 on the National Stock Exchange.  End

 

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

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