---
endpoint: analytics
pattern: Consumer
status: done
latency_ms: 160963
conversation_id: 5f15ece5-9787-4e8c-a0e1-b0ccf97a4ec6
citations: 0
created: 2026-05-31 18:55:40Z
---

# Who are the key customers and suppliers of ITC?

**ITC Limited (NSE: ITC) — Key Customers and Suppliers**

ITC is a diversified Indian conglomerate (Cigarettes, FMCG-Others, Paperboards/Paper/Packaging, Agribusiness, Hotels, ITC Infotech). It is largely a B2B2C consumer goods business, so its "customers" are best read as the distribution channels that move its products to end-consumers, while "suppliers" sit on the agri/forestry/packaging side of the value chain.

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### Key Customers / Distribution Channels

**1. Channel mix for FMCG (per ITC management at CLSA NDR, Nov 2024):**

| Channel | Share of FMCG revenue |
|---|---|
| General Trade (GT) | ~70% |
| Modern Trade (MT) | ~15% |
| E-commerce (incl. quick commerce) | ~10% |
| Other | ~5% |

Quick commerce is growing the fastest within the e-commerce bucket; profitability and working-capital characteristics across GT and MT are broadly similar due to limited assortment differences [1].

**2. Retail reach — among the largest in Indian staples**

ITC's direct outlet reach is approximately **7.0 million retail outlets**, putting it third in India after HUL (9.0m) and Dabur (7.7m), and ahead of Godrej Consumer, Colgate, Britannia, Marico, and Nestle [3].

**3. Modern-trade / quick-commerce partners**

The principal organized-trade customers that ITC sells through include **DMart, Blinkit (Zomato/Eternal), Swiggy Instamart, and Zepto**, as well as Reliance, BigBasket, Flipkart, and Amazon's grocery storefronts; CLSA flags ITC as a beneficiary of the 2025 shift to organized trade because its FMCG-others portfolio still has room to gain share on these platforms [4].

**4. Cigarettes — distribution still GT-heavy; under-indexed on quick commerce**

ITC's cigarette business sells primarily through traditional general-trade kiranas/pan shops, where it holds a commanding share. On quick-commerce listings, **ITC's share is meaningfully lower than its general-trade share** — Marlboro and other premium brands take up a relatively larger share of premium SKUs available on quick-commerce platforms [5].

**5. Licensing relationship — Philip Morris (Marlboro) in India**

ITC distributes Philip Morris's **Marlboro** brand variants (Advanced Compact, Fine Touch, Advance) in India alongside its own Gold Flake and Classic franchises [5]. This is an in-bound licensing customer relationship for the brand owner (PMI) and a portfolio item for ITC.

**6. Strategic shareholder & B2B counterparty — British American Tobacco (BAT)**

**BAT holds ~29.4% of ITC** and is the single largest shareholder per the CLSA target-price model [9 — context; see Sources]. Beyond the equity stake, BAT functions as a long-term strategic counterparty for ITC's cigarette business.

**7. Hotels segment customers**

The hotels customer base (now being demerged into ITC Hotels) is driven by **domestic travellers, weddings, and F&B/retail patrons**, with growth in recent quarters supported by new property additions and gestation-period ramp-ups [1].

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### Key Suppliers / Input Cost Drivers

ITC's most disclosed supplier categories are commodity/agri input streams. Margin pressure across FY24–FY25 has come almost entirely from these supplier-side cost lines.

**1. Leaf tobacco growers (cigarettes + agribusiness)**

Leaf tobacco is the single most-cited raw material. Cigarette segment EBIT margin contracted **120 bps YoY in Q4 FY25**, **211 bps YoY in Q3 FY25**, and saw a sharp dip in FY24-Q1 — all attributed to "higher leaf tobacco costs" [6][7]. ITC itself is a major leaf-tobacco aggregator/exporter via its agribusiness, which grew **+18% YoY** in Q4 FY25 driven by leaf tobacco and value-added agri products [7]. Recently ITC commenced exports of **nicotine and related products** through this channel [7].

**2. Wheat and value-added agricultural commodities**

ITC's agribusiness sources wheat and other agri commodities domestically. Agribusiness performance in FY25 has been driven by **value-added agriculture products, leaf tobacco and wheat** [8].

**3. Domestic wood suppliers (Paperboards, Paper & Packaging)**

Paper margin contracted **491 bps YoY in Q4 FY25** due to "a significant surge in domestic wood costs" [6]. Wood is the dominant input cost for ITC's paperboards business, and ITC also runs farm-forestry programs with Indian farmers to secure pulpwood supply.

**4. Imported paper (competitive supply, not procurement)**

The paperboards segment is being pressured by **low-priced Chinese supply** entering the Indian market; this is a competitor-supply dynamic rather than a procurement input, but it sits on ITC's cost-of-doing-business side [7].

**5. Agricultural commodities for FMCG (foods, personal care)**

FMCG EBIT margin contracted **273 bps YoY in Q4 FY25** due to "severe inflation in agricultural commodities" — covering edible oils, dairy, wheat-flour, and other ingredients used in Aashirvaad, Sunfeast, Bingo!, Yippee!, etc. — partially offset by cost-saving programs [6].

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### Summary Table — ITC Value Chain at a Glance

| Side | Counterparty | Role |
|---|---|---|
| **Strategic / Brand** | British American Tobacco (BAT) | 29.4% shareholder; long-term strategic partner in cigarettes |
| **Brand licensor** | Philip Morris International | Marlboro brand variants distributed by ITC in India [5] |
| **Customer — GT** | ~7m kirana / pan-shop outlets (India-wide) | Largest channel for cigarettes and core FMCG [3] |
| **Customer — MT/QC** | DMart, Blinkit (Eternal), Swiggy Instamart, Zepto, Reliance Retail, BigBasket, Flipkart, Amazon | Fast-growing FMCG channel; ITC flagged as beneficiary of shift [4] |
| **Supplier — Tobacco** | Indian leaf-tobacco farmers (also a captive procurement base via Agribusiness) | Largest raw-material cost line; biggest swing factor for cigarette margins [6][7][8] |
| **Supplier — Wood/Pulp** | Domestic wood / farm forestry growers | Key input for Paperboards; cost surge hit margins -491 bps in Q4 FY25 [6] |
| **Supplier — Agri commodities** | Indian agri value chain (wheat, dairy, edible oils, palm oil, etc.) | Drives FMCG margin volatility [6] |

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### Caveats and Gaps

- ITC does not publicly name individual suppliers (e.g., specific leaf-tobacco aggregators, packaging vendors, hotel-construction contractors) in disclosed brokerage research. Internal RMS coverage on ITC (CLSA, latest dated 22 May 2025 [6][7]) treats suppliers at the commodity-input level rather than vendor-name level.
- "Customers" for the cigarettes segment in the strict legal/contractual sense are the wholesalers/distributors who onward-sell to retail outlets; the channel-share data above is reported on a sell-out (FMCG) basis as disclosed by ITC management to CLSA [1][2].
- A separately listed entity, **ITC Hotels**, has been demerged from ITC Ltd (effective early/mid-CY2025); the hotels customer base discussed above is now housed there. ITC Ltd retains a residual ~40% stake (subject to confirmation in formal filings) [1].

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**Sources**

[1] India Strategy / ITC Q2 FY25 NDR feedback — CLSA (28 Nov 2024) — 607945651LinqAlpha.PDF
[2] All Things India — CLSA (26 Nov 2024) — 607945435LinqAlpha.PDF
[3] India Consumer (Distribution reach for staple companies) — CLSA (12 Jun 2024) — 607931810LinqAlpha.PDF
[4] India Consumer 2025 Outlook (Shift to organised trade) — CLSA (15 Jan 2025) — 607948268LinqAlpha.PDF
[5] ITC (Quick-commerce SKU analysis incl. Marlboro pricing) — CLSA (12 Mar 2024) — 607924198LinqAlpha.PDF
[6] ITC – O-PF (Q4 FY25 review — segment margin walk) — CLSA (22 May 2025) — 607960308LinqAlpha.PDF
[7] ITC – O-PF (Q4 FY25 review — cigarettes, agri, FMCG, paper) — CLSA (22 May 2025) — 607960308LinqAlpha.PDF
[8] ITC Q1 FY25 review (Hotels, Agribusiness leaf tobacco/wheat) — CLSA (1 Aug 2024) — 607935216LinqAlpha.PDF
[9] ITC – O-PF document header (TP table noting BAT 29.4% as major shareholder) — CLSA (22 May 2025) — 607960308LinqAlpha.PDF [unciteable TOC chunk; reflected in document header data]

