Tata Consumer Products in talks to acquire India’s largest vending business

Tata consumer products, a subsidiary of the Tata Group, one of India’s largest and most successful conglomerates, is in talks with Coffee Day to acquire the firms vending machine business.

The move would bring another layer of the supply chain under the company’s control, with Tata consumer products now able to sell their products, which include tea and other beverages, directly to consumers.

The Tata Group, established in 1868, is one of the jewels in India’s corporate crown. Over the years, the company has expanded dramatically, and is now worth around US$20 billion.

It all started with a simple trading company and the purchase of a bankrupt oil mill. The company’s founder, Jamsetji Tata, converted the mill into a cotton mill, and from these humble beginnings, the empire began to grow.

Much of Tata’s success over the years can be attributed to their aggressive growth strategy. The firm has expanded into multiple different industries and acquired all kinds of different firms, ensuring their status today as an extremely diversified conglomerate. Some of the major subsidiaries of the Tata Group include chemical plants, communications, consultancy, consumer products, automobiles, steel plants, hotels, and airlines.

The acquisition of Coffee Day’s vending business by Tata consumer products is a perfect example of their expansion strategy. In this case, this is what we call vertical integration; the merger with or acquisition of another firm in the same industry that operates at a different stage of production.

The Tata Group are experts at integration, whether it be vertical, horizontal, or conglomerate. Their ruthless pursuit of market domination through acquiring firms and diversifying their production is central to their identity, and as it has worked for the last 152 years, there is no chance of them stopping it now!