Anirban Banerjee says that the company is aiming to derive 40 to 45 per cent of its revenue from non-battery businesses going ahead
Eveready Industries India is accelerating its transformation beyond traditional batteries, targeting a one-third share of India’s alkaline battery market over the next three years while aiming to derive 40 to 45 per cent of its revenue from non-battery businesses. Its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Anirban Banerjee, said that the company is betting on premiumisation, category expansion and manufacturing-led growth as it scales businesses spanning lighting, flashlights, mobile accessories and small appliances.
In an interview with BW Retail World, Banerjee emphasised that Eveready is backing this strategy with a Rs 200-crore investment in the alkaline battery manufacturing facility in Jammu, which will support domestic demand as well as potential export and white-label opportunities. Banerjee said the company is pairing manufacturing expansion with innovation-led introductions across batteries, flashlights and adjacent power categories, while leveraging a revamped distribution network that has helped accelerate growth to double-digit levels in recent quarters.
Premiumisation Powering Growth Recovery
Banerjee positioned Eveready’s transformation as a turnaround story, arguing that the company had seen “no growth” between 2010 and 2022 before returning to growth under a new management team. “In the last financial year, the company turned around and had more than 8 per cent growth. For the last quarter of last year, we clocked more than 10 per cent,” he remarked.
While Eveready is expanding into adjacent categories, Banerjee maintained that the company is “fueling the core even stronger and harder” by reshaping the battery portfolio itself. According to him, the Indian battery market is undergoing a structural shift, with alkaline batteries now accounting for 12 to 15 per cent of the roughly Rs 4,000-crore category, up from less than 5 per cent a few years ago. Alkaline batteries accounted for 12 per cent of Eveready’s battery portfolio in Q4FY26, while the category recorded 82 per cent year-on-year revenue growth.
At the centre of that strategy is Eveready’s premium battery brand, Ultima. Banerjee noted that the company had limited focus on alkaline batteries for nearly two decades before aggressively pushing the category after 2023. “Over the last two and a half to three years, this sub-brand has started becoming very strong,” he observed, adding that Eveready has already captured 16 to 17 per cent of the alkaline segment and is targeting “around 30 to 32 per cent share” within the next three years.
Banerjee also outlined a broader effort to segment the battery category by consumer need and device usage. Beyond premium zinc and alkaline batteries, Eveready has expanded into lithium, rechargeable and coin-cell formats. “The battery portfolio will be premiumised,” he asserted, explaining that newer products such as household lithium batteries are aimed at high-drain and precision devices where consumers value longer replacement cycles and higher performance.
Supporting this shift is Eveready’s recently commissioned Rs 200-crore alkaline battery plant in Jammu. Banerjee described the investment as a bet on future demand. Beyond catering to domestic demand, he sees the facility opening up export and white-label opportunities, stressing that Eveready wants to remain “a strong domestic branded player” while also becoming “a meaningful white-label partner globally.”
A Manufacturing And Export Hub?
Beyond serving the domestic market, Banerjee envisions Eveready emerging as a manufacturing partner for global brands as supply chains realign and companies diversify sourcing bases. “Would we want to become a meaningful partner? Definitely,” he remarked.
While export conversations are still at an early stage, Banerjee indicated that the company is actively engaging with potential partners and customers. He described the opportunity as part of a “reimagined, restructured trade world”, where manufacturers with local production capabilities can cater to both branded and contract-manufacturing demand.
With an installed annual capacity of 456 million batteries, Banerjee expects the Jammu facility to reach 30 to 40 per cent utilisation by the end of the current year, supported by existing retail and B2B demand. “One-third of its capacity utilisation by the end of this year is quite doable,” he noted, while expressing confidence that the plant would operate at significantly higher utilisation levels over the longer term.
On future investments, Banerjee signalled a calibrated approach rather than another large manufacturing outlay. While capital expenditure will continue towards refurbishing old zinc battery lines and strengthening flashlight manufacturing, future investments are likely to be directed towards scaling emerging categories.
Products such as mosquito racquets, currently sourced externally, could eventually be brought in-house if they achieve sufficient scale. “Maybe two years down the line, we are at a situation where we would probably bring part of it in-house and invest internally to start making it,” he explained.
Diversified Revenue Mix
Banerjee expects Eveready’s diversification efforts to materially reshape the company’s revenue profile over the next three years. While batteries will remain the anchor business, he projected that they would account for “about 55 odd per cent” of revenue, with non-battery categories contributing 40 to 45 per cent.
Flashlights, lighting, wires, MCBs, mosquito racquets, electrical accessories, small appliances, power banks and mobile accessories are all expected to play a role in that transition. The company is applying a measured playbook to these adjacencies rather than chasing scale at any cost. Rechargeable flashlights saw 19 per cent revenue growth in Q4FY26 on a YoY basis and now contributed 54 per cent to the flashlights revenue for the company in Q4FY26.
Banerjee acknowledged that Eveready enters most new categories as a challenger, but stressed that the objective is to “pilot it and then scale it up” until the company becomes “either one, two or three in that category”. “We do not want to waste time in playing the seventh or eighth guy,” he asserted.
In mobile accessories, Eveready is leveraging its longstanding association with portable power to build credibility. Banerjee noted that the company’s initial experiments in power banks have gained traction, helped by consumer trust in the brand’s battery expertise. “We are good with batteries and good with portable energy, good with power,” he remarked, adding that the focus is not merely on matching specifications but delivering “consistent quality” and products that are closer to consumer needs.
Innovation, meanwhile, is becoming a core operating principle across the organisation. Banerjee argued that a century-old brand can remain relevant only if it continuously reinvents itself for newer consumers. “The entire marketing DNA at Eveready today is product first, consumer first,” he said. Beyond product development, the innovation agenda now extends to distribution, digital tools and AI-led capabilities, reflecting his ambition that “what took a hundred years to build should not take another hundred” to scale further.
Overhauling Route-to-market (RTM)
Banerjee credited part of Eveready’s recent growth acceleration to a major overhaul of its route-to-market architecture undertaken in 2023. The company rationalised its network from around 5,000 partners to nearly 1,000 robust partners and subsequently expanded its sub-distributor base, with a sharper focus on urban markets, retail execution and outlet productivity. According to him, the benefits of those changes began reflecting more meaningfully in 2024 and have since helped strengthen growth across channels.
While the restructuring phase is largely complete, Banerjee maintained that distribution remains a continuous priority. “The distribution agenda does not end,” he emphasised. He positioned the effort as part of a broader transformation journey aimed at making the century-old brand “future ready”, anchored by stronger distribution, innovation-led product development and the growing relevance of the Ultima sub-brand among younger consumers.
