Biscuits Sweet biscuits are commonly eaten as a snack food, and are, in general, made with wheat flour or oats, and sweetened with sugar or honey. Varieties may contain chocolate, fruit, jam, nuts, or even be used to sandwich other fillings. Savory biscuits or crackers (such as cream crackers, water biscuits, oatcakes, or crisp breads) are usually plainer and commonly eaten with cheese following a meal. Other savory biscuits include the Jewish biscuits known as matzos. Many savory biscuits also contain additional ingredients for flavor or texture, such as poppy seeds, onion or onion seeds, cheese (such as cheese melts), and olives. Cookies The term cookies generally refer to a baked product containing a percentage of sugar and fat relative to the flour and a small quantity of water. This general statement on composition separates cookies from bread that contain relatively low level of sugar and fat and intermediate level of water. The type of cookies is defined not only by their composition but also by their method of production. Cookies containing high amount of fats and sugar can be processed by three procedures, like Rotary mold, wire cut, or bar press process. Bread Bread is a staple food prepared by baking dough of flour and water. It is popular around the world and is one of the world's oldest foods. Combinations of different flours, differing proportions of ingredients and varying preparations have resulted in a wide variety of bread types, shapes, sizes, and textures. It may be leavened (aerated) by a number of different processes ranging from the use of naturally occurring microbes to high-pressure artificial aeration during preparation and/or baking. Breads may also be left unleavened. Ingredients from fruits and nuts to various fats, to chemical additives designed to improve flavor, texture, color, and/or shelf life can be used. Bread is served in different forms at the various meals of the day, eaten as a snack, and used as an ingredient in other culinary preparations. As a basic food worldwide, bread has come to take on significance beyond mere nutrition, evolving into a fixture in religious rituals, secular cultural life, cuisine and language. Uses Bread can be served at many temperatures; once baked, it can subsequently be toasted. Bread can be dipped into liquids such as gravy, olive oil, or soup; it can be topped with various sweet and savory spreads, or used to make sandwiches containing myriad varieties of meats, cheeses, vegetables, and condiments. Bread may also be used as an ingredient in other culinary preparations, such as the use of breadcrumbs to provide crunchy crusts or thicken sauces, sweet or savory bread puddings, or as a binding agent in sausages and other ground meat products. Biscuits are frequently eaten with tea or coffee. The biscuit is dunked into the tea and eaten quickly due to the biscuit's tendency to disintegrate when wet. Biscuit is also used as a cracker with cheeses, and is often included in 'cracker selection' packets. Market Survey The Indian biscuit market is estimated at around 2 mn tonnes per annum of which the unorganized sector accounts for over 50% of the market share. The unorganized sector is composed of some 30,000 small and tiny bakeries across the country. The organized industry includes two large units, about 50 medium scale and approximately 2,500 small scale industry (SSI) units manufacturing biscuits and other bakery products. The two major bakery products, biscuits and bread, account for 82% of all bakery production. The unorganized sector accounts for about half of the total biscuit production. It accounts for 85% of the total bread production and around 90% of the other bakery products estimated at 750,000 tonnes. The last includes pastries, cakes, buns, rusks and others. Biscuits are estimated to enjoy around 37% share by volume and 75% by value of the bakery industry. The organized sector caters to the medium and premium segments, which are relatively less price-sensitive. The organized sector is unable to compete at the lower price range due to the excise advantage enjoyed by the informal sector. In India, the per capita consumption of biscuits is around 2 kgs; compared to more than 10 kgs in the US, UK and the West European countries and over 4.25 kg in South East Asian countries like Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand and Indonesia. China has a per capita consumption of 1.9 kg, while in the case of Japan it is reported at 7.5 kg. Britannia, claiming a 38% share of the market in value terms, is investing Rs 1.30 bn to increase its capacity of biscuits of 433,000 tonnes, a year. The company had registered a growth of 8.6% a year during 2001-06 period. At a turnover of Rs 19.8 bn from biscuits in 2006-07, the company registered a year-on-year growth of 24%. Currently, biscuits contribute 90% of Britannia’s annual revenue of Rs 22 bn. Britannia's seven brands - Tiger, Good Day, Marie, Treat, 50:50, Milk Bikis and Nutrichoice - have already become household names across the country. Modern Foods, the first public sector undertaking to be privatized by the government in a strategic sale to Hindustan Lever (now Hindustan Unilever India) is now being merged with its buyer as a wholly-owned subsidiary. Apart from paying nearly, Rs 1.50 bn to acquire Modern Foods, HUL had incurred nearly Rs 300 mn on VRS to the employees of the Modern Foods, apart from investing on upgrading the production capabilities at certain units. This was its first foray into baking business. Modern Foods had nearly half of the organized market to itself. The size of the bread market is estimated at close to Rs 17 bn. A limited number of producers in the organized industry is supplemented by a large number of units in the unorganized sector. According to industry sources, companies, such as Blue Foods, Sweet Chariot, Nilgiris and others are brushing up their strategies to be present in the fast growing premium bakery segment. Britannia has since been joined by other bread manufacturers like Candico (India), Elite Breads and a host of others with small market presence. From a low priced commodity, bread has graduated into a branded product with discriminating prices. Barring Premium Bake, the others are priced high - almost double the standard bread brands. Few Indian Major Players are as under Ampro Products Ltd. Anmol Bakers Pvt. Ltd. Anmol Biscuits Ltd. Aurofood Pvt. Ltd. Bakemans Industries Pvt. Ltd. Bonn Nutrients Pvt. Ltd. Britannia Industries Ltd. Cadbury India Ltd. Candico (I) Ltd. Century Biscuits Ltd. Cremica Agro Foods Ltd. Daily Bread Gourmet Foods (India) Pvt. Ltd. Devyani International Ltd. Farco Foods Pvt. Ltd. Ganges Valley Foods Pvt. Ltd. Glaxosmithkline Consumer Healthcare Ltd. Goldcoin Health Foods Ltd. Harinagar Sugar Mills Ltd. Heritage Foods (India) Ltd. International Bakery Products Ltd. J B Mangharam Foods Pvt. Ltd. Jaya Proteins (India) Ltd. Jubilant Foodworks Ltd. Just Desserts Ltd. Kishlay Foods Pvt. Ltd. Kissan Products Ltd. Kwality Biscuits Pvt. Ltd. Manna Foods Pvt. Ltd. Modern Food Inds. (India) Ltd. Nezone Biscuits Pvt. Ltd. Nimbus Foods Inds. Ltd. Parle Biscuits Pvt. Ltd. Parle Products Pvt. Ltd. Pepsico India Holdings Pvt. Ltd. Priya Food Products Ltd. Reliance F & B Services Ltd. Rose Valley Inds. Ltd. Saj Industries Pvt. Ltd. Sathe Biscuit & Chocolate Co. Ltd. Saturday Club Ltd. Shah Foods Ltd. Shakti Bhog Foods Ltd. Shangrila Food Products Ltd. Sunrise Biscuit Co. Pvt. Ltd. Surya Foods & Agro Ltd. Triad Foods Pvt. Ltd. Veeramani Biscuit Inds. Ltd. Windsor Foods Pvt. Ltd.