Blog · 22 Jul 2026
Can LT Foods become a global FMCG company?
In today’s Finshots Markets, we talk about how LT Foods, the parent company of rice brands like Daawat and Royal, is expanding its footprint to become a…
In today’s Finshots Markets, we talk about how LT Foods, the parent company of rice brands like Daawat and Royal, is expanding its footprint to become a global FMCG company.But here’s a quick sidenote before we begin.
If you’re someone who loves keeping tabs on the world of business and finance, hit subscribe if you haven’t already. If you’re already a subscriber, thank you! Maybe forward this newsletter to someone who’d enjoy our stories but hasn’t discovered us yet.Now onto today’s story.The StoryFor decades, LT Foods built its business on a model that looks simple on the surface but is actually quite complex in practice.It buys paddy, ages it for over a year, and then sells premium basmati rice under brands like Daawat in India and Royal in the US and Canada. And that model has worked exceptionally well.
The company today commands roughly 55% market share in the US basmati segment. Its Royal brand alone has grown from $35 million in revenue in 2007 into a $400 million business today.But beneath all this success lies an important structural constraint.The rice business, in general, is capital-intensive and slow-moving. Because it needs to be aged for at least 12 to 24 months to achieve the aroma and quality that premium consumers expect, it locks up a lot of working capital.