MUMBAI, May 15 -- For a company that started out transporting milk to Mumbai before independence, Chitale Bandhu now speaks a very different language-inventory optimisation, omnichannel strategy, and clean-label snacking. With a Rs.265 crore capacity expansion complete and Sachin Tendulkar as its brand ambassador, the fourth-generation family business is reengineering itself into a modern FMCG challenger.

From building bhujia machines in the 1990s to baking Rs.10 namkeen bars in 2025, the Pune-based company is betting on automation, quality and scale to capture a bigger slice of India's Rs.1 trillion salty snack market.

"We've added enough capacity to take us from a 1% to a 10% market share, but we're not trying to compete in the Rs.5 s...