THE BUSINESS BEHINDā¦
Raw Materials & Sourcing
Bilkul Bazaar | Sunday Special
THE BUSINESS BEHIND A BISCUIT PACKET šŖ
A biscuit may look like a simple product, but its business journey begins long before it reaches the shop shelf.
The main ingredient is usually wheat flour (maida). Large biscuit manufacturers need huge quantities, so they source flour from large mills or suppliers, often through long-term or bulk purchasing arrangements. The price and quality of wheat therefore matter directly to the cost of every biscuit packet.
Then come sugar, edible vegetable oils or fats, starch, milk solids, salt and raising agents such as baking soda. Different biscuits require different ingredients. Cream biscuits, chocolate biscuits and premium varieties may also need cocoa, flavours, nuts, chocolate and other specialised ingredients.
But buying these ingredients is not simply a matter of finding the cheapest supplier. Manufacturers have to maintain consistent quality. A change in the quality of flour or fat can affect the biscuit’s taste, texture, colour and shelf life.
Large companies also have to think about storage and supply security. They need enough raw material to keep factories running, but storing too much can tie up money and increase the risk of deterioration or wastage.
And there is another important factor: commodity prices keep changing. If wheat, sugar or edible oil becomes more expensive, the manufacturer’s production cost rises. The company then has to decide whether to absorb the extra cost, reduce the quantity, change the recipe or eventually increase the price.
So, before a biscuit is baked, there is already a sizeable business behind it ā sourcing, negotiating, quality testing, storage and price management.
Bilkul Simply: A biscuit may cost only ā¹5 or ā¹10 at the shop, but its business starts with managing tonnes of raw materials efficiently.
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