FMCG Industry in India

The FMCG industry in India is expected to grow between 4.5-6.5% in 2024, on the back of continued strength in the sector and the Indian economy.

Advantage India

Growing
Demand

* Indian food processing market size reached US$ 307.2 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach US$ 547.3 billion by 2028, exhibiting a growth rate (CAGR) of 9.5% during 2023-2028.

* Digital advertising grew to reach US$ 9.92 billion by 2023, with the FMCG industry being the biggest contributor at 42% share of the total digital spend.

*As per CRISIL, India's dairy industry is projected to experience a healthy revenue growth of 13-14% in FY25, driven by strong consumer demand and increased raw milk supply.

Attractive
Opportunities

* Entrepreneurs interested in setting up the food-related FMCG industry can set up their processing units in the government-designated agro-processing clusters, which helps cut down the plant setup costs.

* With the advent of online retail and e-commerce, FMCG businesses are able to market and sell their products across the country without investing much in marketing activities.

Policy
support

* Union Budget 2023-24 has allocated US$ 976 million for PLI schemes that aims to reduce import costs, improve the cost competitiveness of domestically produced goods, increase domestic capacity, and promote exports.

* Union budget 2023-24 focuses on reviving rural demand by boosting disposable income, allocation to farms and higher fund allocation on rural infrastructure, connectivity, and mobility to create long-term jobs.

Higher
Investments

* In February 2024, Varun Beverages announced of investing Rs. 3,500 crore (US$ 421.69 million) to setup manufacturing plants, while generating 1,500 employment opportunities.

* In January 2023, ITC announced plans to acquire 100% of Sproutlife Foods, a D2C startup and parent company of health food brand 'Yoga Bar' over a period of three to four years.

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Last updated: Sep, 2024

FMCG Industry in India Industry Report

Aug, 2024

Introduction

The FMCG sector in India expanded due to consumer-driven growth and higher product prices, especially for essential goods. FMCG sector provides employment to around 3 million people accounting for approximately 5% of the total factory employment in India. FMCG sales in the country grew 7-9% by revenues in 2022-23. The key growth drivers for the sector include favourable Government initiatives & policies, a growing rural market and youth population, new branded products, and growth of e-commerce platforms. Resilience needs to be the key factor in the manufacturing process, daily operations, retail and logistic channels, consumer insights and communication that will help FMCG companies to withstand the test of time and create more value for consumers in the long run. India’s fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector grew 7.5% by volumes in the April-June 2023 quarter, the highest in the last eight quarters, led by a revival in rural India and higher growth in modern trade.

CRISIL forecasts 7-9% revenue growth for the FMCG sector in the current FY25, driven by increased volume and rural demand recovery. Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector is India’s fourth-largest sector and has been expanding at a healthy rate over the years because of rising disposable income, a rising youth population, and rising brand awareness among consumers.

With household and personal care accounting for 50% of FMCG sales in India, the industry is an important contributor to India’s GDP.

India is a country that no FMCG player can afford to ignore due to its middle-class population which is larger than the total population of USA. The Indian FMCG market continues to rise as more people start to move up the economic ladder and the benefits of economic progress become accessible to the public. More crucially, with a median age of just 27, India's population is becoming more consumerist due to rising ambitions. This has been further aided by government initiatives to increase financial inclusion and establish social safety nets.

Growing awareness, easier access and changing lifestyles have been the key growth drivers for the sector. The urban segment (accounts for a revenue share of around 65%) is the largest contributor to the overall revenue generated by the FMCG sector in India. However, in the last few years, the FMCG market has grown at a faster pace in rural India compared to urban India. Semi-urban and rural segments are growing at a rapid pace and FMCG products account for 50% of the total rural spending.

Market Size

Total revenue of FMCG market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 27.9% through 2021-27, reaching nearly US$ 615.87 billion. In 2022, urban segment contributed 65% whereas rural India contributed more than 35% to the overall annual FMCG sales. Good harvest, government spending expected to aid rural demand recovery in FY24. The sector had grown 8.5% in revenues and 2.5% in volumes last fiscal year. In the January-June period of 2022, the sector witnessed value growth of about 8.4% on account of price hikes due to inflationary pressures. In third quarter of FY23, the FMCG sector clocked a value growth of 9.0% YoY — lower than the 9.2% YoY value growth seen in third quarter of FY22.

As per CRISIL, India's dairy industry is projected to experience a healthy revenue growth of 13-14% in FY25, driven by strong consumer demand and increased raw milk supply.

According to NielsenIQ’s report, in 2024, the FMCG industry in India is expected to grow between 4.5-6.5%, owing to strength in the sector and Indian economy.

Indian food processing market size reached US$ 307.2 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach US$ 470 billion by 2028, exhibiting a growth rate (CAGR) of 9.5% during 2023-2028.

The Union government approved a new PLI scheme for the food processing sector, with a budget outlay of Rs. 109 billion (US$ 1.46 billion). Incentives under the scheme will be disbursed for six years to 2026-27.

India’s FMCG sector has long been the top spender in the country’s advertising market, commanding nearly one third share Rs. 31,000 Crore (US$ 3.75 billion) in 2023 of the total advertising expenditure.

India includes 780 million internet users, where an average Indian person spends around 7.3 hours per day on their smartphone, one of the highest in the world. Number of active internet users in India will increase to 900 million by 2025 from 759 million in 2022. In 2022, India’s consumer spending was US$ 2,049.57 billion. Indian villages, which contribute more than 35% to overall annual FMCG sales, are crucial for overall revival of the sector. E-commerce now accounts for 17% of the overall FMCG consumption among evolved buyers, who are affluent and make average spends of about Rs. 5,620 (US$ 677.11 million).

The Indian e-commerce market is anticipated to grow from US$ 83 billion in 2022 to US$ 185 billion in 2026. By 2030, it is expected to have an annual gross merchandise value of US$ 350 billion. Fuelling e-commerce growth, India is expected to have over 907 million internet users by 2023, which accounts for ~64% of the total population of the country.

The market has grown exponentially over the past five years due to the surge in internet and smartphone users, improved policy reforms, and increase in disposable income. Mobile wallets, Internet banking, and debit/credit cards have become popular among customers for making transactions on e-commerce platforms. The total value of digital transactions stood at US$ 300 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach US$ 1 trillion by 2026.

The India online grocery market size has been projected to grow from US$ 4,540 million in 2022 to US$ 76,761.0 million by 2032, at a CAGR of 32.7% through 2032.

FMCG giants such as Johnson & Johnson, Himalaya, Hindustan Unilever, ITC, Lakmé and other companies (that have dominated the Indian market for decades) are now competing with D2C-focused start-ups such as Mamaearth, The Moms Co., Bey Bee, Azah, Nua and Pee Safe. Market giants such as Revlon and Lotus took ~20 years to reach the Rs. 100 crore (US$ 13.4 million) revenue mark, while new-age D2C brands such as Mamaearth and Sugar took four and eight years, respectively, to achieve that milestone.

Investments

In July 2024, Chairman and Managing Director Mr. Sanjiv Puri said ITC Ltd. has come up with a Rs. 20,000 crore (US$ 241.55 million) capex plan for the mid-term to expand its capacities in fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), paperboard and other businesses.
In February 2024, Varun Beverages announced of investing Rs. 3,500 crores (US$ 421.69 million) to setup manufacturing plants, while generating 1,500 employment opportunities.
In October 2023, Unilever announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell Dollar Shave Club with completion expected before the end of 2023. Unilever will retain a minority shareholding of 35%.
In June 2023, Skincare brand VLCC acquires men's grooming brand Ustraa.
In May 2023, Reliance Retail Ventures completes acquisition of controlling stake in Lotus Chocolate.
In January 2023, ITC has announced plans to acquire 100% of Sproutlife Foods (SFPL), a direct-to-consumer (D2C) startup and parent company of health food brand 'Yoga Bar' over a period of three to four years.
In January 2023, ITC opened 59 acres food processing plant in Telangana, that will make in phases biscuits, chips, noodles as well as atta that ITC markets under its popular brands, including Sunfeast and Aashirvaad.
In December 2022, Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) announced its foray into the ‘Health & Wellbeing’ category through strategic investments in Zywie Ventures Private Limited (“OZiva”) and Nutritionalab Private Limited (“Wellbeing Nutrition”).
In October 2022, Dabur India Limited acquired 51% stake in Badshah Masala Private Limited to expand its foods business to Rs. 500 Crore (US$ 60.3 million) in 3 years and expand into new adjacent categories.
In October 2022, Tata Consumer Products renovates and rebrands TATA Q as TATA Sampann Yumside with a new and larger range of Ready to Eat and Ready to Cook offerings.
The Government has allowed 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in food processing and single-brand retail and 51% in multi-brand retail.
This would bolster employment, supply chain and high visibility for FMCG brands across organised retail markets thereby bolstering consumer spending and encouraging more product launches.
From April 2000-December 2023, the food processing industry received US$ 12,466 million FDI.

Some of the recent developments in the FMCG sector are as follows:

In July, 2023, GrowUp Farms, has launched Unbeleafable®, the first range of ready-to-eat salads grown in a vertical farm to be sold in a major UK supermarket after three products from the range were made available in selected Tesco stores.
In January 2023, Hindustan Unilever Limited and UNDP announced the launch of an “Inclusive Circular Economy” project focusing on end-to-end management of plastic waste by promoting the segregation of waste at source, collection of the segregated waste.
In November 2022, ITC collaborates with IIT Delhi to strengthen crop residue management programme in north India and to develop a Geographical Information Systems (GIS) tool to track, monitor and identify areas where stubble-burning is practised and where it is not.
FMCG ad volumes on television rose by 33% in the year 2021 when compared to 2019. The growth was 22% when compared to the year 2020. The top 10 advertisers on TV accounted for a 60% share of ad volumes in the year 2021 with HUL topping the list, followed by Reckitt Benckiser (India), and Brooke Bond Lipton India.
In December 2022, Hindustan Unilever Limited announced its foray into the ‘Health & Wellbeing’ category through strategic investments in Zywie Ventures Private Limited (“OZiva”) and Nutritionalab Private Limited (“Wellbeing Nutrition”).
In February 2023, women wellness brand Nutrizoe has introduced new flavours for its lactation-aiding bar Lactobites and nausea-inhibiting oral strips Nail the Nausea.
In January 2023, Heritage Foods Ltd, one of India’s leading dairy players, has announced the launch of GlucoShakti, a whey-based instant energy drink that revitalises hardworking youth, when strenuous physical work drains them.
In 2022, Britannia recently launched ragi cookies and five-grain digestive biscuits under its NutriChoice brand.
In 2023, BCS Globals, a UAE based food & beverage company, forays into the Indian energy drink market with the launch of one-of-its kind brand Wox and plans to introduce a diversified product portfolio.
In 2023, Inspired by Japanese beauty secrets, Keomi Beauty recently kick-started its journey in the Indian beauty and skincare space
In December 2022, Reliance Group launched its FMCG brand “Independence” in Gujarat which will bring a wide choice of high quality and affordable products including edible oils, pulses, grains, packaged foods, and other daily need products.
Amazon aims at making all shipments net-zero carbon, with 50% net zero carbon by 2030.
In 2021-22, Dabur India has become a complete plastic waste neutral firm in the country after collecting, processing, and recycling around 27,000 metric tonnes of post-consumer plastic waste.
In 2021-22, over 300 million FMCG bottles have been produced from Banyan's recycled plastic for clients that include Hindustan Unilever, Reckitt, Shell and HPCL.
In 2021, Colgate-Palmolive, the oral care giant has launched recyclable toothpaste tubes in India as a part of its commitment to sustainability.
In 2021, Myntra partnered with Better Cotton Initiative as a part of promoting sustainable cotton farming practices.li>
In October 2022, Dabur acquired 51% stake in Badshah Masala Private Limited for Rs. 587.52 crore, (US$ 71.81 million) less proportionate debt as on the closing date, with the Badshah enterprise being valued at Rs. 1,152 crore (US$ 140.81 million).
In November 2021, Tata Consumer Products (TCPL) signed definitive agreements to acquire 100% equity shares of Tata SmartFoodz Limited (TSFL) from Tata Industries Limited for a cash consideration of Rs. 395 crore (US$ 53.13 million). This move was in line with TCPL’s strategic intent to expand into value-added categories.
In November 2021, Unilever Plc agreed to sell its global tea business to CVC Capital Partners for EUR 4.5 billion (US$ 5.1 billion). The business being sold—Ekaterra—hosts a portfolio of 34 tea brands including Lipton, PG Tips, Pukka Herbs and TAZO.

Government Initiatives

Some of the major initiatives taken by the Government to promote the FMCG sector in India are as follows:

The Union government approved a new PLI scheme for the food processing sector, with a budget outlay of Rs. 109 billion (US$ 1.46 billion). Incentives under the scheme will be disbursed for six years to 2026-27.
The government's initiative to promote millets for its health benefits would increase the consumption and production of the millets in the nation. To support this, the government declared that the Indian Institute of Millet Research in Hyderabad will become a worldwide centre of excellence for the exchange of best practices, knowledge, and innovations.
In 2022, Government announced that the food processing industry has invested Rs. 4,900 crore (US$ 593 million) so far under the PLI scheme, which was approved in March 2021, with a budget outlay of Rs. 10,900 crore (US$ 1.3 billion), likely to increase sales and exports of food products.
A total of 182 applications have been approved under the PLI scheme for the food processing industry. This includes 30 applications for millets-based products under the PLI scheme (8 large entities and 22 SMEs)
In 2022, a total of 112 food processing projects were completed and operationalized, leveraging the private investment of Rs. 706.04 crore (US$ 85.4 million) and generating direct and indirect employment for 25,293 people.
To boost the food processing sector, the Centre has permitted under the Income Tax Act a deduction of 100% of profit for five years and 25% of profit in the next five years in case of new agro-processing industries set up to package and preserve fruits and vegetables.
Excise Duty of 16% on dairy machinery has been fully waived off and excise duty on meat, poultry and fish products has been reduced from 16% to 8%.
An amount of Rs. 1,000 crore (US$ 120.7 million) is being set up initially in NITI Aayog for SETU for setting up of incubation centres and enhance skill development to facilitate the startup ecosystem in the country while improving the ease of doing business.
The governments’ incentives and the FDI funds have helped the FMCG sector strengthen employment, establish a more robust supply chain, and capture high visibility for FMCG brands across established retail markets.
Union Budget 2023-24 has allocated US$ 976 million for PLI schemes that aims to reduce import costs, improve the cost competitiveness of domestically produced goods, increase domestic capacity, and promote exports.
The government’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme gives companies a major opportunity to boost exports with an outlay of US$ 1.42 billion.
GST is expected to transform logistics in the FMCG sector into a modern and efficient model as all major corporations are remodelling their operations into larger logistics and warehousing.

Road Ahead

Rural consumption has increased, led by a combination of increasing income and higher aspiration levels. There is an increased demand for branded products in rural India. On the other hand, with the share of the unorganised market in the FMCG sector falling, the organised sector growth is expected to rise with an increased level of brand consciousness, augmented by the growth in modern retail. Another major factor propelling the demand for food services in India is the growing youth population, primarily in urban regions. India has a large base of young consumers who form most of the workforce, and due to time constraints, barely get time for cooking.

Online portals are expected to play a key role for companies trying to enter the hinterlands. The Internet has contributed in a big way, facilitating a cheaper and more convenient mode to increase a company’s reach. The number of internet users in India is likely to reach 1 billion by 2025. It is estimated that 40% of all FMCG consumption in India will be made online by 2030. E-commerce share of total FMCG sales is expected to increase by 11% by 2030. It is estimated that India will gain US$ 15 billion a year by implementing GST. GST and demonetisation are expected to drive demand, both in the rural and urban areas and economic growth in a structured manner in the long term and improved the performance of companies within the sector.