India has currently passed a terrible milestone of 20 million COVID-19 cases, amid growing calls for the country to go into a national lockdown. While the country struggles with this new wave, we’re now taking a look at how Indian households reacted over the last year in terms of shopping and consumption, and what lessons FMCG brands can learn.
FMCG one of few thriving categories
Indian households spent nearly Rs. 47 Lakh Crores on FCMG, which is over 60 billion US Dollars, in the year ending February 2021. This translates to a near 11% jump in spend and 4.7% volume growth in a single year.
The pandemic curtailed consumers’ spending potential, both in terms of reduced income and places to spend it. In-home FMCG was one of the few categories that thrived during this testing time. Consumers increased their spend by an average of Rs. 1,153. To put this in perspective, the jump in spend between 2017 and 2019 was only around Rs. 300.
While food traditionally dominates FMCG purchases in the country, in the last couple of years the growth has shifted towards the personal and household care categories – growing 32% in 2019 and 40% in 2020. While personal care contributes to just 5.7% of all FMCG spend, it has been the key contributor to a 15% growth in FMCG spending over the last two years.
Diversity in growth
Each Indian state is different, not just in terms of culture, language, and arts, but also in terms of purchase behaviour. During the last year we saw that each of the states were hit to varying degrees and have also responded differently, irrespective of the situation in the state. FMCG growth varies from -4% to +14%. Our spend map enables you to see at a glance how FCMG spend varies across the country.
For more detail about FMCG in India over the past year, and the most successful FMCG brands of the past five years, fill in the form below to download FMCG Pulse.