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Business Standard
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Rural demand continued to outpace urban in April-June period: NielsenIQ
India's fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) market grew 13.9 per cent in value in the April–June quarter, supported by sustained rural demand and steady urban recovery, according to NielsenIQ (formerly Nielsen). Volume growth in the quarter was 6 per cent, while prices rose 7.4 per cent. Unit growth outpaced overall volume growth as consumers continued to opt for smaller packs. Demand from rural areas outpaced urban for the sixth consecutive quarter, rising 8.4 per cent compared to 4.6 per cent growth in urban demand. However, the gap narrowed as urban areas showed signs of sequential recovery, primarily driven by smaller towns, while metropolitan areas continued to see a decline in consumption owing to channel shifts. While e-commerce continued to expand in April–June, it gained ground on modern trade in eight metros. Southern metros led the e-commerce push with an 18.4 per cent share compared to 15.8 per cent for the eight metros overall. 'Even though e-commerce accounts for just 11–13 per cent of FMCG value share in metros, it is already delivering more than half of omnichannel growth. Despite the pullback of quick commerce dark stores, Q2FY25 consumption in e-commerce surged—driven by higher shopper penetration and consistent spending, even among new shoppers,' NielsenIQ said. Sharang Pant, head of FMCG customer success at NielsenIQ in India, said: 'The Indian FMCG sector continues to demonstrate resilience, with rural markets leading the charge for six consecutive quarters. While urban recovery is gaining traction, particularly in smaller towns, rural demand remains the cornerstone of volume expansion. E-commerce is emerging as a key growth engine, especially in the top eight metros.' He added that with easing inflation and a favourable monsoon forecast, the consumption outlook remains optimistic. However, sustaining momentum will require deeper channel engagement and sharper, value-led propositions. 'The industry is entering a phase where agility and consumer-centric innovation will be critical to future success. Additionally, the rapid rise of small manufacturers outpacing overall industry growth highlights shifting market dynamics and intensifying competition,' he said. In the quarter, food consumption largely remained stable at 5.5 per cent, driven by higher volumes in staples and impulse categories. Home and personal care saw stronger momentum with 7.5 per cent consumption growth. Over-the-counter categories posted a robust 14.2 per cent rise in value sales, largely due to an 11 per cent increase in prices.
Hans India
3 days ago
- Business
- Hans India
Rural demand remains robust in India in April-June, outlook optimistic: Report
New Delhi: Easing inflation and favourable monsoon boosted rural demand in India in the April-June period this year, outpacing urban consumption once again, according to a new report. According to the report by global research firm NielsenIQ, rural markets and small manufacturers propelled the packaged consumer goods sector in Q2 2025. Rural markets grew twice as fast as cities, as urban areas showed signs of recovery, particularly in smaller towns. According to the report, e-commerce also rose significantly, led by increased shopper penetration and spending, especially in home and personal care. Home and personal care (HPC) volume growth continues to grow faster than food categories and small players are expanding faster than FMCG consumption. Sharang Pant, head of FMCG customer success at NielsenIQ, said that with inflation easing and a favourable monsoon forecast, the outlook for consumption remains optimistic. While urban recovery is gaining traction, particularly in smaller towns, rural demand remains the cornerstone of volume expansion, he added. Sales in Q2 2025 grew 13.9 per cent by value from a year earlier, up from 11 per cent in the previous quarter. In Q1 2025 (January-March period), the Indian FMCG industry achieved a 11 percent year-on-year growth. Consumption-driven demand was attributed to a 5.1 per cent rise in volume with a 5.6 per cent increase in prices. A higher unit growth than volume growth indicates preference shift towards smaller packs in consumers. 'Interestingly, small players are gaining more ground due to a low base and changing market dynamics, though their long-term momentum remains to be seen,' Roosevelt Dsouza, APAC Head of Customer Success – FMCG, NielsenIQ India, had said. According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), private consumption, aided by rural demand, and fixed investment, supported by buoyant government capex, continue to boost economic activity. 'The above normal southwest monsoon, lower inflation, rising capacity utilisation and congenial financial conditions continue to support domestic economic activity. The supportive monetary, regulatory and fiscal policies including robust government capital expenditure should also boost demand,' said RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra after the MPC meeting last week.
Mint
4 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Rural sector, small towns boost FMCG Q1 sales by 14%, small packs rule
Mumbai: India's fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry reported a 13.9% year-on-year (y-o-y) sales growth in value terms and a 6% rise in volumes during the quarter ended June, powered by sustained rural demand and a steady urban revival, according to global marketing research firm NielsenIQ (NIQ). The market recorded a 7.4% increase in prices during the period, with unit growth outpacing the overall volume growth, signaling a stronger consumer preference for smaller packs, the firm said. This points to the affordability factor in the sector, especailly in rural areas and smaller towns. 'The Indian FMCG sector continues to demonstrate resilience, with rural markets leading the charge for six consecutive quarters. While urban recovery is gaining traction, particularly in smaller towns, rural demand remains the cornerstone of volume expansion," said Sharang Pant, head of FMCG customer success at NIQ in India. In the March quarter, the country's FMCG sector had reported a y-o-y rise of 11% in value, 5.1% in volume and 5.6% in prices, according to NielsenIQ. 'With inflation easing and a favourable monsoon forecast, the outlook for consumption remains optimistic. However, sustaining this momentum will require deeper channel engagement and sharper, value-led propositions…" Pant said. 'Additionally, the rapid rise of small manufacturers outpacing overall industry growth highlights shifting market dynamics and intensifying competition." Rural India has outpaced the urban regions in volume growth for six consecutive quarters, recording an 8.4% increase in volumes compared to 4.6% in the urban areas. However, the gap is narrowing as urban areas show signs of sequential recovery. This resurgence is primarily driven by smaller towns. In the June quarter, food consumption largely remained stable with a 5.5% volume growth, driven by the staples and impulse categories. Home and personal care (HPC) saw a stronger momentum, with 7.5% consumption growth. 'E-commerce continues its upward trajectory, gaining ground on modern trade (MT) in eight metros. Even though e-commerce accounts for just 11-13% of the FMCG value share in metros, it's already delivering more than half of the omnichannel growth," NIQ said. 'Despite the pullback of quick commerce dark stores, June quarter consumption in e-commerce surged—driven by higher shopper penetration and consistent spending, even among new shoppers." The growth trend cited by NIQ report is in line with the positive commentary from large listed FMCG companies in the June quarter. Last month, Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) pointed to resilience and improvement in both urban and rural informal sectors. The company reported a 4% jump in its June quarter consolidated volumes. Rohit Jawa, HUL's outgoing chief executive officer and managing director, had then said that several key factors are expected to boost consumer spending, including income tax rebates, lower interest rates that will ease personal loan burden, and softening food inflation. Consequently, HUL expects the first half of the current fiscal year to outperform the latter half of the previous one, Jawa had told reporters last month. Last week, Saugata Gupta, managing director and chief executive offficer of Marico Ltd, had said the FMCG sector was seeing stable-to-improving demand trends. 'Looking ahead, we anticipate a gradual uptick in overall demand patterns in the quarters ahead, aided by a combination of easing inflation levels, favourable monsoon season and continued policy support," Gupta said. Gupta had said India's rural demand was fairly resilient due to good monsoon rains and government's minimum support price for key crops, while the urban demand was linked to food inflation. 'Urban demand is improving… I don't think the consumption was that muted. Especially now that food inflation has come down, along with some part of the entire tax break; people will use part of that money to pay off EMIs (equated monthly instalments for loans), buy durables, better cars, upgrade mobile phones or towards entertainment…" Gupta had said in a separate interview with Mint last week. 'As a result, you have to innovate and continue to grow," he added.
Economic Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Economic Times
Rural India, small manufacturers lead FMCG growth in April-June; urban recovery gains momentum
Agencies Representative Image Rural markets and small manufacturers led revival of packaged consumer goods in the April-June quarter, with India's villages outpacing growth in cities for the sixth consecutive quarter and growing twice as fast as cities, research firm NielsenIQ said in its quarter update on Wednesday. 'While urban recovery is gaining traction, particularly in smaller towns, rural demand remains the cornerstone of volume expansion,' Sharang Pant, head of FMCG customer success, NielsenIQ said. 'With inflation easing and a favourable monsoon forecast, the outlook for consumption remains optimistic,' he added. Volumes (or number of units sold) of FMCG products in India's villages grew almost 2x faster than that of cities in the June quarter. Rural markets grew 8.4% year-on-year (y-o-y) in the quarter, compared to urban markets which grew 4.6%, the NielsenIQ data said. The gap between cities and villages, however, narrowed, with urban markets indicating signs of sequential recovery, growing 2.6% by volumes, aided particularly by India's small towns, the researcher value sales grew 13.9% in the April-June quarter, aided by sustained rural demand and steady urban recovery, while volumes grew 6% y-o-y, with consumers preferring smaller packs. Makers of soap, tea, snacks and edible oils have noted in their June quarter earnings that favourable monsoons, income tax cuts and easing inflation are bringing about gradual recovery. India's largest consumer company, Hindustan Unilever, reported 4% volume growth for the April-June quarter, ahead of street expectations on both sales and profits. The maker of Dove soap and Brooke Bond tea attributed the growth to government incentives and a favourable monsoon forecast, pointing to a gradual earnings recovery. ITC, Godrej Consumer Products, Marico, Nestle and ITC too have indicated demand recovery in the coming quarters aided by a combination of marco factors. NielsenIQ also noted that e-commerce channels continued to grow in the top eight metros. 'The resurgence is primarily driven by smaller towns, while metropolitan areas continue to experience a decline in consumption owing to channel shift,' the NIQ report noted.'Additionally, the rapid rise of small manufacturers outpacing overall industry growth highlights shifting market dynamics and intensifying competition,' Pant however, cautioned that sustaining this growth momentum would require deeper channel engagement and sharper, value-led propositions. 'The industry is entering a phase where agility and consumer-centric innovation will be critical to future success. Additionally, the rapid rise of small manufacturers outpacing overall industry growth highlights shifting market dynamics and intensifying competition,' Pant sector also saw 7.4% increase in prices, with unit growth outpacing overall volume growth, indicating stronger consumer preference for smaller packs, NIQ manufacturers continued to drive FMCG consumption in Q2 2025, supported by steady volume growth across food and home and personal care categories on a lower base, backed by a combination of strong rural demand, and easing inflation which enabled small players to outperform overall industry growth. Resurgence of smaller, regional and D2C brands have been giving stiff competition to legacy companies across noodles, biscuits, tea and cosmetics, on lower pricing, faster innovation and last-mile reach enabled by quick commerce and e-commerce. E-commerce platforms, which include quick commerce, continued their upward trajectory, gaining ground on modern trade (MT) in eight metros, NIQ said in the report, adding that even though e-commerce accounts for just 11–13% of FMCG value share in metros, it's already delivering more than half of the omnichannel growth. 'Despite the pullback of quick commerce dark stores, Q2'25 consumption in e-commerce surged—driven by higher shopper penetration and consistent spending, even among new shoppers,' it said. The home and personal care categories led with 7.5% consumption growth, outpacing food which grew 5.5.% in the quarter.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Rural India, small manufacturers lead FMCG growth in April-June; urban recovery gains momentum
Rural markets and small manufacturers led revival of packaged consumer goods in the April-June quarter, with India's villages outpacing growth in cities for the sixth consecutive quarter and growing twice as fast as cities, research firm NielsenIQ said in its quarter update on Wednesday. 'While urban recovery is gaining traction, particularly in smaller towns, rural demand remains the cornerstone of volume expansion,' Sharang Pant, head of FMCG customer success, NielsenIQ said. 'With inflation easing and a favourable monsoon forecast, the outlook for consumption remains optimistic,' he added. Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass - Batch 4 By CA Himanshu Jain View Program Artificial Intelligence AI For Business Professionals Batch 2 By Ansh Mehra View Program Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass - Batch 3 By CA Himanshu Jain View Program Artificial Intelligence AI For Business Professionals By Vaibhav Sisinity View Program Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass - Batch 2 By CA Himanshu Jain View Program Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass Batch-1 By CA Himanshu Jain View Program Volumes (or number of units sold) of FMCG products in India's villages grew almost 2x faster than that of cities in the June quarter. Rural markets grew 8.4% year-on-year (y-o-y) in the quarter, compared to urban markets which grew 4.6%, the NielsenIQ data said. The gap between cities and villages, however, narrowed, with urban markets indicating signs of sequential recovery, growing 2.6% by volumes, aided particularly by India's small towns, the researcher said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Undo Overall, value sales grew 13.9% in the April-June quarter, aided by sustained rural demand and steady urban recovery, while volumes grew 6% y-o-y, with consumers preferring smaller packs. Makers of soap, tea, snacks and edible oils have noted in their June quarter earnings that favourable monsoons, income tax cuts and easing inflation are bringing about gradual recovery. India's largest consumer company, Hindustan Unilever , reported 4% volume growth for the April-June quarter, ahead of street expectations on both sales and profits. The maker of Dove soap and Brooke Bond tea attributed the growth to government incentives and a favourable monsoon forecast, pointing to a gradual earnings recovery. ITC, Godrej Consumer Products , Marico , Nestle and ITC too have indicated demand recovery in the coming quarters aided by a combination of marco factors. Live Events NielsenIQ also noted that e-commerce channels continued to grow in the top eight metros. 'The resurgence is primarily driven by smaller towns, while metropolitan areas continue to experience a decline in consumption owing to channel shift,' the NIQ report noted. 'Additionally, the rapid rise of small manufacturers outpacing overall industry growth highlights shifting market dynamics and intensifying competition,' Pant added. NielsenIQ, however, cautioned that sustaining this growth momentum would require deeper channel engagement and sharper, value-led propositions. 'The industry is entering a phase where agility and consumer-centric innovation will be critical to future success. Additionally, the rapid rise of small manufacturers outpacing overall industry growth highlights shifting market dynamics and intensifying competition,' Pant said. The sector also saw 7.4% increase in prices, with unit growth outpacing overall volume growth, indicating stronger consumer preference for smaller packs, NIQ said. Smaller manufacturers continued to drive FMCG consumption in Q2 2025, supported by steady volume growth across food and home and personal care categories on a lower base, backed by a combination of strong rural demand, and easing inflation which enabled small players to outperform overall industry growth. Resurgence of smaller, regional and D2C brands have been giving stiff competition to legacy companies across noodles, biscuits, tea and cosmetics, on lower pricing, faster innovation and last-mile reach enabled by quick commerce and e-commerce. E-commerce platforms, which include quick commerce, continued their upward trajectory, gaining ground on modern trade (MT) in eight metros, NIQ said in the report, adding that even though e-commerce accounts for just 11–13% of FMCG value share in metros, it's already delivering more than half of the omnichannel growth. 'Despite the pullback of quick commerce dark stores, Q2'25 consumption in e-commerce surged—driven by higher shopper penetration and consistent spending, even among new shoppers,' it said. The home and personal care categories led with 7.5% consumption growth, outpacing food which grew 5.5.% in the quarter.
