The Indian FMCG industry has recorded 6.5 percent growth in terms of volumes between January-March, 2024. For the first time in five quarters, rural consumption has been better than urban rates, as per consumer intelligence firm NielsonIQ.
The industry has seen 6.6 percent hike in terms of value, indicating a 6.5 percent growth in volume nationally. It highlighted that the volume growth for this quarter was bigger than Q1, 2023 which was recorded at 3.1 percent.
Roosevelt D’souza who is NIQ Head of Customer Success India explained, ”The FMCG industry’s growth to carry on and will be operated by consumption trends in Q1,2024, rural areas outshining urban advancement for the first time in five quarters’’.
The top growth areas
Trends indicate that food category has seen higher growth than the home and personal sections (HPC). The growth in the HPC category has been dominated by the popularity of the larger sizes and higher unit purchases were recorded in food categories.
A boost in rural and traditional trade was noticed comparable to a decline in modern and urban trade. Meanwhile, the modern trade and retail sector continues to showcase a robust double-digit volume growth at 14.7 percent. NIQ outlined that large players continue to rule the FMCG industry and exhibit stronger results contrary to their smaller counterparts.
Both food and non-food sectors contributed to an increase in consumption while on the other hand, non-food sectors saw two-fold growth across India. Additionally, larger packs were purchased in the non-food category while more units were acquired in the food categories respectively in 2023 during the same period.
(With PTI inputs)