India’s FMCG sector is expected to see a 5 per cent volume growth in the first few months of this year. According to a report by Worldpanel, the sector is witnessing a strong pick-up due to robust macroeconomic indicators
Worldpanel’s December FMCG Pulse report stated that India’s GDP expectations have been revised upward, inflation is low, and food inflation is negative; as a result, many manufacturers are passing these benefits on to shoppers.
Return of consumers’ confidence
The report added that the banking sector regulator, the RBI‘s Consumer Confidence Index, indicates that consumer confidence is returning.
“With the macro-economic indicators being strong and FMCG also seeing an uptick correspondingly, we expect the coming quarters to strongly build on the momentum. A 5 per cent FMCG volume growth from a household perspective is possible within the first few months of the next year (2026),” the report from Worldpanel by Numerator said.
The report highlighted that, after nearly 18 months of lukewarm performance, FMCG registered a 5.3 per cent growth in the quarter ended October.
“This 5.3 per cent growth is the best growth registered since the quarter-ending April 2024 and is at least a percentage point higher than the growth seen in the preceding quarter (i.e., quarter-ending July 2025) or the same quarter last year (i.e. quarter-ending October 2024),” it said.
The late turnaround
However, FMCG annual-level growth for the moving annual turnover (MAT) in October 2025 remained behind that of the previous year, at 4.2 per cent compared to 4.9 per cent.
“The late turnaround means that the 2025 FMCG will remain behind the 2024 FMCG by a distance,” said K Ramakrishnan, Managing Director- South Asia Worldpanel by Numerator.
The report also highlighted a stagnation in the average number of shopping trips for buying FMCG products, which remained at 157 in 2024 and 2025.
“Before COVID, India was shopping 139 times for FMCG products. Courtesy of the lockdowns, this number reduced to 130 times during the first year of COVID. However, shopping trips saw unhindered growth from then on until now, when, for the first time, we see stagnation,” it said.