Parle remains the most chosen in-home brand for the 13th year in a row, followed by Britannia, Amul, Clinic Plus, and Surf Excel in that order, according to Worldpanel by Numerator’s latest report on FMCG brands. Britannia took the leadership spot for the third consecutive year in out-of-home consumption, followed by Haldiram’s, Cadbury, Balaji and Parle. Surf Excel has seen significant gains over the last couple of years in home consumption, breaking into the top five for the first time this year, up from 6th rank last year.
Haldiram’s also made its way into the top 10 in-home brands for the first time, rising steadily to number 10 in 2024 from 19th in 2023. The report ranks the most chosen FMCG brands based on consumer reach points (CRPs), which considers actual purchases made by the consumers in 2024 and the frequency at which these purchases were made. Overall, FMCG brand choices in India grew at a slower rate in 2024 than the previous year, recording 120 billion CRPs compared with 115 billion CRPs in 2023.
Slower growth, but with notable movers
The food and beverage sector in particular saw lower growth in 2024, growing at a mere 7% and 6%, respectively. In 2023, the growth was more than twice of last year’s. At the report’s unveiling, K Ramakrishnan, managing director for South Asia, Worldpanel by Numerator, pointed out that small brands grew nearly twice as fast as the big brands in 2024.
He singled out brands that recorded noteworthy success. Balaji was one such brand that recorded a 26% increase in penetration and added 10 million new shoppers by entering a new set of markets and maintaining a strong rural presence. Everest also saw notable gains in 2024 by adding 7 million shoppers and increasing its penetration by 28%. Other brands with noteworthy gains were Godrej’s Good Knight and Expert Crème as well as Wagh Bakri. Expert Crème broke into the top 100 brands to reach 97.
Beverage market and future outlook
In the beverage segment, Amul was the leading brand for its range of milk-based drinks, followed by Thums Up, Frooti, Sprite and Maaza. Summarising the report’s findings, Ramakrishnan said, “India continues to stand out as a growth-positive market compared to global trends, with much of the momentum coming from smaller and emerging players.
This year’s findings reaffirm that growth comes from expanding the shopper base, whether it’s through innovation, new formats or deeper rural reach. While larger brands are experiencing a slowdown, the market remains vibrant with regional and challenger brands steadily gaining ground.”