Nestle India is intensifying its rural bet, placing greater emphasis on consumer-centricity and penetration-led volume growth, apart from accelerating tech-enabled sales and operations and reinvesting behind brands, Nestle India’s chairman and MD Manish Tiwary said in the company’s latest annual report released Friday.
Addressing shareholders in his first letter to them, Tiwary, who succeeded Suresh Narayanan on August 1, 2025, laid out his roadmap for the future amid a dynamic operating environment. Describing domestic consumption in FY26 as a “push-pull”, Tiwary said it was shaped by a combination of improving macro stability and uneven household sentiment.
‘Food inflation and affordability continued to influence everyday choices. Urban demand remained relatively resilient, while premium segments stayed comparatively stable. Rural recovery was shaped by monsoon outcomes, farm income and government support,” Tiwary added.
Financial Trajectory
Nestle India, he said, delivered double-digit, volume-led growth with strong market share gains in FY26. The company closed the year under review with total sales of Rs 23,071.5 crore, representing a 14.9% increase over FY25, and a net profit of Rs 3,544.6 crore, representing a growth of nearly 7% over the previous year. The year saw power brands like Maggi, KitKat, and Nescafé capturing strong consumer demand.
While geopolitical developments have continued to affect energy, freight and key input costs, Tiwary said that aspirations in India were rising, and, with them, expectations. Consumer preferences, he said, were shaped by region, culture, habit, life stage and occasion. “That creates complexity, but also headroom for growth,” he added. Nestle India was gearing up for the future with a “fast, focused and flexible operating mindset”.
Tiwary stressed that consumer-first thinking must extend across the company’s value chain. “Consumer truth must always outweigh internal opinions,” he said, adding that companies should start with consumer needs rather than financial planning.
“Our primary focus is on core brands. We believe our existing portfolio offers immense depth and significant headroom for growth. We also strengthened the innovation and renovation pipeline so that our brands stay contemporary, distinctive, trusted and relevant in consumers’ lives,” he said.
Out-of-Home Dominance
One area where Nestlé sees growing opportunity is out-of-home consumption. Through Nestlé Professional, the company has expanded its Retail ONE formats, including Nescafe Corners, Maggi Hotspots and KitKat Break Zones, across educational institutions, healthcare facilities and airports.
“There are 1,000 Retail ONE kiosks now operational across India,” Tiwary said, describing the business as an important channel for increasing brand presence in everyday consumption occasions.