Brands
After price hikes, FMCG bets on volume growth in FY27
Easing input costs and firmer rural demand set the stage for fatter margins in FY27
MUMBAI: India’s consumer giants are shifting gears. After a year of price-led gains, fast-moving consumer goods makers are betting that FY27 will belong to volumes.
With inflation ebbing and commodity costs softening, sector leaders expect growth to be driven less by price hikes and more by shoppers returning to baskets. In the December quarter, most large FMCG firms clocked mid- to high single-digit volume growth, signalling that demand is stirring after bouts of volatility.
Key inputs are turning benign. Edible oils, wheat, copra and surfactants have softened. Coconut oil and SLES prices are easing. Vegetable oil costs have cooled. Wheat flour dipped marginally in the third quarter of FY26. Copra prices, which had spiked abnormally, have corrected by 25 to 30 per cent. With GST rationalisation, higher MSPs and a healthy crop season lending macro tailwinds, companies see a constructive backdrop for both urban and rural markets.
Price hikes have largely been taken earlier in the fiscal year. Now the playbook is different. Companies are weighing selective consumer offers, higher grammage and calibrated discounts to pass on some of the input cost relief, even as they remain watchful of rollover impacts from past increases.
Rural India continues to outpace cities. Urban demand has improved sequentially, but the countryside remains the steadier engine of growth.
At Dabur India, Mohit Malhotra, chief executive, sees next year’s expansion tilting decisively towards volume rather than pricing, though residual price effects from September hikes may linger.
Marico is banking on moderating inflation and improved affordability to drive a gradual recovery in consumption. Saugata Gupta, managing director and chief executive, expects operating profit growth to strengthen as input pressures subside. The maker of Saffola, Parachute and Livon aims to sustain volume momentum even as pricing growth moderates.
At Britannia Industries, margins are described as healthy, supported by stable commodity prices. Rakshit hargave, managing director and chief executive, points to wheat trends and seasonal dynamics in February and March as crucial indicators, but sees stability for now.
Hindustan Unilever reports a steady improvement in the operating environment and underlying demand. Priya Nair, chief executive and managing director, flags rising consumer confidence, backed by the RBI’s consumer survey, as a sign that willingness to spend is reviving. Niranjan gupta, chief financial officer, expects FY27 to outpace FY26 on the back of sustained recovery.
Godrej Consumer Products remains confident of high single-digit consolidated revenue growth. Sudhir Sitapati, managing director and chief executive, expects the India business to deliver continued growth while maintaining normative EBITDA margins. Internationally, the GAUM cluster spanning Africa, the United States and the Middle East is tipped to post double-digit revenue and profit growth, even as temporary macro and pricing pressures in Indonesia and Latin America weigh on full-year EBITDA expansion. The company expects a robust exit trajectory into FY27, with momentum carrying through the fourth quarter of FY26.
The direction of travel is clear. With costs cooling, confidence firming and rural demand holding steady, India’s consumer heavyweights are done leaning on price tags. The next leg will be fought on volumes, velocity and who can fill more baskets, faster.
Note: Certain inputs are based on reporting by The Economic Times.
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
