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
Lululemon picks former Nike executive to be its next chief
Heidi O’Neill, who helped grow Nike into a $45 billion giant, will take the top job in September
CANADA: Lululemon has found its next chief executive, and she comes with serious credentials. The athleisure giant named Heidi O’Neill as its new CEO on Wednesday, ending a search that has left the company running on interim leadership since earlier this year. O’Neill will take charge on September 8, 2026, based out of Vancouver, and will join the board on the same day.
O’Neill brings more than three decades of experience across performance apparel, footwear and sport. The bulk of that time was spent at Nike, where she was a central figure in one of corporate sport’s great growth stories, helping take the company from a $9 billion business to a $45 billion global powerhouse. She oversaw product pipelines, brand strategy and consumer connections, and played a significant role in shaping how Nike spoke to athletes around the world. Earlier in her career, she worked in marketing for the Dockers brand at Levi Strauss. She also brings boardroom experience from Spotify Technology, Hyatt Hotels and Lithia and Driveway.
The board was unequivocal in its enthusiasm. “We selected Heidi because of the breadth of her experience, her demonstrated success delivering breakthrough ideas and initiatives at scale, and her ability to be a knowledgeable change and growth agent,” said Marti Morfitt, executive chair of Lululemon’s board.
O’Neill, for her part, was bullish. “Lululemon is an iconic brand with something rare: genuine guest love, a product ethos rooted in innovation, and a global platform still in the early stages of its potential,” she said. “My job will be to accelerate product breakthroughs, deepen the brand’s cultural relevance, and unlock growth in markets around the world.”
Until she arrives, Meghan Frank and André Maestrini will continue as interim co-CEOs, before returning to their previous senior leadership roles once O’Neill steps in.
Lululemon is betting that a Nike veteran who helped build one of the world’s most powerful sports brands can do something similar for an athleisure label that has genuine love from its customers but is still chasing its full global potential. O’Neill has done it before at scale. The question now is whether she can do it again.
