There are several man-made challenges. India is one of the few countries where you have to make your products as per pack size. Changing formulae needs permission, and that takes a lot of time. A lot of manpower is spent on working on the tax regulations.

The biggest FMCG growth has to come from the rural market. In the last one-and-a-half years, rural growth has declined. If employment schemes such as NREGA don’t reach the people properly, people won’t buy. Companies need to learn what to do in rural markets. We need to make special products for them. Modern trade has not grown and that is not helping FMCG companies at all.

Taxation changes everyday. Stating the MRP is compulsory. When prices change, the difference has to be borne by the manufacturer.

Twenty years ago, there were TRPs of 60 and 70, now it’s 4 and 5 on prime time! TV penetration today is 100 per cent and satellite TV too is almost there. If you have money and a good media plan, you can manage to be heard even despite the media fragmentation.

(As told to Sravanthi Challapalli)

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