Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) this year witnessed a 10.6 per cent uptick in sales during Diwali, as compared with last year.The spike in sales was recorded between October 18 to 24, during the Diwali week this year.
The data is sourced by businessline from Bizom, a retail intelligence platform that tracks consumer product sales across 7.5 million outlets.
“It seemed like nothing could stop consumers from getting out and celebrating their favourite festivals this year, after seeing muted celebrations due to the pandemic for the last two years. FMCG sales have seen double-digit growth year-on-year, driven by strong festivities for Diwali and a spurt in sales from gifting,” said Akshay D’Souza, Chief of Growth & Insights, Bizom.
During the first two weeks of October fast-moving consumer goods witnessed 11 per cent growth in sales month-on-month (m-o-m) between October 1 to 14 as compared with September 1 to 14.
Inflation woes
While sales of FMCG products have seen a spike during the festive season the pressure of inflation continues.
“We do expect that consumer companies will need to look at offering higher value to consumers to increase consumption and offset some inflationary spends,” added Akshay.
Gifting helps
With gifting being prominent throughout the festive season, companies offered a combination of products that witnessed an increase in demand.
“We ensured that we meet their specific needs be it through our on-the-go packs on Tropicana or large packs on brands like Pepsi, 7Up, Lays and Doritos among others. We continued to strengthen our distribution both through traditional and e-commerce channels to be able to cater to consumers across urban and rural geographies to make festive occasions all the more memorable,” said a PepsiCo India spokesperson.
Smaller packages bigger sales
Further, companies also witnessed a spike in smaller packages of products.
“There are more gatherings and Diwali parties at home, which has significantly increased the consumption of smaller packs of Bisleri mineral water. We are witnessing strong momentum in the HoReCa channel as well. The overall growth rates have doubled compared to pre-Covid times,” said Angelo George, CEO, of Bisleri International Pvt Ltd.