FMCG makers keep a close watch on softening commodity prices for some items: Report

Leading FMCG makers are witnessing encouraging trends from the initial pickup of their winter products portfolio, and expect consumption to accelerate further as mercury dips, making them hopeful for growth from the rural areas, PTI reported.

Makers such as Dabur, Emami, and Marico are witnessing pickup in their winter-specific product portfolios ranging from skin care products to immunity products such as chyawanprash and honey, the report said.

Moreover, the makers are also expecting rural sales to bounce back in the coming quarters, helped by a good harvest and a softening of general inflation. While winter products are doing well on new-age channels such as e-commerce and modern trade channels.

Marico's COO of India Business and CEO of New Business Sanjay Mishra said winter has always been a crucial season for some products in their portfolio, like body lotion and the Saffola Immuniveda range, especially from the northern region.

"This year again, we have seen consumption going up for both of these as we enter winter," Mishra told PTI.

Dabur India Limited Chief Operating Officer Adarsh Sharma said the festive season this year has brought a "little glimmer of hope" and the company has built a pipeline for its winter-specific products like Dabur Chyawanprash, Dabur Honey, and the Gulabari winter range of skin care products.

"While these are still early days of winter, the initial demand for our winter products is steady." "If it turns out to be a good winter, we should see demand accelerate further," said Sharma.

Emami Sales-CCD President Vinod Rao said: "The winter portfolio has witnessed comparatively a good loading this year in Sept and Oct in anticipation of a good winter season."

Rao expects Emami’s winter brands to perform well in the rural and wholesale channels, despite the inflation-led demand challenges.

"We are witnessing a higher momentum in our LUP and mid-priced packs, which we expect to contribute significantly to the wholesale and rural channels," he said.

Meanwhile, the FMCG industry witnessed a consumption slowdown in the September quarter, with rural markets registering a higher decline in volumes compared to the three months that ended in June, according to data analytics firm NielsenIQ.

The FMCG industry sees an overall volume decline of 0.9 percent in the September quarter in comparison to the preceding three months. This was the fourth consecutive quarter with negative volume growth for the industry, which is attributed to the double-digit price growth for the past six consecutive quarters, said NielsenIQ.

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of MintGenie.