Consumers Are Seeking Value Like Never Before, Says HUL’s Sanjiv Mehta

Consumer behaviour has changed like never before during the pandemic as people look for more value, according to the head of India's largest consumer goods maker.

They are opting for low-unit packs and more value, Sanjiv Mehta, chairman and managing director at Hindustan Unilever Ltd. said. As activities are now centered around home, consumer are opting for everything from shopping to education online, and have developed a fetish for clean living, he said.

Mehta was speaking with Sangeeta Reddy, joint managing director at Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd. and president of FICCI, at an event organised by the industry lobby.

Mehta said the government needs to kick-start the economy by pressing the accelerator and take a risk and be more aggressive with interest rates, he said, adding that growth and inflation control must move in tandem. “There is a risk of inflation, but the bigger risk is the economy going into a tailspin."

India needs to deliver 8-10% GDP growth over a decade and a half to become a mid-income country. “If we can successfully do that, we could very well become a $10-trillion economy in the next 12-15 years,” he said, estimating the GDP to contract about 6% in the ongoing fiscal.

Mehta said Covid-19 India has given India a "dream opportunity" to become the quality and affordable capital of the world, just like Y2K crisis gave a fillip to the IT industry. The second opportunity is to make technology a game-changer as it could help completely change healthcare and education, creating new business models and jobs, he said. “The opportunity is staring at us, we should grab it as a country."