- Nestlé India faces growing competition from regional and homegrown brands in rural markets
- Consumers show less loyalty to traditional brands and are more open to experimentation
- Household spending has shifted from essentials to discretionary items like travel and experiences
Rural India is no longer just a passive consumer of national brands. According to Nestle India's Chairman and Managing Director Suresh Narayanan, regional and homegrown players are increasingly giving large companies a run for their money, particularly in smaller towns and rural markets.
"To the credit of Indian entrepreneurs and regional entrepreneurs, some of them have got very good brand offerings. This obviously has caught the attention of consumers," Narayanan said while speaking to NDTV Profit, while pointing to a growing willingness among buyers to explore beyond legacy brands.
"We're feeling an overall consumption stress," he admitted, but noted that the bigger story is how the texture of consumption has become different. Consumers today are less loyal to traditional names, he said, and far more open to experimentation.
Spending patterns have also shifted. Essentials no longer dominate household budgets. "Today, essentials are a smaller part, and the discretionary forms a greater part: special things like travel and experience gaining, both of which are becoming important to the consumer expenditure basket," he explained.
As regional competition steadily chips away, even FMCG giants like Nestlé are adapting to the changes.
Narayanan also mentioned how the company is doubling down on relevance, innovation, and premiumisation to stay ahead.
The FMCG major is focusing on keeping core brands like Maggi and KitKat firmly in the cultural conversation while significantly stepping up its innovation game by launching new products at a pace that is now three to four times faster than before.
Nestlé plans on maintaining brand relevance for everyday staples, accelerating innovation, building a strong premium portfolio, and leveraging digital channels more aggressively.
By speeding up innovation cycles and pushing both value and premium products into a more fragmented market, Nestlé is betting that it can stay not just visible, but desirable, across income segments and geographies.
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