Indians are more likely to find more personal care products than food in a store these days.
Data from market research firm Nielsen discloses that on the list of the top five CPG (FMCG in India) product categories, only biscuits find a place. Shampoos occupy the first place with maximum market penetration at 79%.
Distribution of categories has undergone a transformation in the last 15 years. Consumers have access to 8.8 million outlets across India, and shampoo is available in 80 per cent of those shops, says D Shivakumar, chairman and CEO, PepsiCo India. Skin creams are in the top 10 distributed list while packaged tea, which was the most distributed category a few decades ago, is now out of the top 10.
However, these equations could change. Distribution of salty snacks has increased from 58% to 64% while noodles, which has still not broken into the top-ten list, has seen an increase in penetration from 38% to 42%. Branded items are slowly gaining wider reach versus non-branded items, and daily-use, low-unit price, easy-to-sell items via wholesale are in demand.
Nielsen predicts that India’s FMCG industry will grow from $37 billion in 2013 to $49 billion by 2016. However, the rise of e-commerce may bring about several new models which may evolve over the next few years.
Last updated: December 26th, 2025
