Over the last year, the Indian FMCG sector has come under pressure. Hence, what is needed by the industry is to think about what to do to recreate itself. There is a need to understand the consumer better,? stated Kurush Grant, chairman, CII National Committee-FMCG & executive director, FMCG businesses, ITC, while addressing the CII National FMCG Summit in Mumbai.
According to Grant, consumer understanding, distribution infrastructure and capabilities are critical to achieve success in this sector today.
Over the past decade, the sector has been annually growing at the rate of 11%. In the last five years, the growth had accelerated to 17%.
?FMCG is typically the last sector to slow down and over the last three years, FMCG was the only bright spot. But over the last year, FMCG has also come under pressure,? said Grant.
Vivek Gambhir, MD, Godrej Consumer Products said FMCG companies need to develop high quality products and sell it at affordable prices to woo consumers. ?Today, consumers can not be easily segmented. We need a new model to understand them better. Rearchitect your innovation process to develop differentiated products,? he said.
Neeraj Garg, vice-president, Southwest Asia & Juice, Coca-Cola India, said consumer segmentation today plays a critical role for FMCG companies in India. ?The more they invest in this pace, they will get better yield. Big data can make a big difference in the FMCG business today,? he added.
Rakshit Hargave, MD, Nivea India, said the companies need to create value by building relationship with consumers. ?Listen to consumer needs and create products. They need to maximise social media value propositions,? he said.
The report titled ?Changing your Orbit ? The Handbook for Transformation in FMCG & Retail Businesses? by CII and The Boston Consulting Group highlights the need and approach of how an integrated topdown effort to drive successful transformation can be undertaken in the FMCG and retail industries.
