New Delhi: India’s FMCG market grew 4.6% in June compared to a year ago, despite a challenging environment, according to retail intelligence platform Bizom.
“June 2025 proved challenging not only for summer products but for the entire FMCG sector. Despite these headwinds, the market still managed a 4.6% growth during the month,” according to the report released Tuesday by Bizom, which tracks over 8 million orders across kirana stores.
“Since the beginning of the year, we’ve observed a steady recovery in urban demand, gradually narrowing the gap with rural growth. In June, urban demand surged significantly, surpassing rural demand by a wide margin. As a result, urban consumption during the March quarter outpaced rural consumption for the first time in the last six quarters.”
In the March quarter, the FMCG industry recorded revenue growth of approximately 12.4%, according to Bizom.
Commodity inflation has been showing signs of easing since then. For instance, the basic customs duty on crude soybean oil, crude palm oil, and crude sunflower oil was halved to 10% effective 31 May. The effective import duty on these three products, including basic customs duty and additional fees, now stands at 16.5%, down from the previous 27.5%.
Excluding commodities, all other categories experienced either modest positive or negative single-digit growth. The performance of categories such as beverages and ice creams in June was impacted by an early and uneven monsoon during the period.
Urban outpaces rural
Meanwhile, demand in urban markets outpaced rural growth in June, with kirana stores increasing purchases by 6.2% year-on-year in urban areas versus 3.6% in rural areas.
Though urban demand was down sequentially, retailers in June 2025 increased their stocking of larger pack sizes of FMCG products compared to June 2024.
Growth in rural India decelerated in June 2025, easing from 8.9% in May to 3.6%.
Categories such as beverages, dairy products, home care, and confectionery reported a year-on-year decline, with beverages down 4.3% in value terms.
“The monsoon season took a toll on the beverage category, leading to de-growth across all segments except carbonated beverages. This slump in demand was particularly felt in north and west India, which saw limited growth, contrasting with the strong performance of the Eastern and Southern parts of India, especially in urban areas.,” Bizom said.
“This dampened demand persisted even with heightened trade spending across all pack sizes. Nevertheless, the industry’s outlet footprint managed to grow by 6%.”
Impact on key players
On Tuesday, Coca-Cola Company, the world’s largest beverage company, reported that after a strong start to the year, volumes in India declined for the quarter ended 27 June 2025. The company’s management said that the business was impacted by early monsoons and geopolitical conflict early in the important summer season.
Commodities (staples), despite a slight dip in growth since last month, remained the fastest-growing category in FMCG in June, up 15% year-on-year. The category’s growth in non-urban areas was nearly double that of urban markets.
Most large FMCG companies are set to announce their June quarter earnings later this week.
Earlier this month, in its quarterly update filed with the exchanges, edible oil maker Marico Ltd said the sector exhibited consistent demand patterns, marked by improving trends in rural markets and steady urban sentiment in the June quarter. The company’s underlying volume growth in the India business continued to improve sequentially to reach a multi-quarter high.
Other Category Performance
Meanwhile, in June, the personal care category reported a growth of 7.3% year-on-year, becoming the second-fastest growing segment. Packaged food demand was up 2% year-on-year in June, primarily driven by spreads, sauces & jams, and snacks & biscuits.
Home care demand remained sluggish, down 2.3% year-on-year, with growth primarily driven by incense sticks and insect repellents, likely reflecting seasonal demand during the monsoon.
