India has Become next Big Growth Bet for PepsiCo to P&G, as China Lags

India is the next big bet for PepsiCo, Unilever and other packaged goods giants looking to fill the growth vacuum as China lags. While India's economy expanding at a highest pace among major emerging markets, companies are keeping up with trying to serve its diverse palette by announcing new flavours and size variants to attract the country's diverse population and unreached  rural market.

"While the last decade had companies focused on selling into China, the next decade is about selling into India," said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management. Major consumer goods companies based in India, the world's most populous country, are expecting higher government spending, a better monsoon season and resurgence in private consumption to help consumer spending recover in the coming quarters.

According to research firm GlobalData it is expected to boost the combined market share of the top five multinational companies - Coca-Cola, P&G, PepsiCo, Unilever and Reckitt - to 20.53% in 2023 from 19.27% in 2022, mainly in the baby care, consumer health, cosmetics, beverage and household categories. Their total market share in China is forecast to shrink to 4.30% in 2023 from 4.37% in 2022, as per the data showed.

"China went through a long and extended COVID ... they even went through a brief period of negative growth, and after this, growth has been very sluggish. In comparison to that, the growth rate in India hovering around 4% seems like a healthy growth for total fast-moving consumer goods," said K Ramakrishnan, Managing Director, South Asia, at Kantar's Worldpanel Division.