As Indians acquire healthier tastes, food companies pack it in
low-salt, low-sugar and nutrition-fortified packaged food with sales of such products having risen in the last five years, according to the latest data from companies, market researchers and the government. This reflects an uptick in healthy eating trends as well as packaged food companies working on improving taste, the reason why sales of such items had failed to gain traction initially.
Data show urban India is leading the shift toward healthier food, even though it has also picked up pace in rural areas, where household expenditure on staples such as salt, sugar and edible oil has come down. High levels of sugar, salt and fat in processed goods are seen as a concern amid rising diabetes, obesity and cardiac issues in India and elsewhere.
PepsiCo's bottling and distribution company Varun Beverages told analysts last month that 46% of its consolidated sales volumes comes from low-sugar or no-sugar products, which aligns with consumer trends.
High-volume Growth: NielsenIQ
In 2018, the low-calorie portfolio comprising Tropicana, low-sugar variant Pepsi Black and Sting was about 2% of its mix and the company had told analysts at the time that the market was still keen on products with existing levels of sugar content.
As per FMCG market researcher NielsenIQ, the shift toward healthier eating habits among Indian consumers is pervasive, with high-volume growth.
The classic case is the breakfast cereal category: it's seen 13.3% year-on-year value growth in the 12 months ended March with 9.9% volume growth.
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