ITC reports weakest FMCG consumer spend in a decade
Sales of ITC’s daily necessity products such as packaged food, personal care, stationary, agarbatti and safety matches grew just 4.6% year on year in 2024-25 – to ₹34,000 crore – compared with annual growth range of 9-21% in the last 10 years. While the company’s FY25 annual report did not specify any reason behind this slower growth, industry executives said it could be a reflection of a slowdown in the overall FMCG industry amid a quick commerce discounting war in large cities, which may have slowed down consumer spending on daily products.
Even during the Covid-hit 2020-21 when supplies were severely impacted, consumer spending on ITC’s FMCG goods had grown 11.7% year on year. It grew 12% in FY24.
Consumer spending refers to the amount a consumer spends on a product at retail outlets, which includes the company’s realisation, trade margins and taxes.
ITC’s packaged food business clocked ₹18,270 crore of gross sales in 2024-25, up 6% on year. However, gross sales of other FMCG products including stationery, personal care, safety matches and agarbattis declined by 0.9% on year at ₹3,705 crore, as per its annual report.
The company does not disclose business-wise sales in its quarterly financial report.Even as urban slowdown persisted, rural demand for India’s FMCG market declined in the January-March quarter year-on-year, though it was still four times faster than in cities, according to market researcher NielsenIQ. Volume growth, or number of units sold, slowed down in the March quarter to 5.1% compared to 6.1% in the year-ago quarter.