Fast moving consumption growth: Business has recovered rapidly, say consumer-facing MNCs

The senior global management of several large consumer-facing companies said their India businesses have recovered rapidly after the second wave of the pandemic.

A number of these companies, including Apple, Unilever, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Visa, Pernod Ricard, Hershey, Kimberly-Clark and Yum Brands, whose performance indicates consumer sentiment, have posted strong year-on-year growth in India sales in the July-September quarter.

At Apple Inc, the India business has doubled in the past one year and the iPhone maker is optimistic about the future due to strong demand for its products, chief executive Tim Cook said during its earnings call on Friday.


Visa Inc vice chairman Vasant Prabhu on Wednesday said India payments volume has fully recovered from the low hit during the severe Covid-19 outbreak in the June quarter. The payment technology company has seen the rebound from July itself, when it was well above the pre-pandemic levels two years earlier.

Regaining Ground from June-end
Restrictions on mobility and retailing during the second wave of the pandemic had hurt the sales of essential and lifestyle products in the April-June quarter. But demand started picking up from June-end itself, as states started easing curbs progressively. Several of the products saw pent-up demand in the September quarter, as the infection numbers fell sharply and the vaccination drive gained rapid pace.

Unilever global CEO Alan Jope told investors that the FMCG behemoth is emerging stronger from the pandemic with more than 75% of its businesses winning market share and household penetration continuing to grow well.

Good signs

• India business growth is amongst the fastest in Asia and even globally for several cos
• Cos say consumption pace has improved and reaching preCovid levels in India
• Mastercard says opening up of cross-border travel like India-Singapore is a good sign

"Mobility and consumer sentiments still remain below 2019 levels, but are strongly positioned to grow as the Indian economy continues to recover," he said. India has been growing double digit for Unilever, despite the Covid lockdown in the April-June quarter.

Beverage giants Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, which were among the worst hit by mobility restrictions during the peak summer, too have started to recover with out-of-home consumption picking up.