Smaller FMCG brands struggle to expand consumer reach

India’s FMCG market is becoming increasingly difficult for smaller brands to crack, with only 56% of low-penetration brands growing their consumer reach in 2025, compared with 83% of highly penetrated brands and 78% of mid-sized brands, according to Worldpanel by Numerator’s Brand Footprint India 2026 report.

The study tracks how many households buy a brand and how often they buy it. Overall FMCG consumer choices grew 5.1% in 2025, only marginally faster than the previous year.

The findings point to an increasingly scale-driven FMCG market, where established brands are finding it easier to turn their reach into repeat purchases, while smaller brands struggle to build a sufficiently large consumer base.


“Large and mid-sized brands saw strong consumer reach points (CRP) growth, but only about half of smaller brands managed to grow theirs at all- a sign that turning visibility into repeat, reliable choice is getting harder,” said K Ramakrishnan, managing director, South Asia, Worldpanel by Numerator.

The trend comes even as consumer choices across FMCG continued to expand. Total consumer reach points rose from 123 billion in 2024 to 129 billion in 2025, but growth varied sharply across categories. Beverages, home care and health and beauty grew faster, while food and dairy saw slower growth than the previous year.

However, the report also shows that some challenger and regional brands are managing to break through. Balaji entered the top 10 in-home FMCG brands for the first time, rising to ninth place with 2,876 million consumer reach points from 11th a year earlier. Rin returned to the top 25 after a two-year gap, while Sunrise and Exo climbed eight and 11 places respectively.

Purchase frequency is emerging as another route to growth. Dairy brands, despite relatively low penetration, are generating higher consumer reach because households buy them more often.

“Consumer choice remains the most reliable test of a brand’s strength,” Ramakrishnan said, adding that the measure captures both how many households buy a brand and how often they return to it.

At the top of the rankings, Parle retained its top position in the in-home category for the 14th consecutive year with 8,515 million consumer reach points, followed by Britannia at 8,296 million. Britannia also retained its lead in out-of-home consumption, while Amul entered the top five OOH brands for the first time.

The report covers 427 FMCG brands across food, beverages, dairy, health and beauty and home care, with the in-home panel spanning urban and rural consumers across affluence classes.