Indian consumers continue to choose products that satisfy regional palate regardless of whether snacks are deemed healthy, says PepsiCo CEO

Nevin Barich

November 6, 2013 (Business Monitor International) – News: The chief executive of US-based food and beverage company PepsiCo has said that despite a significant shift in consumer habits towards healthier food options, Indian consumers are not adhering to this trend, The Economic Times reports. According to Indra Nooyi, Indian consumers continue to choose products that satisfy the regional palate regardless of whether the snacks are deemed healthy. As a result, a number of health-focused products in PepsiCo's 'Better For You' range have registered poor sales in the country and have consequently been removed from shelves.

BMI View: Industry dynamism in the Indian food sector, the continued spread of organised retail and a very positive long-term domestic demand outlook will ensure very strong growth in food consumption levels over our forecast period to 2017. While the majority of the Indian population will continue to load up their shopping baskets with daily essentials and food staples, owing to their low incomes, we expect a change of consumption habits over the long term as rising purchasing power sees consumers trade up to more expensive foodstuffs and non-essential purchases. With this in mind, overall food consumption levels are forecast to increase by a compound annual growth rate of 7.3% between 2013 and 2017.

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