MUMBAI: In further evidence of the challenge that Indian FMCG brands are mounting against their global counterparts, new rankings show these domestic brands are leading in terms of consumer reach.

According to research firm IMRB Kantar Worldpanel, Indian brands dominate the top 20 of the Indian segment of its Brand Footprint study with four of them taking the top five places, Livemint reported.

Based on their Consumer Reach Point score, a measurement of brand penetration and purchase frequency, several Indian brands improved their rankings this year compared to global FMCG brands.

Parle, the popular biscuit brand, is named as the top FMCG brand in India, although its Consumer Reach Point score fell 16% to 4,219 points.

Clinic Plus, the hair care brand owned by Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) comes in second with 3,350 points, followed by Amul, the milk and dairy products brand from Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd.

Ghari, RSPL Group's detergent brand, comes in fourth while Britannia, the Indian food and biscuit manufacturer, takes fifth place after increasing its Consumer Reach Point score by 12%.

Rounding out the top 10 are Tata (#6), global toothpaste brand Colgate (#7), milk brands Aavin and Nandini (#8 and #9 respectively), followed by Wheel (#10), the detergent brand owned by HUL.

Almost 60% of the top 20 are food brands, with dairy and biscuit brands dominating that segment, while personal care accounts for 25% and 15% are household care brands.

Varun Sinha, group business director at IMRB Kantar Worldpanel, noted that most of the brands in the top 20 are mass-market or mid-market brands and that very few premium brands managed to get into the top 50 because they are "low on penetration".

Commenting on the report, a number of Indian FMCG brand executives attributed their success to the effective use of consumer insights.

Mayank Shah, deputy marketing manager at Parle Products, said: "It is not so much about advertising, marketing or price points. It is our understanding of the Indian consumer—how, when and where he consumes—that helps us do better."

Kannan Sitaram, chief executive of Innovative Foods, agreed: "Local Indian brands in some categories are doing well for the sheer local insights that they have."

Data sourced from Livemint; additional content by Warc staff