Sustainability spells opportunities for FMCD brands in India: Report | WARC | The Feed

Sustainability spells opportunities for FMCD brands in India: Report

A consumer shift post-pandemic towards sustainability and the environment is urging marketers to rethink their strategies, and fast moving consumer durables or FMCD brands stand to benefit from Indian shoppers’ concerns about hygiene, health and wellness, according to a new report from insights firm Kantar.

Why it matters

The intersection of the FMCD sector and sustainability will further enable growth, and, as the Indian market emerges from COVID-19, there are significant opportunities from consumption patterns that have changed significantly towards safety, premiumness and technologically advanced products.

Key insights

• Some 91% of Indian households are washing hands more often now and 47% of Indian households claim increased toilet cleaning, more so in rural (49%) vs urban (43%).
• The pandemic sparked strong demand in the FMCD health and wellness space, with new-market segments like air purifiers, smartwatches and fitness monitors enjoying amped-up sales.
• With work ecosystems reshaped by digital transformation, the 125% growth in smart devices is leading to smart homes with smart lights/speakers/display/entertainment/cleaning etc.
• “Value” is a key factor amid post-pandemic financial concerns, with 73% attributing COVID-19 to impacted household income, while 67% pay greater attention to prices when shopping.
• This has led to an overall joint accountability of both businesses and consumers towards adopting a stronger sense of collective corporate responsibility.

Key quote

“With this report, we are putting forward recommendations to brands which help in solving customer tensions with sustainable solutions, addressing barriers such as packaging, service models, repairability, and return and recycling policies. There is opportunity for brands to target active consumers who are engaged to the core issue and instil structured business solutions to help overcome them with time.” – Paru Minocha, managing director, qualitative and lead, sustainability practice, South Asia, insights division, Kantar.

Background

The report, “Walking the Talk on Sustainability with Consumers – A roadmap for India’s FMCD Sector”, is based on insights from Kantar’s Asia Sustainability Foundational Study 2021, which interviewed 1,026 consumers (18 years+ age group of women and men) in May 2021, covering six m