India Shines as Key Growth Market for Nestle and Reckitt

India has become a significant growth catalyst for the global FMCG giants Nestle and Reckitt, even as the companies follow the current turbulence around the world. For the first time, the Swiss packaged foods major stated India was a market with "strong performance and good momentum" in its post-earnings call.

Nestlé India, which produces both Maggi noodles and Purina pet food, recorded ₹5,411 crore in domestic sales for the September quarter, reflecting a 10.8% rise year on year — its highest-ever quarterly sales, buoyed by broad-based volume growth.

Nestle global CFO Anna Manz told analysts on the company’s earnings call, “Outside of China, we've got some really good momentum and that's because of the investments that we've been making in those high priority investment areas. We're really seeing that show up across strong performance across India, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Pakistan.”

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While India is powering forward, Nestlé SA's global sales fell 1.9% year on year to $82.8 billion in the first nine months of the year to 2025. The company is undergoing significant restructuring, including the exit of important executives, and is planning to cut 16,000 jobs worldwide. New CEO Philipp Navratil termed the cuts as “hard but necessary.”

In the meantime, Reckitt Benckiser acknowledged India as a “standout market,” notwithstanding some short-lived turbulence with the recently revamped GST structure. CEO Kris Licht acknowledged emerging markets reflected 15.5% growth and specifically called India out for its strong performance. Reckitt deemed their growth in India this quarter was at low single digits and was “GST-led phasing.” Expectation from Reckitt is for acceleration in the next quarter.

Other FMCG leaders like Hindustan Unilever, Dabur, and Godrej Consumer Products also flagged short-term GST disruptions but remain confident about India’s continued consumer strength.