World’s biggest election to boost consumption of small packs of food, beverage, bathing essentials

Elections are known for acting as a decelerator in economic activity, but fast moving consumer goods companies are pinning hopes of faster sales of food items such as chips, biscuits, bhujias and packaged drinking water during the rallies and meetings for the general elections, The Economic Times has reported. These packs would be priced typically between Rs 5 and Rs 10, and in expectation of the increased consumption, some companies are even tuning production capacities and beefing up distribution networks to be at the right place at the right time with the right product.

The aim is to beef up stocks by as much as 10%, the report stated.

Some FMCG company officials have already observed a spurt in sales in some political hotspots such as Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Bihar and Tamil Nadu. They hope that sales would display a rising graph of small packs till the polls.

Mayank Shah, senior category head at Parle Products – the highest-selling biscuit brand in the world – said, “We are already seeing increased demand for small packs of biscuits and snacks in rally-intensive markets such as the Hindi heartland. Hence, we are increasing stocking of such packs by 8-10% more than usual since out-of-home consumption will definitely see a boost in the run-up to the elections.”

Another FMCG major Dabur India has not only stopped at food items but also extended the tactic to hair oils and shampoos. The company has pumped up distribution of small packs of beverages, hair oils and shampoos to meet a spurt in demand in bathing essentials during the campaigning period in the heat and dust.

Another company that is betting big on the biggest democratic exercise in the world is packaged drinking water major Bisleri, which has special hopes of higher sales on the numerous street corner meetings that would be held throughout the length and breadth of the land.

Light snack manufacturer Balaji Wafers is throwing open its manufacturing facilities all round the week instead of the usual five days a week, said Chandu Virani, founder of the company.

Long hours of outdoor activities in the heat and dust inevitably boosts sales of light food and beverages apart from driving up the need for thorough, and often repeated, bathing to get rid of the slime and grime.

FMCG companies told the newspaper that they expect sales of small packs rising anywhere between 6-8% during and even beyond the campaign period, as they have experienced in earlier occasions.

Angelo George, CEO of India’s largest packaged water brand Bisleri International said, “We have to use the opportunity and ramp up manufacturing and distribution by putting additional fleet and stock up at distributor level.

The expected rise in election season sales would turn out to be a great relief to FMCG companies that were complaining of sluggish demand. Cumulatively FMCG sales volumes crept up by 5.2% in the October-December period. This was considerably slower on a sequential basis – the July-September registering 6.9% growth. Research firm Kantar has predicted that consumption will remain in the slow-growth mode till the July-September quarter this year.