Food & beverage firms count on election boost in April-May

Food and beverage companies say that out-of-home consumption will increase as campaigning gathers pace and that they expect at least a 10-15% sales growth versus last year in April-May, thanks to the movement of people and political parties across the country.

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“Elections are a festivity in India. Food and beverage consumption will increase as people gather for political rallies, events and roadshows. There could also be free distribution of food and beverage items in big and small events. We see a sales growth of at least 10-15% in the April-May period versus last year due to elections,” says Mohit Malhotra, chief executive officer, Dabur India, which makes the Real brand of fruit juices.

Some firms have already begun increasing stocks of small and large packs at retail outlets in anticipation of demand. Krishnarao Buddha, senior category head at Parle Products, among the country’s leading biscuit makers, says that stocking at stores has increased by 15-20% in keeping with a likely spurt in demand for its products such as Parle-G and Monaco biscuits and FullToss masala snacks.

“We are expecting buoyancy across pack sizes, small, medium or large. While rally attendees may go in for small packs, the political parties may actually go in for bulk packs as part of their promotional efforts to draw crowds to their events,” Buddha said.

Campaigning has picked up in states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala and is expected to gather steam ahead of the elections, Buddha said. At the same time, more states will begin campaigning as the poll dates have now been announced, he said.

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Jayen Mehta, managing director of the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), the maker of the Amul brand of beverage, dairy and milk products, says that the general elections will also coincide with the summer and holiday season. This could give a significant bump-up to out-of-home consumption.

“There will be greater movement of people this year due to the elections. Plus, the forecast is that the temperatures will be above-normal during the summer months. All of this will augur well for beverage consumption in April-May,” Mehta said.

Nearly 970 million Indians will be eligible to vote in this year’s general elections, which is an almost 11% increase versus the last Lok Sabha elections held in 2019, when 875 million Indians were eligible to vote, the ECI said.

Chandubhai Virani, founder of Balaji Wafers, said that the firm is increasing store visits, especially in smaller towns, pushing more packs into retail outlets and is also setting up stalls near rally sites to draw consumers to its products.

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Poll Vault

** Food and beverage companies expect out-of-home consumption to increase as campaigning gathers pace

** Some firms have already begun increasing stocks of small and large packs at retail outlets

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We see a sales growth of at least 10-15% in the April-May period versus last year due to elections

Mohit Malhotra,

CEO, Dabur Indian

We are expecting buoyancy across pack sizes, whether small, medium or large

Krishnarao Buddha,

Senior category head, Parle Product