The fast-moving consumer goods or FMCG companies are the ones that manufacture the daily use products. People, no matter rich or poor, use these products on a daily basis. The products comprise toothpaste, detergents, soaps, dish wash bars, oil, shampoo and others which are widely used in daily lives.
As urbanization grows at a large pace, the sector’s growth remains strong and robust. If we look at the smaller cities, towns and villages, the usage of products has been started on a broad basis. They have started to consume branded products without thinking about the prices of a product.
For instance, they have started to use the products from the organized sectors and therefore the large conglomerates are doing their duty by fulfilling the needs of the customers. Such things add more appeal to the sector. However, the paradigm of the sector is constantly changing and evolving. In other words, the sector acts as a dynamic in nature.
Despite all the difficulties faced by this sector, the FMCG sector has maintained its performance which indicates a strong and subtle future. This indicates that the sector still falls under the category of “believe to be” and investors find it as an attractive option for investors’ portfolios.
The sector is so dynamic that it has been called out as Rampant as the companies need to shift their branding, positioning, strategies within a short period of time. For instance, as the customer focus shifted towards the entry of Patanjali in Ayurveda and Organic products, the growth of the sector has been affected in a negative way.
Keeping this in mind, top companies such as Dabur and Hindustan Unilever have changed their plans and they subsequently started to move towards herbal products.
Growth Story of FMCG Sector
Due to the constant demand for regular use of products, investors start to believe that the FMCG sector is a steady performer in the stock market; however, the growth of the sector is still slow.
The data of Statistica states that the FMCG sector in India has shot four times to $110 billion (8.15 lakh Crore) which was less than Rs 2 lakh crore in 2011.
By 2025, it is estimated that the FMCG sector will grow at the rate of 15% on an annual basis, increasing the volume to $220 billion (Rs 16.30 lakh Crores). With the entry of top-notch e-commerce companies such as Amazon, Flipkart, the sector is likely to bounce back in the coming years.
Nowadays, the government of India also started encouraging the sector thus making a healthy and wealthy future. The government also declared several incentives to support the FMCG industry. Also, GOI has allowed 100% Foreign Direct Investment or FDI in order to receive growth.
The government minimizes the burden of corporate taxation on MSME to further elevate the sentiment. The GST has aided the sector, even more, boosting the sentiments for the industry.
Top FMCG Companies in India
1. Hindustan Unilever
Hindustan Unilever is the largest FMCG company in the country with a market capitalization of 6 lakhs. It is a listed company that is headquartered in London, UK. British conglomerate. Its products include Dove, Lifebuoy, Lux, Hamam, Lyril, Rexona, Surf Excel, Comfort, Sunsilk, Fair and Lovely, Lakme, Vaseline, Lipton, Brooke Bond, Pepsodent and others.
2. Imperial Tobacco Company or ITC
Incorporated on 24 August 1910, ITC was later named as Indian Tobacco Company. Headquartered in Kolkata, the company is diversified across multiple industries such as FMCG, hotels, packaging, agribusiness, and cigarettes. The famous brands like Nescafe, Gold flake, Classmate Notebooks and Wills Navy Cut.
3. Nestle India
Nestle was incorporated in March 1959, in Vevey Switzerland and operates in India. It brags a market cap of over Rs 1.7 lakh Crore. The company mainly produces dairy products that manufacture top brands such as Maggi, Kit-Kat, Milo, Milkmaid, Barone and Nestea.
4. Dabur India
Dabur is also known as Daactor Burman is a Ghaziabad based FMCG company that primarily manufactures healthcare-related products including Dabur honey, Chyawanprash, Dabur Hajmola and more.
5. Godrej Consumer Products
The consumer product company is best known for manufacturing liquid detergents, soaps, Cinthol, Godrej No.1, Godrej Shikakai, colourants Godrej powder hair dye, Coloursoft, and Ezee liquid detergents.
Headquartered in Mumbai, the company has a market cap of more than 90,000 crores. Other listed companies include Marico, Gamble Hygiene, Jubilant FoodWorks, Britannia Industries, Emami, Tata Consumer Products amongst others.
Reasons to Own Them
If you want to buy a solid, strong yet steady portfolio, you should buy and hold FMCG shares for a longer period of time. Not only do these stocks offer attractive returns but also provide a decent dividend.
Here are reasons; why should you own them:
New Products
FMCG companies release new products at fixed intervals as the stock market is highly competitive. A company does not always fully depend on older products to remain in the game. Keeping this in mind, major FMCG companies have shifted towards ayurvedic and herbal products across the board. The company continues to launch new products to ensure market shares for them.
Rising Demand
FMCG companies find India is a huge market with 1.3 billion people, which is more than 15% of the total population. Needless to say, the per cent is quite more and as per the research, a large part of the population comes from rural and suburban areas.
As long as the government gives a thumbs up to these sectors, FMCG is likely to grow at a rapid speed. One of the prime reasons is that the sector offers lucrative returns to its shareholders.
Innovation
FMCG companies believe in innovation and hence the companies grab and get higher market returns. Nevertheless, the companies who fail to upgrade with time, often get the last seats in a row. Innovation of FMCG sectors is based on the following factors: research, consumer behavior, market demands.
Low Margin
The competition of FMCG companies is rising day by day which means there is a limited scope of extracting higher margins in indubitable products. As the product rates go beyond the standards, it is a huge possibility that the users may shift to the same products of different companies.
Hence, the margins are limited and dwarf to get higher sales and revenue.
Takeaway
It may be noted that the FMCG sector gives a moderate performance during bull markets, however, when the stock market goes down, the same sector gives outstanding returns.
In addition to this, the majority of FMCG companies launch new products on a constant basis and if you include them in your portfolio, chances are high that your portfolio is screened from any unfavourable market segments.
