FMCG 2024 adex wrap: HUL, Dabur, Marico, Godrej scaled back ad expenses in Q2 FY25

India’s leading Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies scaled back their advertising and marketing expenditures in the second quarter of fiscal year 2025, reflecting the pressures of food inflation and sluggish demand in urban markets.

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), the maker of household names like Dove, Horlicks, and Closeup, trimmed its advertising spend to Rs1,501 crore in Q2 FY25, down from Rs1,644 crore in the previous quarter, according to quarterly data released to the stock exchange. Despite the cutback, CEO Rohit Jawa assured investors during the company’s earnings call that HUL was continuing to prioritize long-term brand investments. "We’ve seen strong growth in brand power, which is reflected in our market shares, and we remain committed to market development investments that will yield compounding results over time," he said.

Similarly, Godrej Consumer Products, known for its Good Knight brand, reduced its ad spending to Rs263.57 crore in Q2 FY25, compared with Rs330 crore in Q1. Dabur Ltd also scaled back its advertising budget, spending Rs164.87 crore in Q2, down from Rs235.89 crore in the previous quarter. Marico, the company behind Saffola and Parachute oils, cut its ad expenses by more than half — down 51.25 percent — from Rs240 crore in Q1 FY25 to Rs117 crore in Q2.

Data from TAM AdEx shows that FMCG companies’ advertising volumes on television declined by 6 percent in the first half of 2024. However, digital ad impressions bucked this trend, rising by 7 percent over the same period in 2023.

The FMCG sector as a whole has faced significant headwinds this year, with growth decelerating to 4.3 percent between August and October 2024, compared to 6.4 percent in the same months last year. Urban volume growth fell to 4.5 percent during this period, a sharp drop from nearly 7 percent a year earlier, while rural growth remained slightly stronger at 4 percent.