From HUL to Nestlé, legacy FMCG firms recast their heritage brands for a premium era

For much of the past century, India's most familiar consumer brands were built on a simple promise: reliability at scale. A bar of soap to keep families healthy. A pack of noodles that could feed a household quickly. A tin of petroleum jelly that belonged in nearly every medicine cabinet.

However, that promise is now being reworked.

Across India's fast-moving consumer goods industry, legacy brands such as Godrej Consumer Products Ltd, Marico, Tata Consumer Products, etc are undergoing reinvention by shedding their purely functional identities and portraying themselves as premium, lifestyle-led offerings. The shift reflects a broader change in India's consumer economy, where younger shoppers — more exposed to global trends and less loyal to labels — are asking even the oldest brands to evolve.

Earlier this year, Hindustan Unilever (HUL) updated Lifebuoy, a soap that has existed for more than a hundred years, expanding its positioning from "germ protection" to "skin protection". Nestlé India introduced Korean-style noodles under its Maggi brand, tapping into the growing influence of Korean popular culture in urban India. Dabur India has rolled out premium variants of Vatika shampoo, built around ingredients such as red onion, apple cider, argan oil, etc.

The latest decision by Unilever to launch Vaseline Lip Derma Therapy in South Korea--one of the world's most competitive beauty markets--underscores how far the recalibration of products has gone. Once marketed as an "all-purpose" household staple, Vaseline is now being pushed into premium face-care categories, targeted squarely at Gen X and Gen Z consumers.

Aseem Puri, Digital chief executive of Unilever International, said the company identified an opportunity after observing South Koreans using lip balms alongside lipsticks, rather than as a standalone product. Vaseline, he said, entered the market through specialist beauty retailers and e-commerce platforms, at a significantly higher price point.

"The core Vaseline Jelly remains a staple in every home," Puri said. "But to remain relevant for Gen X and Gen Z consumers, the brand needed premium innovations".

The pivot reflects a broader generational shift. India is home to an estimated 400 million Gen Z consumers, a cohort that has grown up with social media, quick commerce, and exposure to global brands. These new-age consumers are more experimental, less brand-loyal.

“Gen Z doesn’t reject legacy brands," said Ramya Ramachandran, founder of brand consulting firm Whoppl. "They reject brands that haven’t evolved. When heritage products are reimagined with better formulations, modern design, and clear purpose, younger consumers respond strongly".

CEOs at the country's largest consumer companies have started speaking openly about the need to rethink their most established brands. During a recent earnings call, Priya Nair, CEO of HUL, described premiumisation as central to the company's future.

"As we reimagine our brands, they need to be more modern and more youthful," Nair said, pointing to changes across packaging, product design, and proposition. "Renovating the core and adding premium innovation is critical".

At Dabur, premiumization has been elevated to a strategic priority. The company defines a premium product as one priced 20% higher than standard offerings and accretive to the gross margin of the respective category, according to CEO Mohit Malhotra.

The shift is unfolding amid digital-first insurgent brands reshaping India's consumer landscape. Several newer players, unburdened by legacy packaging, have used social media storytelling and quick commerce distribution to reach consumers directly. Their success has forced the incumbents to rethink not just pricing, but presentation and purpose.

"Digital first brands have exposed how dated some legacy offerings appear," said Harish Bijoor, a brand strategist. "Many mass-market cosmetic products still carry the look and feel of an earlier era. Newer, digital-first companies differentiate themselves by braking from old packaging conventions and visual language".

The challenge, experts say, is not merely about launching better formulations or charging higher prices. Competing with digital-native brands requires a deeper shift in how legacy companies present themselves and engage consumers.

"You can’t expect Gen Z or millennials to discover brands the way earlier generations did," said Sam and Andy, Founding Partners , Sam & Andy Brand Consultancy.

"Brands have to meet younger consumers where they are. Speak their language and show up in their cultural context. If a product isn’t visually confident, digitally fluent and culturally current, it struggles to break through. Digital-first brands understand this instinctively; legacy brands have to learn it deliberately".

What is changing, too, is where premium consumption happens. Once largely confined to metros and affluent households, premium FMCG products are increasingly being bought in smaller towns and villages.

NielsenIQ report showed that rural and semi-urban markets now account for more than 40% of the premium FMCG sales.

"Premiumisation in India is no longer a metro-only phenomenon," said K Ramakrishnan, managing director for South Asia at Worldpannel by Numerator. "Aspirations are rising across income groups, and brands must deliver value-led premium experiences through the right formats and channels".

For legacy companies, the challenge is to balance reinvention with trust. Decades of familiarity still matter, particularly in a market as large and diverse as India. But familiarity alone is no longer enough.

"Legacy cannot be built overnight," said Santosh Sreedhar, a partner at Avalon Consulting. "These brands have survived because of quality and trust. The opportunity now is to layer relevance and spiration on top of that foundation".