Regional FMCG brands giving tough fight to big players: Honasa Consumer CEO Varun Alagh
Incumbents and former chairmen of leading FMCG brands such as Britannia, Nestlé India, and Marico have agreed that small local players are giving their businesses a tough fight.
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Regional Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) brands are giving tough competition to established players amid changes in consumers' preferences, Honasa Consumer CEO and Co-founder Varun Alagh said.
In an interview with PTI news agency, Alagh said regional brands are equally aggressive when it comes to pricing, also they have better margins for the distributors.
"Overall, there is a consumer shift happening towards newer brands, regional brands... as large FMCG (companies) are not growing as strongly," Alagh said.
Citing the FMCG industry trend during the Une quarter, Alagh stated that the industry growth has largely been "subdued" without substantial volume gains.
However, in the case of the skincare and personal care segment, Alagh said volume growth is ahead of value growth.
Honasa Consumer, parent firm of personal care brand Mamaearth, delivered its highest-ever quarterly revenue of Rs 595 crore in Q1 FY26 and a profit of Rs 41 crore, driven by a sequential improvement in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation margin to 7.7%.
According to the company, its focus categories posted double-digit growth year-over-year during the quarter. Besides, younger brands grew over 20% YoY.
"The Derma Co. sustained strong momentum, with face cleansers becoming its third Rs 100 crore+ ARR category after Serums and Sunscreens," the company added.
Alagh has anticipated double-digit volume growth of the brand in the rest of the fiscal year 2026.
"We believe that the next three quarters will be better than what the first quarter has been, and we should be in the double-digit zone for the next three quarters," he said.
Meanwhile, incumbents and former chairmen of leading FMCG brands such as Britannia, Nestlé India, and Marico have agreed that small local players are giving their businesses a tough fight.
HUL also said it faces competition in the category as a detergent bar, which is "well spread out with multiple players, global players, local players, regional players". "So, it's a pretty spread out competition on the detergent bar," said HUL CFO Ritesh Tiwari in the June quarter earnings calls.
Last month, Nestle India's former chairman and MD Suresh Narayanan said that startups and regional brands are not only good for providing variety to consumers but also give established players the push to improve their product offerings.
