INDIA’S GROWING APPETITE FOR FOOD – A STORY OF BOTH ‘NEEDS’ AND ‘WANTS’

India’s food retail business, which at 59.5% is the largest component of the overall retail industry in the country, is a confluence of needs and wants. The importance of food – the essential fuel of all life on his planet – has never been disputed. But, can it be the object of ‘aspiration’ as well? India’s growing population is not just raising demand for basic food grains; its rapid economic growth over the past decade has also generated demand for ‘value-added’ foods and retail formats – urban Indians are finding increasing affinity for processed and packaged foods & beverages, and are showing more and more interest in adding foreign cuisines to their diets.

So, what do such dramatic lifestyle changes mean for those in the food business in India? It means opportunity, rising investments, linkages between farms, processors and retailers, and finally, providing expanding choice to the consumer in the form of more brands, variants and product innovation.

India’s Food Market in Figures

- Food and Grocery constitutes the largest retail segment in India, accounting for 59.5 per cent share and Rs. 792,000 Crore (123 bn Euro) of the Rs. 1,330,000 Crore (206 bn Euro) overall Indian retail market.

- In the organized retail business, Food & Grocery takes up 11.5 per cent share (valued at Rs. 9,000 Crore; 1.4 bn Euro) of the organized retail and is the second biggest one after the apparel sector. Growth rate 2007 in this sector over 2006 was 55.2%.

- In addition, out of home catering services was the third largest retail category in 2007. Valued at Rs. 71,300 Crore (11 Bn. Euro), the organized component of this segment was valued at Rs. 5,700 Crore (885 m Euro).

OPPORTUNITY IN FOOD & GROCERY

- Consumers: India’s Urban Middle Class continues to grow by 20-25 million annually. The population is predominantly young, increasingly exposed to global lifestyles, and harbors a rising need for convenience– thereby the opportunity for packaged food and beverages.
- Retailers: More than 3,500 food outlets and restaurants operational across tier-I & tier-II cities. Retail space of over 5 million sq ft has come up for supermarkets, department stores, hypermarkets and food catering outlets.
- In 2007, 25 major F&G retailers emerged and retail sales in the segment grew by nearly 150% over 2006!

*all figures taken from: India Retail Report 2009, Sept. 2008, New Delhi/India

Opportunities, innovations, expectations and other hot topics of the extremely dynamic food market of the subcontinent will be discussed at the Food Forum India 2009, to be held on 19th/20th March 2009 in the Renaissance Hotel/Mumbai. The two day-conference, organized by the Images Group, Delhi, will be accompanied by an exhibition and award ceremony and bring together top decision makers from Indian and international food retail and industry.

Images Group, established in 1992 in Delhi, specializes in the publication of trade magazines and yearbooks, in retail intelligence, online portal services and in the organization of conferences and exhibitions in the retail sector. For more details please see: ww.imagesgroup.in and www.foodforumindia.com.

Images Group
S-21, okhla industrial area, phase II
New Delhi 110 020
phone: +91-11-40525000
mobile: +91-91-9810204297
fax: +91-11-40525001
www.imagesgroup.in

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This release was published on openPR.