Oreo maker Mondelez flags slowdown in India's biscuit consumption

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The maker of Cadbury chocolates and Oreo biscuits, Mondelez International has pointed towards a slowdown in consumer demand in India, particularly in the biscuits category, CEO and chairman Dirk Van de Put said during the Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference 2025 on September 5.

The comments come at a time when chocolates and salty snacks are at the center stage of an evolving consumer behaviour in snacking.

"The Indian consumer clearly was slowing down, particularly in biscuits, which is a very basic category in India. We saw diminishing demand for a premium biscuit like Oreo, though chocolate has held up well despite price increases. Overall, growth has slowed down to solid single digits," Put said while addressing a question on growth in the emerging markets.

Oreo, introduced by the Cadbury maker in 2011, was positioned in the premium biscuits category but launched with an aggressive entry price of Rs 10 a pack, making it accessible to most Indian households. Experts have said that the recent slowdown is less about the brand and more reflective of a broader category decline, with evolving consumer behaviour and a wider range of options changing the buying pattern.

Data from Kantar’s Worldpanel 2025 report showed that out-of-home biscuit consumption dropped 8 percent in the past year even as chocolates jumped 32 percent and salty snacks rose 6 percent, underscoring a shift towards indulgence and impulse.

According to Kantar's Worldpanel South Asia MD K Ramakrishnan, biscuits are beginning to stagnate as they remain tied to their traditional at-home consumption, while categories like chocolates have reimagined themselves through gifting, premium packs and indulgent flavours.

In India, Britannia holds an estimated 38 percent market share in the category, driven by its premium, innovative product lines (Good Day and NutriChoice), while Parle’s flagship Parle-G biscuits command a roughly 32 percent share.

Still, Mondelez, one of the world's largest snacking company, sees a big percentage of growth coming from emerging markets like India and China.

"India has had a solid growth in the last 10 years, supported by strong brands...Cadbury in particular has built a very strong presence in the country," he added.