The trend of premiumization has been consistent and resilient and will continue: HUL CEO

Premiumisation in the FMCG industry is a consistent and resilient trend and is expected to continue to grow strongly as both in urban and rural markets customers are upgrading to higher value products across categories, said HUL CEO Rohit Jawa in an exclusive interaction with Moneycontrol.

"I believe the trend of premiumization has been consistent and resilient, and I expect it to continue. Both our portfolio and the market portfolio will keep shifting towards more premium offerings. Whether in urban or rural areas, the main driver of growth in India is upgradation,” said Jawa.

According to Jawa, in urban areas, this trend is evident in e-commerce, where consumers are moving to masstige products, new segments, and categories. While in rural outlets, people are upgrading from brands like Clinic Plus to more premium ones like Dove, or transitioning to new categories such as laundry liquids, Jawa pointed out.

“For instance, you can already find Rs 10 laundry liquid sachets in rural areas, and in semi-rural or small urban cities, you see products like sunscreens and mayonnaise, which you consider urban in nature. In our beauty category, we're on a multi-year journey to build premium segments like serums and sunscreens, which have already reached 2000 crores in sales and are growing at high double digits by volume,” said Jawa.