Chyawanprash to noodles: Here's what Indians have been spending on during lockdown

The outbreak of coronavirus pandemic and the resultant lockdown have altered the spending habits of Indians. Here are a few of the products consumers in the world's biggest open consumer market have been spending on:

Immunity Boosters

Consumers across the world have increased spending on immunity boosters amid the pandemic. In India, companies like Dabur India Ltd. and The Himalaya Drug Co. are witnessing massive demand for immunity booster products like chyawanprash and other supplements.

Chyawanprash sales across the industry grew 283 percent in June and branded honey rose 39 percent, according to Nielsen Holdings Plc.

Patanjali Ayurved Ltd., the company associated with celebrity yoga guru Baba Ramdev, has also reported high net sales between April and June, according to Brickwork Ratings, reported Bloomberg.

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Comfort Foods

Sales of packaged foods have also skyrocketed since the COVID-19 outbreak in March. Consumers have been stocking up on packaged food that won’t go stale quickly. Breakfast cereals, instant noodles, rice are among the products that have witnessed the strongest growth.

Nestle India Ltd. - whose instant Maggi noodles are popular - saw revenue grow an "impressive" 10.7% in in the quarter ended March, driven by sales surges for Maggi, KitKat and Munch. In the absence of Maggi, the growing demand for noodles was capitalised by brands such as Wai Wai, Top Ramen and Knorr.

Leading food company Parle Products logged record sales of its Parle-G biscuits, preferred for mass consumption, in April and May during the lockdown. The company gained a market share of around 5 percent in the highly competitive biscuit segment, helped by Parle-G biscuits, which was proffered by the people while stocking pantry during the pandemic.

Parle-G biscuits also gained traction as it was preferred by government agencies and NGOs working to distribute food relief packages to the people during the pandemic due to its economic proposition with value package of Rs 2 besides being considered as a good source of glucose.

Digital Services

Restrictions on movement has pushed people deeper into the virtual world. In July 2019, online learning firm Byju's was valued at $5.5 billion. Unacademy, which helps prepare for competitive exams, was valued at about $200 million. Cut to July 2020, Byju’s is valued at $10.5 billion Unacademy is negotiating fundraises at a valuation of $1.2 billion. The online education sector has grown $6 billion in value, even if on paper, in barely a year.

The e-commerce sector has also seen a rapid recovery in sales numbers now exceeding pre-COVID levels. The monthly gross merchandise value (annualised) of the Amazon and Flipkart-led sector has shot up to $36.5 billion in June from $30 billion in January, according to the data sourced from a RedSeer analysis. The GMV had plunged to $3.5 billion in April following the coronavirus-led lockdown.

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