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Informist, Friday, Jul. 3, 2026

 

By Avishek Rakshit

 

KOLKATA – Nestle India Ltd., the Indian arm of the world's largest foods company Nestle S.A., will focus on consumer centricity, penetration-led volume growth, reinvestment behind brands and capacity, and accelerating technology-enabled sales and operations to chart its growth path in the next three-five years. 

 

"We have the brands, the people and the institutional strength to compete and win, but we will not take that for granted," Chairman and Managing Director Manish Tiwary told shareholders at the company's 67th annual general meeting on Friday. "As we look ahead, the four priorities which will continue to guide our actions are consumer centricity, penetration-led volume growth, reinvestment behind brands and capacity and accelerating tech-enabled sales and operations."

 

Tiwary said sustainable growth for Nestle India in a country as large and dynamic as India must come from reaching more households and the frequency with which consumers choose their diets. 

 

"Strong brands require constant renewal, relevant innovation, timely renovation and the confidence to invest ahead of demand," he said.

 

The company has been expanding its distribution footprint and deepening presence across geographies and added 520,000 outlets across urban, semi-urban and rural locations since April 2025.

 

"This is especially true in rural markets where aspirations are rising and where the next wave of long-term consumption is being shaped. Deeper reach, sharper pack price architecture, stronger availability and execution excellence at the point of sale. This is how we grow by earning the levels," Tiwary said.

 

Nestle India is prioritising operational cost savings which will help the company reduce input costs despite volatility in commodity prices and macroeconomic conditions, and also savings can be reinvested in its marketing and advertising campaigns to help maximise sales, Tiwary said, adding that during 2025-26 (Apr-Mar), the company witnessed its highest ever operational cost savings. 

 

"Savings were reinvested into brand investment, into higher advertising and digital spends, sharper communication and deeper distribution into new geographies and new consumer sectors. As a result, brands have responded with stronger sales," he said. 

 

As a measure, Nestle India is now sourcing 92% of its raw materials locally, which dramatically reduces the company's dependence on global commodity price fluctuations, crude oil for shipment of commodities, and availability of containers for shipping in the raw materials. The West Asian crisis, which broke out in March, significantly disrupted global trade routes and inflated logistics costs for companies dependent on imported raw material. Also, palm oil prices have been extremely volatile until lately, which led most consumer companies to register cost pressures. 

 

"Our priority is to protect the strength of the business while continuing to offer value to our consumers. We do this through strategic buying, portfolio and capacity optimisation and various productivity-led initiatives. Only after these avenues are exhausted do we consider and even then as a last resort," Tiwary said. 

 

The company, which has been operating in India for the past 114 years, is also building stronger planning and execution capabilities across the value chain with a sharper end-to-end view supported by digital tools and analytics, which helps Nestle India anticipate cost movements earlier and respond with agility, the top company official said.

 

Talking about embedding technology in the company's operations, Tiwary said Nestle India has stepped up investments in digital and technology to strengthen execution and improve the speed and quality of decision-making. 

 

"Our objective is to embed data-led discipline across supply chain operations, sales and distribution functions so that our people can serve consumers with greater precision, consistency, agility and scale," he said. 

 

For instance, Nestle is using technology to understand consumer trends across its operational geography in India, which also helps the company anticipate future consumer trends. It also helps the company make its products and particular stock keeping units readily available which are demanded by consumers in particular locations. 

 

"None of this will happen in a straight line. There will be quarters that test us. There will be bets that don't pay off immediately. That is the nature of building something that lasts," Tiwary said.

 

Over the next few years, Nestle India will continue to invest in expanding its manufacturing capacity, especially in the chocolate and foods categories, and will be spending around INR 20 billion on this front. 

 

At 1336 IST, shares of Nestle India were up 0.5% at INR 1,453.00 on the National Stock Exchange.  End

 

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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