The FMCG marketing trends to watch in India in 2026

When weather patterns started determining where ads would appear, something had changed in Indian FMCG marketing. Last year, brands began using APIs to track rainfall and serve hyper-local messages only when conditions matched consumer needs. The precision was new, but what mattered was that consumers were no longer impressed by technology for its own sake. They wanted relevance.

But precision in targeting is only one part of the story. The FMCG sector enters 2026 after a year that reshaped its operating landscape. GST rationalisation moved daily-use items to the 5% slab, improving both affordability and operating clarity. The biscuits category alone saw a tangible demand lift after the tax reduction, with benefits passed on through lower MRPs. Rural consumption bounced back on the back of good monsoons and healthy Kharif output, while urban markets began showing early signs of recovery.

2025 taught the industry that growth comes from both ends of the market, be it value-led brands or premium offerings. India's per capita consumption in categories like biscuits has reached approximately 2.8 kg in 2025, and the expansion opportunity remains significant. Now, as 2026 unfolds, the focus is shifting towards finding stability, re-strategising marketing investments, and delivering sustainable profits. This shift captures where FMCG marketing is headed in 2026. 

Consumers seek phygital experiences

Siddharth Gupta, General Manager, Marketing at Britannia, shares, "Consumers are actively seeking a phygital experience of getting connected online for an offline experience, which will result in stronger communities being built for sustained engagement.”

The phygital approach is gaining ground across the industry. Categories are seeing fragmentation in how people discover and buy products. Quick-commerce platforms have created a need for immediate purchase and delivery, while social commerce is creating new pathways for impulse buying. At the same time, traditional retail remains important for habitual purchases and value-conscious consumers. Brands need to show up across multiple touchpoints without losing coherence in their messaging. 

Keeping this in mind, digital's share of FMCG marketing budgets continues its upward march. But 2026 will be defined by a harder question: what are we getting for it? 

Mayank Shah, Vice President at Parle Products, articulates, "While digital continues to grow in importance, one of the persistent challenges outside of pure performance marketing is clearly linking digital spends to brand impact. Improving how we measure and map ROI from digital advertising will be a key priority in the coming year."

Shah says that digital accounted for roughly 20% of Parle's marketing spend in 2025. “We foresee digital accounting for close to 25% of our total marketing spends in the coming year.” 

Alongside this, Gupta shares that immersive brand experiences will evolve beyond emerging technology-led to more “meaningful experiences that are integrated into relatable consumer moments."

Fortune Edible Oils is taking this direction seriously. Mukesh Mishra, Joint President, Sales and Marketing at AWL Agri Business Ltd., explains the brand, Fortune’s 2026 vision. It aims to deepen cultural immersion by enhancing digital precision and strengthening commerce integration. 

"2026 will be about transforming Fortune from a brand that participates in culture to one that powers everyday cultural discovery, cooking inspiration, and community connection, both online and offline." The brand plans to scale regional experiential properties like Rath Yatra and Hilsa Fest into replicable models across cultural moments. 

AI, AI and more AI

But as FMCG brands increase their digital spends, it is no longer driven by faith in novelty. Parle plans to focus more closely on high-growth channels, seeing rapid adoption and influence on consumer behaviour, with deeper use of AI and machine learning to improve precision through sharper targeting and more hyper-localised communication.

Kantar's Marketing Trends 2026 report shows that 74% of those who use AI assistants regularly seek out AI-driven recommendations, yet the technology must serve human needs rather than drive them. For FMCG brands, this means using AI and digital tools to create moments that matter.

Brands like Ferrero India aim to add another dimension to this trend. Zoher Kapuswala, Head of Marketing at Ferrero India, notes, “The year will be more complex for marketers with newer technologies, evolving tools, ample data. What matters most is staying anchored in consumer understanding and translating them into ideas that are simple, culturally resonant and scalable.”

Ferrero aims to cut through clutter, earn attention the right way, and deliver meaningful impact to strengthen its brand love and build long-term equity and growth.

Data suggests that 24% of AI users already employ AI shopping assistants, indicating that AI agents will increasingly mediate purchase decisions. For CMOs, this means brands must now predispose both humans and algorithms, requiring structured, machine-readable content that helps large language models understand and recommend their products.

The retail media network is also exploding. With over 200 retail media networks operating globally, these platforms reportedly deliver 1.8 times better results than standard digital ads, according to data, with nearly three times better performance for purchase intent. A net 35% of marketers plan to increase RMN investment in 2026, particularly as shoppable ads on connected TV and streaming platforms go mainstream.

Quick-commerce has sped this up. Mishra notes that Fortune will focus on creating seamless content-to-commerce journeys in 2026, through shoppable storytelling. Platforms like Blinkit, Zepto and BigBasket have become primary destinations for everyday staple purchases. Additionally, strengthening creator communities will be a priority, through collaborations with home-chefs, food storytellers and micro-influencers who drive genuine engagement.

The creator ecosystem plays an increasingly critical role. A net 61% of marketers plan to increase creator content investment in 2026, but only 27% of creator content currently ties strongly to the brand. Success requires bringing together brand and creator-led content without over-directing or under-briefing.

Health, premiumisation and consistency 

While technology captures headlines, shifts in consumption patterns are reshaping product strategies. Akshali Shah, Executive Director at Parag Milk Foods, points to where the category is moving. "Premiumisation and health-led consumption will increasingly shape category growth. Our focus will be on expanding our portfolio, strengthening nutrition and quality-led narratives, and building marketing ideas that are consistent, credible, and sustainable over time.”

According to Shah, the next phase of FMCG marketing is about “depth, consistency, and earning consumer trust brand by brand, market by market."

This portfolio expansion is happening across both value and premium segments. The learnings from 2025 showed that growth comes from both ends of the market. Value-led brands continue to drive volumes through wider penetration and higher per capita consumption, especially in price-sensitive segments. At the same time, premium offerings are gaining traction, driven by evolving tastes, higher aspirations, and greater willingness to experiment. The focus for 2026 is on balancing accessibility with premiumisation, without diluting relevance at either end.

What’s more? There’s a shift in how consumers prioritise wellness. NIQ's recent wellness report shows that 44% of consumers plan New Year's resolutions for 2026, up five percentage points from last year. The top food-related resolutions include drinking more water (56%), consuming more fruits and vegetables (46%), and reducing sugar (39%), pointing toward back-to-basics wellness that demands product innovation matched with credible storytelling.

For Britannia, this translates into sustained modernisation of core brands like Good Day, Bourbon and Milk Bikis, keeping them emotionally resonant. Gupta notes that product narratives are evolving with changing lifestyles, where wellness and mindful choices coexist with moments of indulgence, ensuring brands remain relevant across age groups. 

The brand will continue to modernise these core brands while using platforms such as sports and content partnerships, supported by data, AI and newer digital ecosystems to deliver more personalised and integrated brand experiences.

Category innovation is also becoming crucial. Brands are expanding beyond their core offerings to meet evolving needs, whether through functional benefits, new formats, or occasion-based positioning. This is aimed at understanding the gap in consumption and building offerings that address unmet needs.

Industry economic forecasts predict high single-digit volume growth for Indian FMCG in 2026, supported by policy tailwinds including GST reforms and benign commodity prices. Inflationary pressures have moderated, downtrading concerns have eased, and interest rates are softening.

But in 2025, cost volatility taught brands to be more agile in margin management. Consumer habits fractured across channels and touchpoints, demanding omnichannel strategies that actually work. The rise of regional and D2C brands added new competition, though legacy brands continue to be trusted, everyday choices. Brands like Parle continued to be the most chosen FMCG brand for the 13th year, with 8.6 billion Consumer Reach Points (CRPs), up 8%.

Now, 2026 will be about finding stability in this new normal. This will include restrategising marketing investments, building tech-enabled systems, and earning consumer trust. The thread connecting these trends is consistency in brand building that earns consumer trust.