As COVID-19 sweeps the country, India's FMCG market grew 8 percent in February 2020. This is against the 5-6 percent growth that the sector saw in the preceding three months, according to market research firm Nielsen. Owing to the panic buying in the industry, the food sector saw a growth of 10 percent and non-food growth stood at 5 percent. Nielsen also said that they would need to revise FMCG growth estimates owing to the Coronavirus outbreak.

Sales of hygiene products like hand sanitisers zoomed in the months of February and March. Hand sanitisers saw value growth of 53 percent in February 2020 versus an average growth of 11 percent. Floor cleaners and toilet cleaners also saw significant growth in February 2020.

"It is important for manufacturers to understand the new buying behaviour of consumers in this difficult time. We have seen a stockpiling behaviour in the last few days and it is natural that there will be a supply chain constraint. Local authorities are working on streamlining availability of products," said Sameer Shukla, West Market Leader, Nielsen Global Connect, South Asia.

On the e-commerce channel, hand sanitisers, face masks, hand wash and toilet cleaners also saw a spike in average weekly orders. Salty snacks, soft drinks and biscuits too saw high orders online. In the traditional channel, branded pulses and atta have been in high demand. Branded pulses saw a 72 percent growth in the first two weeks of March against the same period in February 2020.