As the deja vu of a lockdown spreads across infection epicentres in the country, the focus shifted back to the sale of packaged foods for in-home consumption. Consumer goods companies, kirana stores and online grocery platforms are seeing early signs of consumers stocking up as state governments across the country impose lockdown-like restrictions.

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Kirana stores and supermarkets say that they have seen a 25 percent spike in weekday grocery shopping volumes, mainly due to weekend lockdowns being imposed in states such as Maharashtra and to avoid crowds over weekends.

Online grocer Grofers is seeing a 30 percent spike in weekly demand in the markets that have been affected by the second wave, particularly for packaged foods categories.

“Ready To Eat and Ready To Cook up to 80%, frozen foods up to 500%, packaged milk, and milk products by 150%. In hygiene products such as repellents, demand is up 100% and floor cleaners & disinfectants up to 50%). Additionally, new categories like vegetable washes have seen a 42% growth in sales, the highest in the last year - driven by an enhanced need for safety and hygiene at home,” a Grofers spokesperson said.

Rival Bigbasket is seeing a 15-20 percent higher sales month-on-month on its platforms, with Maharashtra recording the highest growth. However, Bigbasket is seeing growth driven by essential item categories such as Atta, spices, food grains, oils, etc and not packaged foods. Seshu Kumar Tirumala, National Category Head of Bigbasket says that these categories have recorded 25-30 percent growth.

He added that baby care products is another category that has been an upsurge in growth of 40-50 percent.

FMCG companies are also seeing similar trends. An ITC spokesperson has said that it has seen an uptick in demand for both its food brands including Aashirvaad atta, Yippee! noodles and ITC MasterChef frozen snacks, and its hygiene portfolio under the Savlon brand, especially in impacted geographies.

With restrictions forcing people to stay home, in-home consumption, especially that of biscuits and snacks has also spiked over the past few days. Biscuits maker Parle has said that it is seeing roughly 20 percent higher demand for its biscuits, rusk and salty snacks portfolios, especially in Maharashtra, Delhi, Punjab & Kerala.

“People now have to stay home and there are no restaurants to go to either. In such times, people usually resort to snacks and biscuits, especially because they tend to have hunger pangs more often while being at home. So, we are already seeing signs of this and our distributors are also asking for more stock, which is a clear indication of increased demand,” B Krishna Rao, Senior Category head for Parle told CNBC-TV18.

Mondelez India, which sells popular brands such as Cadbury, OREO and Bournvita too, is seeing a strong uptick in biscuits, specifically in traditional trade. Praveen Dalal, Senior Director – Sales, Mondelez India says, “While it’s too early to comment on a trend, we continue to see a strong momentum on eCommerce across categories, as consumers prefer the safety and convenience of shopping from homes. We have seen trade start to stock up in states where restrictions are stricter.”

PepsiCo India too has seen a rise in demand for larger pack sizes for Lay’s, Kurkure, Lay’s Maxx and Doritos and celebratory ‘friendship packs’ for beverage brands including Pepsi, Mountain Dew and 7Up as people spend more time at home, and in-home occasions replace outdoor ones due to the pandemic.

However, retailers point out that unlike last year, there haven’t been instances of panic buying. Consumers are stocking up out of precaution amid confusion over the exact nature of restrictions and to avoid stepping out or having to order often. Retailers add that consumers are aware after last year that food and staples will continue to be available despite any form of lockdown.

Companies too are taking their learnings from last year and say they are well prepared to tackle any sudden upsurge in demand with adequate capacities in place.

“This time customers will find much lesser difficulty in getting orders on time. We have stocked up adequately and have better systems in place to deal with sudden increases in orders. We are already seeing that customers in Maharashtra are able to get slots in 1-2 days,” Bigbasket’s Seshu Kumar Tirumala said.

Parle’s Krishna Rao too, says that the company has enough capacity in place to handle increased demand.

Meanwhile, an ITC spokesperson said, “The robustness and agility of our supply chains provide the flexibility and enable us to address the emerging demand trends.”

Mondelez India’s Praveen Dalal added that to ensure uninterrupted supply of products to consumers and retailers with the newly imposed restrictions in certain states, the company has taken proactive steps based on its learning from last year.

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(Edited by : Abhishek Jha)

First Published:Apr 12, 2021 3:08 PM IST