India Focus: Unilever India coffee and tea premiumisation, Swizzle expansion, labelling policy gaps and more in our round-up

Climate concerns: Unilever India taps coffee and tea premiumisation for faster growth amidst flat nutrition drinks performance​

Hindustan Unilever India (HUL) has highlighted the strong potential of its premium coffee and tea businesses to lead growth in the shorter term, amidst a flat performance by its Health Food Drinks (HFD) portfolio in the last quarter.

HUL recently announced its Q2FY2024 financial results, reporting 4% underlying volume growth year-on-year to a turnover of INR151.6bn (US$1.8bn), and 3% net year-on-year net profit growth to INR25.4bn (US$302.7mn).

The firm’s HFD portfolio mainly comprises its Horlicks and Boost nutritional drink brands, and has been a major focus of investment​ for HUL over the past several financial quarters​ to expand the reach of its food and beverage businesses. However, in its most recent financial results press conference, the firm’s CEO and Managing Director Rohit Jawa highlighted that HFD is going to be more of a ‘medium to long-term commitment’ that could potentially take three to five years to come to fruition.

High without alcohol: Indian brand Swizzle sets sights on APAC expansion with RTD mocktails​

Indian brand Swizzle, which was founded in Bengaluru as a mocktail kit delivery firm in 2019 and is now available in 1,500 stores nationwide, is aiming to launch across APAC with its ready-to-drink (RTD) mocktails.

Earlier this year the firm secured its second round of seed funding from angel investors to drive its growth plans.

Swizzle co-founder Vrinda Singhal told us that she wanted the brand to enter Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam by next year.

“As for why we want to expand beyond India, there are two main considerations. First, the other regions with hot climates for most of the year are good for us, as ours are cold beverages. Second, beverage consumption abroad is significantly higher, with people consuming over 50% more beverages compared to India. This increased consumption is a key reason for our expansion plans."​

'Go beyond safety': Policies needed to create healthier food environments in South Asia – latest study​

Policy gaps including front-of-pack labelling, food taxation, marketing of 'unhealthy' products, and improvements in school nutrition standards are urgently needed in South Asia, according to a new study.

Researchers assessed food policies in South Asia, which included Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, from 2020 to 2022.

The assessment was conducted using the Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI), a global tool that rates the level of implementation of policies on food environments by the government against international best practice.

They found that while undernutrition remains a significant public health problem in lower-middle income countries like those in South Asia, there is also an increasing shift towards overnutrition.

Natural remedies: Himalaya highlights importance of botanical solutions to address women’s health issues – Growth Asia Summit 2024​

Ayurvedic healthcare brand Himalaya Wellness believes that botanical solutions are crucial to helping women with common health issues faced during pregnancy, menstruation, menopause and more.

According to data from Himalaya, about 70% of unaddressed public health needs are women-centric.

This is due to various findings such as around one billion women are expected to experience menopause symptoms in 2025 and that women are twice as likely to experience depression compared to men.

Sleep, mental health underlined as top-of-mind concerns among APAC consumers amid cost-of-living crisis​

Sleep and mental health have been identified as the top consumer concerns in Asia-Pacific (APAC) amid the cost-of-living crisis, which consequently spell opportunities for innovation and category growth, says a consumer intelligence firm.

According to NielsenIQ, “increasing food prices” is the top consumer concern in 11 out of 14 APAC markets, namely Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Notably, in the last five years, consumers in APAC are spending 13% more on FMCG products but are getting 2% less in volume.