PackMan Weekly Wrap-up

HUL Q1 Results
Hindustan Unilever has over 50 product brands across 14 categories, ranging from foods and beverages to skincare and dietary supplements. The products along with some nifty packaging strategy has ensured the FMCG major reported a net profit of Rs 2,538-crore, a 3% increase from its earnings in the same quarter of FY 2023-24. 

The company’s revenue from operations in Q1FY25 increased 1.3% to Rs 15,399 crore, from Rs 15,148 crore, year-on-year (YoY). Volume growth was recorded at 4% YoY. EBITDA grew 2% to Rs 3,606-crore at the operating level, and the EBITDA margin increased to 23.8%. 

Nestle India Q1 Results
First things first, Nestle India’s domestic sales increased by roughly 4%, and volumes by just around 1%. Nestle’s products in India include foods, beverages, chocolates, dairy, and confectioneries.

Nestle’s profit was below estimates for the June quarter at Rs 746.6-crore. However, the company’s net profit was a 7% YoY increase from the same quarter in the previous year (Rs 698.3-crore). Its revenue from operations for the June quarter was at Rs 4,814-crore, up by around 3% from a year ago (Rs 4,659-crore). 

Mars Wrigley targets 50% of premium chocolate gifting market
In the past week, Mars Wrigley India entered the luxury gifting market by launching Galaxy Jewels in India. With this move, the company is targeting a significant share of the Indian gifting market — a space that sees a lot of innovation in packaging design — as is evident with its high-end presence in supermarkets, major food and grocery stores and modern trade and e-commerce platforms.

The Indian market is bullish about the trend for gifting chocolates, especially during festivals such as Diwali, Raksha Bandhan and Valentine's Day. Mars Wrigley India is known for brands like Snickers and Boomer.

Parle continues to be the most-chosen in-home FMCG brand
According to Kantar’s annual Brand Footprint India 2024 report, Parle Products has retained the number one spot as the country’s chosen brand for in-home consumption. Additionally, based on Kantar’s calculations using Consumer Reach Points (CRPs), all sectors apart from dairy have seen a slowdown in customer reach, as compared to last year.

Parle Products has been recognised as the country’s most chosen in-home FMCG brand for the 12th year in a row, followed by Britannia, Amul, Clinic Plus, and Tata Consumer Products. Seven of the top ten brands in India are owned by homegrown companies.

24,000 orders per minute on Amazon Prime Day
On 25 July, Amazon announced that 24% more Indians made purchases on the eCommerce site on Prime Day, as compared to 2023. A staggering 24,196 orders were placed by Amazon Prime members in one minute, the highest ever for a Prime Day sale. 

Prime members were able to grab new launches from more than 400 brands and around 3,000 small to mid-sized businesses. The iPhone 13, Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 5G, and OnePlus 12R were the most sought-after premium smartphones among buyers. Meanwhile the men's grooming category saw a 2.3x increase, while the feminine hygiene category saw a 1.7x increase.