By Praveen Paramasivam
(Reuters) -Consumer goods firm Adani Wilmar expects its sales volumes to grow around 10% next fiscal year, CEO Angshu Mallick said on Wednesday, counting on demand from 10-minute grocery delivery apps and a tax cut-led revival in urban spending.
Top executives in sectors including consumer goods and automobiles expect India’s plans to cut personal income tax rates to put more disposable income in the hands of the people and eventually boost consumption.
“Whenever consumers have excess money, we have found they first go and buy good food,” Mallick told Reuters, adding Adani Wilmar’s food business would grow over 20% for the financial year ending March 2026.
For the third quarter, the company, which makes ‘Kohinoor’ rice, reported a 5% rise in sales volumes, with the edible oil business – its biggest – growing by 4%.
Edible oil sales, including its ‘Fortune’ cooking oil, will grow at least 6% next year, helping the broader group return to growth of about 10%, Mallick said.
The growth, he expects, will be led by demand from delivery apps, including Zomato-owned Blinkit and Zepto, which are expanding to smaller cities.
Adani Wilmar plans to launch higher-priced products and bundled offers on these apps, which Mallick said may bring in more revenue in the next six months as compared to traditional platforms, including Amazon and Flipkart.
In December, the Adani group said it would exit its consumer goods joint venture with Singapore’s Wilmar International in a $2 billion deal.
Mallick said the new name of Adani Wilmar, post a shareholder vote, would be AWL Agri Business Ltd, even as he said the firm’s strategy would not change post the deal close, the date for which has not been disclosed.
He said Adani Wilmar will continue to focus on expanding its presence in branded foods, including the basmati rice and wheat flour segments, as nearly four-fifths of sales come from unbranded products.
(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
