Top 10 FMCG Companies In India (2023) (Updated)

FMCG or Fast-moving consumer goods companies are those companies that manufacture and sell packaged foods, toiletries, consumables and personal care brands. FMCG is the 4th largest sector of the Indian economy. It includes products like vegetables, grocery and dairy products.  

Moreover, such products are consumed daily by people across the globe. Thus, these companies have a great presence in the day-to-day life of the people. These products have a less shelf life and are often available at pocket-friendly prices, given, they are consumed every day. They are always in demand and when it comes to a country like India that has a huge population and large consumer base, FMCG becomes a relatively big market for all Fast Moving Consumer Goods companies.

Here, we have listed down the top 10 FMCG companies in India:

Top FMCG Companies In India

1. Hindustan Unilever

Hindustan Unilever Limited is the oldest and the largest FMCG company in India and it requires no introduction From Dove, Vaseline, Bru Coffee, Lux and Hamam soap to Pureit, all these come under the label of this company. Across these 20 different categories such as Fabric Wash, Household Care, Purifiers, Personal Wash, Hair Care, Skin Care, Colour Cosmetics, Oral Care, Deodorants, Beverages, Ice Cream & Frozen Desserts and Foods, HUL has several brands. 

HUL is a subsidiary of Unilever, an Anglo-Dutch company that used to deal in foods, beverages, cleaning agents, personal care products, water purifiers and other fast-moving consumer goods.

In 1931, HUL was established as Hindustan Vanaspati Manufacturing Co. and after a merger of constituent groups in 1956, it came to be known as Hindustan Lever Limited. Later, in June 2007, The company was renamed Hindustan Unilever Limited.

In December 2018, HUL announced that it will be acquiring a major stake in GlaxoSmithkline’s India business for $3.8 billion in an all-equity merger deal with a 1:4.39 ratio. However, in April 2020, HUL completed its merger with GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (GSKCH India) after all the legalities were met. 

And, in the same year, HUL decided to drop the brand name- Fair & Lovely With Glowly & Lovely. This came after tons of criticism was thrown at them.

2. ITC Limited

Established as the Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited in 1910, in 1970 the company was renamed as the India Tobacco Company Limited and later to I.T.C. Limited in 1974. Now, the company is known as ITC Limited, where “ITC” today has no full form to this acronym. In 2010, ITC completed its century in this business and establishment. 

ITC Limited is an Indian company based in Kolkata, West Bengal. The company deals in the business of products like Foods, Personal Care, Cigarettes and Cigars, Branded Apparel, Education & Stationery Products, Safety Matches amongst others. ITC has a total of 13 businesses across 5 segments and to 90 countries, ITC exports its products. Its products are available in 6 million retail outlets across the globe. Besides the FMCG items, the company is actively engaged in hospitality, paper, packaging, agri-business, and IT sectors business. 

3. Amul

Amul is an Indian dairy cooperative society, based out of Gujarat. Formed in 1946, Amul is managed by a cooperative body, the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. (GCMMF), which presently is jointly owned by 36 lakh (3.6 million) milk producers in Gujarat, and the apex body of 13 District Milk Unions, that operates in 13,000 villages of Gujarat. Amul spurred India’s White Revolution, which led to the country becoming the world’s largest producer of milk and milk products. Kaira District Milk Union Limited that later renamed Amul – Anand Milk Union Limited was founded in 1946 by Tribhuvandas Patel. Amul’s foundation had a key role in the white revolution in India.

The brand mainly deals in milk and milk products such as fresh milk, bread spread, paneer, curd, cheese, milk powder. It also sells chocolates and beverages. The company has a wide distribution network spread in 50 sales offices, 5,000 wholesale dealers and over 700,000 retailers.

When it comes to dairy products Amul has managed to make itself a renowned name. 

4. Parle Agro 

Parle Agro Private Limited is an Indian company that has brands like Frooti, Appy, LMN, Hippo and other Bailley brands under its name. 

Parle Agro is a subsidiary of Parle Products, which was established in 1929 in British India. The company was founded by the Chauhan family of Vile Parle, Mumbai. But, the original Parle company was later split into three separate companies which manufacture the following products under different heads: 

• Parle Products, led by Vijay, Sharad and Raj Chauhan. They have brands like Parle-G, Melody, Mango Bite, Poppins, Kismi Toffee Bar, Monaco and Krack Jack.
• Parle Agro, led by Prakash Chauhan and his daughters are the owners of the brands such as Frooti and Appy.Parle Bisleri is led by Ramesh Chauha.
• Despite the difference, the family members remained to continue to use the family trademark name “Parle”.

5. Britannia Industries Limited

Britannia Industries Limited, is an Indian multinational food and beverage company based out of Kolkata, India. It was founded in 1892 that makes it India’s oldest existing company. Now, Britannia comes under the Wadia Group headed by Nusli Wadia. 

The company is famous for its biscuit products. The company sells Britannia and Tiger brands of biscuits, bread and dairy products across India and in over 60 countries across the world. 

Britannia offers several products such as Biscuits, Bread, Cakes, Rusk, and Dairy products. More than 50% of their product range is vitaminized with many nutrients. Thus, making it a company that promotes nutrition with health as their tag line says, “Eat Healthy, Think Better” or “Swasth Khao, Tanman Jagao.”

6. Dabur

Dabur India Ltd, is an Indian multinational consumer goods company, based out of Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. It was founded by S. K. Burman and Its main business is to manufacture Ayurvedic medicine and natural consumer products. 

It is considered one of the largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies in India. Dabur derives around 60% of its revenue from the consumer care business while 11% of its revenue comes from the food business and the remaining part from the international business unit.

In 2003, Dabur demerged its Pharma business and separated this one company from the rest, known as Dabur Pharma Ltd. German company Fresenius SE bought a stake of 73.27% in Dabur Pharma in June 2008 at ₹76.50/ share. Dabur International, a fully owned subsidiary of Dabur India held shares in the UAE-based Weikfield International, which was later sold in June 2012. 

Dabur deals in products like Hair Care, Dental Care and Skin Care. Besides India, Dabur has a huge presence in the international markets, in specific, in the areas of Middle East SAARC countries Africa, US, Europe and Russia.

7. MARICO LIMITED 

Established in 1990, based out of Mumbai, Marico is one of the leading FMCG companies in India that manufactures daily products like skincare products, edible oil, hair care, fabric care, men’s grooming and health foods. Marico has its business in over 25 countries across Asia and Africa. At Least one out of every three Indians consume their product through its portfolio of brands such as Parachute, Saffola, Hair & Care, Parachute Advanced, Nihar Naturals, Mediker and many more.

Marico Limited walks the talk of its tagline “Make a difference” by manufacturing good quality products using innovative technology. 

8. GODREJ CONSUMER PRODUCTS LTD.

Godrej Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate based out of Mumbai. The company is managed and largely owned by the Godrej family. In 1897, It was founded by Ardeshir Godrej and Pirojsha Burjorji Godrej. In 1918, they launched World’s first vegetable oil soap named Chavi, the first soap in the world that was made without animal fat. Their soap, Godrej No. 1 was fondly endorsed by many freedom fighters, including

Rabindranath Tagore, Annie Besant and C. Rajagopalachari. Even today, it is one of India’s biggest soap brands.

Godrej operates in diversified sectors such as real estate, consumer products, industrial engineering, appliances, furniture, security and agricultural products. Godrej Industries is its affiliated company while its subsidiaries include Godrej Consumer Products, Godrej Agrovet, and Godrej Properties, as well as the private holding company Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd. During the time of Covid-19, they grew their hygiene portfolio by expanding their existing strongholds in soaps in India, and wet wipes and disinfectants in the markets of Indonesia. In Africa, Latin America and the USA, they entered such markets with plans to build full portfolios with multiple product offerings. 

9. Tata Consumer Products

Tata Consumer Products is a fast-moving consumer goods company based out of Mumbai, Maharashtra and a fully owned subsidiary of the Tata Group. The company is considered the world’s second-largest manufacturer and distributor of tea and a major coffee producer.

Erstwhile, it was known as Tata Global Beverages Limited (TGBL). In February 2020, Tata Consumer Products came into being when the consumer products business of Tata Chemicals Ltd. merged with Tata Global Beverages Ltd. The company operates in the Food and Beverages industry with 56% of its revenue coming from India while the rest is from the international market. 

The merger has helped the company to foray into multiple and diversified portfolios with products like Tata Salt, Tata Tea, Tetley, Eight O Clock and some high growth potential brands like Tata Sampann and Tata Starbucks. The company sells tea under the major brands- Tata Tea, Tetley and Good Earth Teas. Tata Tea is the biggest-selling tea brand in the markets of India, Tetley is a superhit tea brand in Canada and the second-biggest-seller in the United Kingdom and the United States. 

In 1983, Tata Tea bought a stake in the James Finlay group to build an individual entity- Tata Tea. In the same year, the company moved from the commodities business to consumer branding. 

After the launch of their very first brand- Tata Tea other brands like Kannan Devan, Agni, Gemini and Chakra Gold were also introduced. 

In 2012, Tata Consumer Products Limited came up with a 50:50 joint venture with Starbucks Coffee Company in India. The coffee shops were branded as “Starbucks Coffee—A Tata Alliance”. The source coffee beans are from Tata Coffee, a subsidiary company of Tata Consumer Products Limited. As of 2020, the company’s revenue was ₹5807.99 crores (US$810 million), while its net income flow summed at ₹575.35 crores (US$81 million).

10. Emami

Emami Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate company based out of Kolkata, India. The company has seven manufacturing units in India and one abroad. The Company deals in the personal care and healthcare segments.

The company’s products are sold in over 60 nations and are available in 4.5 million retail stores in India. Boro Plus is their most famous product that is an antiseptic cream. Their other most consumed products include Navratna Oil, Boroplus Antiseptic Cream, Fair and Handsome, Navratna Cool Talc., Sona Chandi Chyawanprash, Zandu Balm, Himani Fast Relief and amongst others.

Disclaimer: Note that the provided top 10 FMCG companies are not based on any ranking but the discretion of the writer.