'Growth must come from deeper penetration, not pricing'

MANISH TIWARY, CMD, NESTLE INDIA

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Manish Tiwary is the first external executive to be appointed as the chairman and managing director of Nestle India, a company known for its tenured leadership and brands such as Maggi, KitKat and Nescafe.

In his first interview since assuming office as CMD in August, Tiwary tells Viveat Susan Pinto what his priorities are for Nestle India and how he will drive its next chapter of growth. Excerpts:

You come with an outside-in view at Nestle India, how will this perspective shape your journey at the company?

Nestle has been in India for over 113 years. My job is not to overhaul what works, but to sharpen our strategy. If the consumer proposition is strong, financial outcomes will follow. Our chicken noodles in the North-East are a great example - we redesigned the mix and relaunched the pack at ₹10 from ₹20 earlier. This met with success because we recognised that there were consumers lower down the income ladder. We can take this principle to most of our business segments. We have an urban monthly penetration of about 16-18% across noodles, confectionery, coffee. While our businesses are large, penetration levels are far from saturated. My priorities will be along three lines — consumer-centricity, volume-led growth, and brand investment & technology-led efficiency. I believe FMCG companies must keep volume growth ahead of pricing. Growth must come from deeper penetration, not pricing, which to my mind, has a limited role. I am doubling down on this priority at Nestle India.

Food firms have to contend with inflationary pressures all the time, which impact pricing. Is it possible to keep this factor out? What is your outlook on commodity inflation for the second half of FY26?