Swiss FMCG Major Nestle Says India Remains Key Growth Driver, Expects Double-Digit Growth

Swiss food and beverages major Nestle SA said India will continue to be a strong "growth driver" for the company, with the market expected to post double-digit growth even as a tailwind from a change in tax structure begins to taper off in the third quarter, said its Chief Executive Officer Philipp Navratil.

Acknowledging India's performance, Navratil in Nestle's earnings call said South Asia, particularly India, delivered "very, very strong" performance, crediting the region's momentum to disciplined execution on product availability, distribution and brand support.

India comes under the Asia, Oceania and Africa (AOA) zone of Nestle SA, which reported a strong performance in the second quarter of 2026.

Replying to a query, Navratil said, "India is a growth driver for us, definitely." However, on the outlook for the India market, Navratil said the boost from the recent tax reforms will lapse from the third quarter.

"There is a tailwind in terms of the change in sales tax, and that will lap now in Q3," he said, referring to the GST reforms, in which the government had lowered the taxes by putting food products in a lower duty bracket.

Despite this, he maintained that momentum would remain strong.

"We still expect double-digit growth coming from India," Navratil said.

In AOA, Q2/2026 growth was broad-based across all categories and most markets, the company said in its earning statement. It had an organic growth of 6.5%.

He added that year-on-year comparisons would get tougher going forward, but reiterated that emerging markets and the AOA zone, taken together, would "continue to be a place of growth" for the company.

On Wednesday, its local subsidiary Nestle India had reported a 48.26% on-year rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 958.68 crore in the June quarter, supported by strong double-digit volume growth.

Its revenue from sale of products was up 25.4% at Rs 6,363.27 crore in the June quarter of FY27.