Nestle India bets big on rural consumers amid a consumption slowdown

Company has set a target of 35 per cent contribution in sales from rural areas by 2022

Deviating from its long-tested growth formula, Nestlé India, predominantly an urban-focused company for more than a century, has set its eyes on the country’s vast rural market for growth in coming decades. 

The food and beverages major, which till recently used to market the bulk of its products targeting urban and slightly premium consumers, is aggressively expanding the rural business amid a consumption slowdown.

According to Suresh Narayanan, chairman and managing director, Nestlé India, it has set a target of generating 35 per cent of its sales from the hinterlands of the country in the next three years. This is in contrast