By: Ranjeet Laungani Executive Director, Nielsen

For more than a decade, marketers have focused their energies primarily on the thriving metros and the colossal rural Indian opportunity; but as we weigh the still-to-be-had opportunity with the efficiency of reach over the next 5-10 years, marketers should give Middle India a serious look.

While metros will remain a staple for marketers and increasing a rural footprint will be critical for volumes in the long run, there is a growth opportunity that is vastly under-rated by many marketers today, which could emerge as a key growth engine for the next 10 years. Middle India, a region made up of approximately 400 towns each with a population of 1-10 Lac, are home to 100 million Indians and today constitute up to 20 percent of the country’s FMCG consumption.

Middle India will grow from an FMCG market worth INR 287 Billion (5.74 Billion USD) today to over INR 4 Trillion (80 Billion USD) in value by 2026 and it is about time marketers took notice.