In the grand tapestry of life and in today’s complex business environment, uncertainty can indeed be likened to a storm, throwing unprecedented curve balls on the way. Like the lyrics penned by Hasrat Jaipuri in the film Andaz, released in 1971, ’zindagi ek safar hai suhana, yahan kal kya ho kisne jana’, which means life is such a beautiful journey and within the cadence of life what transpires tomorrow, none of us know.
We live in capricious times, in times that are unpredictable, yet surprising. Around us is an environment that in parts is promising, but in parts turbulent. Yet, amidst challenges lie unexpected opportunities. Despite geopolitical crisis and global economic slowdown, the International Monetary Fund, in its regional economic outlook 2024, said that India remains the world’s fastest-growing major economy.
Our nation is home to most brilliant minds, advanced technology and innovation. What beholds us today are the opportunities to shape the future as we marshal new ideas with a resolve for a resilient tomorrow where everybody gets a fair chance to succeed, and no one is left behind.
There are contrasting perspectives about the complex and evolving nature of India’s middle-class. While India has shown a strong economic recovery, the aftermath of the pandemic has exacerbated and posed challenges to the middle-class, particularly in terms of job security and income levels.
Furthermore, in India, volatile commodity prices and rising food inflation has significantly diminished purchasing power, with the impact being particularly significant in the fast-moving consumer goods sector. As a result, the market is polarised, and what we have today is the shrinking middle-class.
Despite the vagaries, there is a quiet transformation taking place. For instance, in urban India discretionary spending is more prominent, whereas in rural India essentials still constitute majority of the budget. Yet, premiumisation trends have been growing, strongly driven by the top-end consumers.
What is truly remarkable is that in rural India, especially among the younger generation, there is a noticeable trend of experimentation. When I travelled to villages in the northeast and in eastern Uttar Pradesh, I was refreshingly surprised to see brands such as KitKat, Nescafe and Maggi find resonance. Smaller towns are aspirationally emulating urban India.
Change is brought in when ordinary people do extraordinary things, when they overcome hardships through honesty and hardwork, and transform their lives to aspire for better. It is heartening to see, through Nestle’s Project Swabhimaan, women from rural India becoming entrepreneurs. Such work not only provides an income but also instills a sense of pride. In Balak Ram Purwa, a village in Uttar Pradesh, Shobha Verma, a 47-year-old Swabhimaan entrepreneur, has a grocery store, where she sells Nestlé products, such as KitKat Munch, Nescafe, Maggi Masala-ae-Magic and EveryDay worth Rs12,000-Rs15,000 a month. Earlier, Verma was a stay-at-home mother helping her husband, a sugarcane farmer. Project Swabhimaan, in her case, has been a catalyst of change.
I have always believed that in times like these, being boringly consistent trumps erratic brilliance, because an organisation develops and thrives not by yo-yos of growth, and yo-yos of activities, but by creating a robust foundation, by building strong bonds of trust, by nurturing its people, by enhancing brands—and all these are a prequel to staying anchored in the storm, just like the spirit of an eagle who soars above raging storms and remains unbowed by challenges.
Narayanan is chairman & managing director, Nestle India