Snacks in India

Snacks in 2025: The big picture

Snacks in India is set to witness modest current value growth in 2025, primarily influenced by rising health and value sensibilities. Awareness campaigns against excessive sugar consumption have influenced eating habits, especially amongst urban youth, who are increasingly mindful about their indulgent snacking choices. With the continued focus on healthy lifestyles, snacking preferences are evolving, with perceived healthier offerings witnessing stronger growth. The desire among health-conscious consumers for more natural and less processed snacking has resulted in stronger demand for better-for-you products.

Key trends in 2025

The Indian snacks industry in 2025 is being shaped by the key themes of health and wellness, premiumisation, and mindful snacking. The positive trajectory is less about volume expansion and more about aligning portfolios with the consumers’ desire for wellness, indulgence, and making more conscious choices. Consumers in India are actively evaluating the nutritional labels of packaged foods, particularly in urban and semi-urban regions. As such, snacking is moving beyond impulse-led demand to more active purchase decisions with healthier perceptions being a crucial purchase driver. Brands across snack categories are bolstering their product portfolio with healthier claims to remain better aligned with evolving lifestyle patterns. Brands are using a number of tactics to cater to health-focused snacking demands. Key examples include biscuits fortified with protein and fibre, savoury snacks baked instead of fried, chocolates with higher cocoa and lower sugar, toffees fused with fruit-forward ingredients, and even ice creams with lower calories and natural claims.

Competitive Landscape

Parle Products Pvt Ltd remained the largest company within India’s snacks landscape in 2025, followed by Britannia Industries Ltd. Parle Products has a strong presence in major snack segments, such as biscuits and sugar confectionery, and continues to maintain steady sales growth with its legacy brands Parle G, Parle Hide & Seek, Parle 20-20, as well as Marie Choice and Magix Crème. Together, these brands cater to each segment of sweet biscuits and target a wide consumer base which helps to retain a strong position in India. Similarly, Britannia Industries Ltd is a major player in biscuits with prominent brands like Good Day, Little Hearts, Marie Gold, Bourbon, and Milk Bikis. Amid the slowdown in demand for sweet biscuits, both these companies leverage promotional campaigns to raise awareness and even align with rising health consciousness. For instance, in early 2025, Britannia launched its “Face the Facts” campaign promoting its healthier cookies line Nutrichoice. The campaign highlighted the updated brand packaging which aims to provide more transparent information without exaggerated health-related claims. Parle joined forces with India’s domestic cricket league, the Indian Premier League, for its 2025 campaign for Parle Marie, which is positioned as a relatively healthier biscuit offerings.

Channel developments

The distribution of snacks in India remains primarily through traditional small local grocers. Such retail stores, locally termed as kirana stores through their extensive presence, enjoy unmatched last-mile connectivity, reaching both urban and rural markets where affordability and impulse purchases drive the majority of snack purchases. Despite rapid digitalisation, small local grocers continue to have an edge beyond urban areas, where penetration of both modern grocery stores and quick commerce platforms is very limited. With rural households accounting for the majority of sales, prominent snack companies continue to maintain a strong foothold in these stores to serve demand. Nonetheless, these traditional retail formats continue to face intense competition from other rapidly growing channels in modern retail and e-commerce.

What next for snacks?

India’s snack industry is set to witness a strong performance over the forecast period, spurred by the needs of a large working population where urbanisation is transforming lifestyles. With the Indian economy expected to grow at a very strong pace, consumer spending on snacks is only expected to increase. The shift towards mindful snacking will support the premiumisation and healthification of snacks in the years ahead. At the same time, an increasing number of consumers will look to limit sugar consumption in the foods and drinks they purchase. Ingredient and portion control could influence volume consumption, especially for mass-market snack offerings. Furthermore, the country is also likely to face major challenges in the form of fluctuating raw material prices, especially for key imported ingredients.