Cocoa has become the chocolate industry’s scarcest certainty. Prices have come off their December 2024 peak, but the crop underneath them remains fragile, concentrated and slow to rebuild. Manufacturers have drawn the conclusion that matters; rather than wait for cocoa to become cheap and plentiful again, they are learning to make chocolate that needs less of it. Recipes are being re-balanced, cocoa butter and cocoa solids are being partly replaced, and some of the world’s largest brands are now funding research into chocolate-like products made with little or no cocoa at all, across both mass and premium ranges.

For India, a roughly `40,000 crore chocolate and confectionery market that imports most of its cocoa, this shift will shape what goes into the `5 bar, how premium chocolate justifies its price, and how chocolate competes with the rest of the confectionery shelf.

A Crop Under Strain

For much of the 2010s, cocoa prices remained broadly within a US$2,500-3,000 per tonne range. That relative stability began to unravel as production weakened across the world’s principal cocoa-growing regions. Global cocoa production was close to 5.0 million tonnes in the 2022/23 season. It fell to approximately 4.4 million tonnes in 2023/24, a decline of  ~12% in a single season as adverse weather, crop disease, ageing trees and longstanding underinvestment affected production across key West African origins. The significance of that decline was amplified by concentration. Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, the world’s two largest cocoa-producing countries, together accounted for approximately 49% of global production in 2024/25.

This concentration means that weather, disease or structural production challenges across a relatively small part of West Africa can materially alter the global cocoa balance. The 2023/24 season demonstrated precisely that. Global production declined sharply, the market moved into a sizeable deficit and inventories tightened. Prices reflected that vulnerability: from around US $3000 per tonne on average in 2023, cocoa climbed to approximately US $12,900 per tonne at its December 2024 peak.

Production has since recovered partially, reaching around 4.7-4.8 million tonnes in 2024/25, while exceptionally high cocoa prices also moderated processing demand. By September 2026, cocoa prices had fallen to approximately US$5,600 per tonne, more than 50% below their peak.

Yet this is not quite a return to the pre-crisis environment.

Cocoa remains substantially more expensive than before the disruption, while the underlying geographic concentration of production has not materially changed. More importantly, the industry has experienced how rapidly an agricultural supply shock can move through inventories, procurement costs, manufacturing margins and eventually consumer prices.

Against this backdrop, three shifts are becoming visible across sourcing, product architecture and ingredient innovation.

Cocoa Sourcing is Becoming More Diversified

The first visible response has been a widening of the cocoa sourcing base.

For decades, the economics of cocoa naturally favoured established producing regions. Scale, processing infrastructure, farmer networks and established trading systems reinforced West Africa’s position at the centre of global supply. Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana alone accounted for approximately 49% of global cocoa production in 2024/25, making the industry particularly exposed to production disruptions across these two origins. The 2023/24 shock brought the vulnerability on the other side of that concentration into sharper focus.

Large manufacturers are already expanding sourcing relationships beyond their traditional supply base. Nestlé, for example, has increased cocoa procurement from Brazil while working with local farmers on practices aimed at improving productivity and strengthening supply resilience. Latin American producing markets are also gaining relevance within the broader supply mix, with Ecuador expanding production and Brazil seeking to rebuild its position as a larger cocoa producer.

The shift does not represent an exit from West Africa. Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana retain production scale, farmer networks and cocoa infrastructure that cannot be replicated quickly elsewhere. Rather, established West African supply is increasingly being complemented by additional origins, deeper farmer relationships and upstream productivity programmes.

The change is subtle but strategically important. The objective of sourcing is increasingly not simply to secure cocoa efficiently, but to secure it reliably, giving greater weight to diversified origins, longer-term farmer relationships, productivity programmes and investment further upstream in the agricultural value chain.

The Quiet Reformulation: Less Cocoa in Every Bite

The second shift is visible in the product itself.

The conventional response to commodity inflation follows a familiar sequence: absorb part of the increase, improve productivity, raise prices and, where necessary, adjust grammage. Cocoa’s recent price movement has brought another variable into play: the amount of cocoa-intensive chocolate contained within the product itself.

Manufacturers are addressing this through both formulation and format. In the UK, Nestlé and Pladis have changed formulations across selected products, with reductions in cocoa butter content also affecting how certain products can be described under local chocolate-labelling requirements.

Portfolio development is moving in parallel. Filled bars, coated wafers, bites, chocolate-covered nuts and products combining chocolate with caramel, biscuit, nougat, fruit and other centres allow manufacturers to deliver a chocolate-led proposition without relying on the same cocoa intensity as a solid tablet.

The economics differ meaningfully by format. A plain chocolate tablet remains inherently more exposed to cocoa costs, while a filled or coated product distributes ingredient cost across chocolate and non-chocolate components. Format and formulation are therefore increasingly working alongside price and grammage as mechanisms through which manufacturers manage cocoa exposure.

At the premium end, however, the relationship is different. High-cacao, single-origin and craft products deliberately retain cocoa intensity because cacao quality and provenance form part of the proposition itself. Here, the consumer is paying not simply for indulgence but also for origin, processing, flavour characteristics and craftsmanship.

The emerging portfolio response is therefore not a uniform reduction in cocoa. Instead, cocoa is playing a more differentiated role across the portfolio, lower intensity where indulgence can be delivered through fillings, texture and format, and greater emphasis on cocoa itself where quality and provenance support premium positioning.

From Cost-Cutting to R&D: The Alternative Chocolate Pipeline

The third response sits further out on the innovation curve.

Cocoa-butter equivalents (CBEs) and compound coatings are not new. Specialty fats from shea, sal, illipe and mango kernel have long been used where regulations allow. What is new is the scale and ambition of investment in ingredients that recreate the chocolate experience with far less cocoa butter and cocoa solids, or none at all. That work is increasingly being led by the largest brands and processors, not by start-ups at the edge of the category.

Three broad technology routes are now visible:

• Cocoa-free chocolate from other crops. Planet A Foods’ ChoViva, made by fermenting and roasting ingredients such as sunflower seeds and oats, is the most commercially advanced. Barry Callebaut signed a long-term partnership in 2025 to scale it globally; Mars used it in a Balisto product in early 2026; and Nestlé launched it in Choco Crossies Snack Vibes in March 2026, describing it as a way to future-proof confectionery portfolios against supply disruption. Cargill’s NextCoa, based on roasted grape and sunflower seeds, is working in the same space.
  
• Cocoa butter alternatives. Suppliers such as Bunge, with its shea-based Coberine range, are improving fats that behave like cocoa butter in melt, snap and gloss, which allows manufacturers to reduce the most expensive fraction of the cocoa bean.
  
• Cell-cultured cocoa. Mondelēz-backed Celleste Bio showed milk chocolate prototypes made with cultivated cocoa butter in April 2026. Lindt & Sprüngli invested in Food Brewer, which grows cocoa cells in bioreactors, and Barry Callebaut is researching cell-cultured cocoa with the Zurich University of Applied Sciences.

Before the recent cocoa shock, investment in alternatives was driven largely by sustainability considerations, including land use, climate exposure and agricultural impact. The commodity crisis has added a further rationale: supply-chain optionality. Alternative fats, cocoa extenders, cocoa-free ingredients and new production technologies are increasingly being explored not only for their sustainability potential, but also for the flexibility they can provide against volatility in the cost and availability of conventional cocoa.

India: Growth Across Two Different Chocolate Economies

The global cocoa shock reaches India from a different starting point. While the country has a large and growing chocolate market, its domestic cocoa base remains relatively small. Cocoa production has increased from around 19,000 tonnes in 2017 to an estimated 28,000-30,000 tonnes in 2024, concentrated largely in southern India. Even at this level, domestic production meets less than a fifth of India’s cocoa requirement and accounts for less than 1% of global output. Indian chocolate manufacturers therefore remain closely exposed to movements in international cocoa supply and prices.

That exposure is becoming more significant as chocolate itself takes a larger role within India’s confectionery market. The combined chocolate and confectionery market has grown from approximately `29,000 crore in FY 2020 to an estimated `40,000 crore in FY 2026 and is projected to reach approximately `56,000 crore by FY 2031, growing at CAGR of 7% for the next five-year period. Chocolate accounted for ~ 61% of the market by value and balance accounted by the confectionary segment.

But underneath that growth are two very different chocolate economies, and cocoa inflation affects each differently.

At the mass end, affordability remains embedded in the category architecture. Across Indian packaged foods, `5 and `10 packs together account for more than half of volumes, while the `20 price point has been gaining importance. Chocolate operates within the same low-unit-price environment, where familiar absolute price points play an important role in driving trial, frequency and reach. Large manufacturers have therefore continued to protect key entry price points even through periods of elevated input costs, using a combination of grammage, pack architecture, pricing and operating efficiencies to manage the economics behind them.

This makes cocoa inflation particularly consequential at the mass end. Moving a `100 product to `110 represents a 10% increase; moving a `5 product to `6 represents a 20% increase and, more importantly, breaks an established consumer price point. The ability to pass commodity inflation directly to the consumer is therefore constrained precisely where volumes and distribution are widest.

At the premium end, the economics work differently. Cocoa can become part of what creates the premium rather than simply an input whose cost needs to be managed. Fabelle has built its proposition around luxury chocolate, gifting and differentiated formats, while Manam has made Indian cacao provenance, farmer relationships and farm-to-bar production central to its proposition. Cadbury Studio Creations represents another expression of the same premiumisation through differentiated flavours, formats and gifting.

The route to market is also beginning to diverge. Digital channels have become increasingly relevant for premium chocolate, where higher realisations and lower volumes can support a different distribution model and help address some of the challenges associated with physical reach and temperature-controlled handling. Mass confectionery, by contrast, continues to derive its scale predominantly through general trade and broad physical availability.

This distinction also changes the competitive boundary of chocolate. At low price points, chocolate competes not only with other chocolate brands but with a wider basket of affordable indulgence. Hard-boiled candy, toffees and other sugar confectionery participate in many of the same impulse occasions without carrying the same direct exposure to cocoa. As chocolate prices increased, this difference became more visible, with consumers in parts of the market shifting towards smaller packs and lower-priced confectionery alternatives. Premiumisation therefore does not always require a materially higher ticket; it can also take the form of greater product sophistication within an existing affordability threshold.

Beyond the Price Cycle

Taken together, these shifts suggest that the impact of the cocoa shock will outlast the price spike that triggered it. Globally, manufacturers are becoming more deliberate about where they source cocoa, how much of it different products require and where alternatives can provide greater flexibility. In India, the same pressure is playing out against a market where affordability remains critical at one end even as cacao quality and provenance create value at the other. As the market continues to grow, the challenge is therefore no longer simply managing the price of cocoa but determining where cocoa is central to the consumer proposition and where product architecture can reduce dependence on it. Cocoa prices may continue to move through cycles; the industry’s approach to its most important ingredient has already begun to change. 

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I watched traditional supply chains fracture under a shifting climate. Broad-spectrum chemical rescue packages failed to stop resistant pathogens. Maximum residue limit (MRL) rejections at European and North American ports multiplied into millions of dollars in losses. For retail buyers and kitchen tables alike, spice shelves suffered from erratic out-of-stocks and wild price swings.

We realised a hard truth: we had to stop guessing. We had to treat flavour chemistry as data.

Over the past decade, that realisation sparked a quiet, structural agricultural revolution across India, Vietnam, and East Africa. We stopped viewing organic spice cultivation as a low-yield compromise and engineered it into a high-science discipline. Today, the ancient art of the masala stands fortified by a closed-loop, cyber-physical ecosystem.

The Decade in Review: Climate Shocks and Agronomic Realities (2016–2026)

Abiotic stress no longer acts as an isolated seasonal anomaly; it defines our baseline growing environment.

• Temperature & Spike Shedding: Rising ambient thresholds triggered physiological shock, causing severe spike shedding in black pepper and flower abortion in small cardamom during dry pre-monsoon windows.
• Humidity-Driven Disease Dynamics: Extended high-humidity spells and unseasonal downpours supercharged powdery mildew and aphid colonisation in seed spices (cumin, coriander, fenugreek).
• Thermal Range Shifts: Warming microclimates pushed fungal pathogens and boring insects into higher-altitude or traditionally temperate plantation zones, driving up crop protection losses.
• Resilience Engineering: Growers abandoned reactive defence for landscape-level mitigation—redesigning shade-tree canopies in pepper estates, adopting organic mulching, and introducing drought-tolerant ideotypes through molecular breeding.

Growth Dynamics: Moving Beyond Raw Bulk Exports

Global demand decoupled from traditional culinary volumes over the last ten years, pivoting rapidly toward functional wellness, clean-label preservation, and verifiable provenance.

• Value-Added Diversification: Producing regions transitioned from raw shipping containers to steam-sterilised, cryo-ground, oleoresin, and standardised extract segments, capturing higher farm-gate margins.
• The Health & Immunity Dividend: Post-pandemic consumer behaviour cemented anti-inflammatory and antioxidant-rich botanicals—curcuminoids in turmeric and high-piperine black pepper—as core nutraceutical ingredients.
• Compliance-at-Source: Stringent MRL enforcement in importing economies made pre-shipment chemical purity a non-negotiable prerequisite for market access.

The Organic Frontier: Purity Meets Precision

The historic trade-off between chemical-free organic farming and commercial yield stability has officially closed.

• Closed-Nutrient & Microbial Systems: Replacing synthetic nitrogen with customised, site-specific consortia of Trichoderma, Pseudomonas, and mycorrhizal bio-fertilisers stabilised baseline yields in intensive turmeric and ginger.
• The Drift-Zero Challenge: Strict zero-synthetic thresholds left no room for chemical drift from neighbouring farms. Geospatial buffer mapping and community-cluster organic conversions now safeguard export status.
• AI Optical Sorting: Hyperspectral sorting lines at origin processing gates detect internal mould, aflatoxins, and foreign organic matter in milliseconds, clearing strict organic protocols without chemical intervention.
• Regenerative Intercropping: Integrating cover crops and nitrogen-fixing shade trees (Erythrina and silver oak) suppresses weeds while locking in root-zone moisture during severe heatwaves.

Cyber-Physical IPM: From Sticky Traps to Drone Fleets

Modern Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in spice cultivation replaces blanket chemical spraying with closed-loop, cyber-physical precision. Multispectral drone imagery and IoT sensors predict pest and fungal outbreaks early with 90% machine learning accuracy, while mobile AI vision models diagnose leaf and stem anomalies instantly. Variable-rate aerial micro-spraying reduces synthetic and bio-pesticide volume by up to 30%. Biological and cultural controls—such as semiochemical disruption and conserved natural enemy corridors—sustainably suppress infestations below economic damage thresholds. Backed by public programs like India’s One PACS One Drone initiative, farmer cooperatives achieve strict residue-zero export compliance for black pepper, cardamom, and cumin.

The Retail Advantage: Inventory Insurance on the Shelf

For grocery category managers and private-label buyers, farm-level intelligence translates directly into store-level velocity.

• Predictive Yield Modelling: Telemetry-driven harvest forecasts 3 to 6 months in advance replace spot-market gambling with reliable volume commitments.
• Cryo-Milling Potency: Grinding at sub-zero temperatures locks in volatile essential oils, doubling aroma and colour retention on retail racks and cutting markdown losses.
• Blockchain MRL Passports: Scannable QR codes link jars back to specific FPO blocks with immutable safety audits, eliminating border holds and recall risks.

The 5-Year Outlook (2026–2031): What’s Next?

1. Generative Agronomy Assistants: Localised, voice-enabled vernacular AI agents will deliver daily hyper-local advisories (spray windows, nutrient tweaks) straight to smallholder feature phones.
2. Genomic & Gene-Edited Resilience: CRISPR-derived fungal-resistant black pepper and heat-tolerant small cardamom will graduate from trials into commercial soil.
3. Autonomous In-Field Robotics: Ground-crawling solar rovers equipped with laser weeders and micro-dose bio-pesticide jets will complement aerial drone fleets.
4. Carbon-Indexed Dual Credits: Remote-sensing soil organic carbon (SOC) audits will let growers stack regenerative carbon credits alongside organic price premiums.
5. ERP-to-IoT Inventory Sync: Retail warehouse software will ingest live farm telemetry to automate replenishment triggers ahead of regional weather shifts.

A jar of cumin or turmeric on a supermarket shelf is no longer a passive grocery commodity. It is a verified ledger of climate adaptation and digital precision. When we back the smallholder and the soil with the right technology, the ancient art of the masala becomes an unshakeable modern science.

The spice shelf of tomorrow is written in data, rooted in regenerative soil, and verified by blockchain. Over the past decade, we proved that protecting our most sensitive botanicals does not mean choosing between purity and yield. By uniting cyber-physical IPM with localised microbial systems and cryo-milling, we insulated smallholders from climate chaos and delivered zero-defect transparency to global markets. As generative AI assistants and gene-edited resilience enter commercial fields by 2031, every spice jar becomes a testament to human ingenuity. When we treat flavour chemistry with scientific rigour, the ancient art of the masala endures.

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PackSwitch is designed to bridge that gap by providing restaurants with an accessible informational resource to speed up adoption of sustainable food delivery packaging.

It provides:

• Practical information on sustainable packaging materials
• Packaging recommendations tailored to different food categories
• Information regarding a network of 100+ verified suppliers across India

Speaking at the launch, Prashanth Prakash, Founding Partner, Accel India, noted, “The responsibility of protecting our cities from plastic pollution rests with every one of us. Sustainable food delivery packaging adoption by restaurants often stalls at good intentions because knowledge, awareness and products are not aligned. With Zomato’s PackSwitch initiative, restaurants now have a tool that simplifies decision-making around sustainable packaging. I hope to see more restaurants use PackSwitch to transition away from plastic packaging paving the way for greener cities.”

Anjalli Ravi Kumar, Chief Sustainability Officer, Eternal Limited, shared, “Sustainability is embedded in how we do business across Eternal companies. Over the last two years, we’ve invested in building consumer awareness through Zomato’s Plastic-Free Future program, which awards restaurants a ‘low plastic packaging tag’ on the app to recognise them for moving away from plastic to pack main dishes. PackSwitch focuses on building restaurant awareness through dish-led sustainable packaging information. Now the question – what sustainable material can I pack biriyani in? becomes a much easier one for restaurants to answer and find solutions for.”

To mark the launch, Zomato brought together restaurant partners, packaging manufacturers, sustainability practitioners and investors for an immersive exhibition on the future of food delivery packaging. Curated by Shashwat Das and Jyoti Shrestha, the centrepiece exhibit set out eight sustainable materials and a range of coatings used in the category. Through exhibits and expert-led discussions, attendees explored how these materials perform in delivery operations, their commercial feasibility, and their environmental trade-offs.

As part of the supplier directory made available on PackSwitch, restaurants and other interested users may also explore the sustainable packaging solutions provided by Hyperpure, Eternal’s B2B supply platform serving 100,000+ restaurant outlets across India.

Restaurants already using lower-plastic packaging can be identified through the ‘low plastic packaging’ tag on the Zomato app and discovered using the filter of the same name, making it easier for customers to support businesses adopting more sustainable packaging practices.

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The report is based on insights from more than 6,000 respondents across metro, Tier I, Tier II and Tier III cities through online and offline surveys. It highlights that nutrition is no longer seen as a compromise for taste, with consumers increasingly evaluating snacks through their nutritional value.

According to the report, younger consumers aged 16-35 years are more likely to snack to satisfy cravings, while those above 35 years primarily snack for an energy boost. Across age groups, tea time remains the country’s most preferred snacking occasion, followed by mid-morning snacking.

Commenting on the report, Shail Pancholi, Country Director, India, Wonderful Pistachios, said,  “India’s snacking habits are evolving rapidly, with consumers looking for foods that deliver both taste and nutrition. The growing focus on protein, clean ingredients and mindful eating presents a significant opportunity for pistachios to become a more integral part of everyday snacking. High in  plant protein, California Pistachios are well positioned to meet these evolving consumer  preferences while making better snacking more accessible.”

The report notes that California Pistachios, which provide 6 grams of protein per 28-gram serving, are well positioned to meet the growing demand for high-protein snacks.

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“India’s food sector is undergoing a structural transformation, driven by rising incomes, rapid urbanisation and expanding digital access. These forces are creating a more informed and discerning consumer, whose preferences are increasingly centred on quality, convenience, health and experience. This shift is giving rise to a value-led, consumer-focused food economy and is projected to create a nearly US$600 billion opportunity in processed food by 2030. As consumption patterns become more diverse, with premiumisation unfolding alongside value-conscious spending, demand is increasingly moving towards differentiated, health-focused and convenience-led offerings. Categories such as nutrition and functional foods are already growing at twice the rate of the broader food market, underscoring the increasing importance of value-added products and consumer-centric innovation. 

At the same time, usage of AI and analytics across the value chain, from demand planning, predictions and forecasting to manufacturing and marketing, is providing a new edge to food processing and consumption, while e-commerce and quick commerce are emerging as important channels for innovation, discovery and premiumisation. Together, these shifts are creating a more dynamic, technology-enabled and innovation-led food ecosystem,” said Anand Ramanathan, Partner and Consumer Industry Leader, Deloitte South Asia. 

“India’s food processing sector is at an important inflexion point. Rising consumer aspirations, expanding digital adoption and increasing investments in value addition are reshaping the industry’s growth trajectory. The next phase of growth will depend on the sector’s ability to strengthen processing capabilities, accelerate innovation, enhance operational efficiency and build globally competitive value chains. Through this joint report, FICCI and Deloitte India aim to provide industry and policymakers with actionable insights to help unlock the immense opportunities ahead and reinforce India’s position as a leading food processing and export hub,” said Jyoti Vij, Director General, FICCI. 

Beyond growth opportunities, the report emphasises the need for greater resilience, competitiveness and execution excellence across the food ecosystem. It highlights the importance of technology-enabled decision-making, stronger export capabilities, supply chain resilience and regulatory ease in supporting sustainable, long-term value creation across the sector.

The report identifies several structural trends shaping the future of India’s food processing industry:

• Digital, health and convenience drive consumption: Indian consumers are spending more while aspiring to consume better, creating a shift towards split-basket purchasing that blends affordability with premiumisation. Powered by digital discovery and rising health awareness, consumers are increasingly seeking convenient, nutrition-led products, helping nutrition and functional categories grow two times faster than the food market, while reinforcing the need for greater clarity and consistency on permissible health, nutrition and functional claims.
• Quick commerce: The urban game-changer: Online channels are expected to account for 25–30% of food retail in top metros by 2030, with quick commerce emerging as a key driver of premiumisation and product discovery. While Traditional Trade will remain dominant nationally and Modern Trade will continue to serve as an experience-led channel, manufacturers will need increasingly differentiated channel strategies, portfolios and pack formats to win across an evolving retail landscape.
• Digital–first innovation gains momentum: Up to 70% of new food launches are now digital-first, with 60–70% of new products launched on quick commerce and e-commerce before entering General Trade or Modern Trade. As companies seek to remain relevant, innovation is increasingly focused on reformulating and renovating existing products while maintaining taste and quality. E-commerce and quick commerce are becoming key channels for innovation and premiumisation, underscoring the need for faster evaluation of novel ingredients and formulations.
• Accelerating value-added food exports: Despite US$50 billion+ in food exports, processed foods contribute only ~20% of India’s exports, indicating an opportunity to accelerate value-added processing. Growth can be supported by scaling diaspora-led demand, taking Indian-origin foods global, and using India’s production strengths to manufacture for global markets. Processed food exports have grown 10% year-on-year, with categories such as processed fruits and vegetables, cereal preparations and dairy and poultry products showing strength.
• Technology becomes a core growth enabler: AI and analytics are increasingly being embedded across the value chain from demand planning and manufacturing to marketing, supporting faster and more consistent decision-making. AI is helping compress the innovation cycle, enable hyper-personalised consumer engagement and improve manufacturing consistency and throughput. As adoption accelerates, technology is becoming an important layer across both back-end and front-end operations, enabling scale, relevance and efficiency. Nearly 84% of Indian CEOs are increasing AI investments, while technology is reducing time-to-insight in the trend-to-concept phase by approximately 30–60%. Continued support for AI, IoT and automation adoption through programmes such as Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PM-FME) could further accelerate technology uptake across the sector
• Regulatory excellence as a competitive advantage: Recent reforms have improved regulatory efficiency, reduced administrative burden and enhanced business predictability. Continued regulatory simplification, harmonisation and implementation clarity can further reduce compliance uncertainty and support innovation-led growth.

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For the quarter ended June 13, 2026, PepsiCo reported healthy organic volume and net revenue growth across its global beverages and convenient foods businesses, supported by strong consumer demand in several international markets, including India.

PepsiCo’s International Beverage Franchise (IBF), which contributes more than 60% of the company’s global beverage volumes, recorded 5% organic volume growth during the quarter. Its international convenient foods business, which accounts for nearly 70% of global convenient foods volumes, also posted 4% organic volume growth, driven by steady demand across key markets.

The company said India continued to be one of the major contributors to this growth, with both its beverage and snack businesses performing well during the quarter. “IB franchise unit volume grew 5%, primarily reflecting broad-based increases, led by India, partially offset by a decline in Mexico,” PepsiCo said.

The International Beverage Franchise business, which includes PepsiCo’s international franchise beverage operations and the SodaStream business, reported an 11% increase in net revenue during the 12-week quarter and 10% growth for the first 24 weeks of the year.

For the second quarter ended June 13, 2026, PepsiCo reported net revenue of $24.18 billion, up 6.4% year-on-year, while operating profit stood at $4.02 billion. India also remained an important growth market for PepsiCo’s convenient foods business. The company’s Asia Pacific Foods segment, which includes India, China, Australia and New Zealand, reported a 12% increase in net revenue during the quarter.

PepsiCo said it either maintained or increased its market share in the savoury snacks category across several countries, including India, China, Brazil, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Australia, the Netherlands, Thailand, France and Pakistan. “For beverages, we held or gained share in the UK, Philippines, Germany, Argentina, Australia, Spain, India, Thailand, Guatemala, Pakistan, Egypt, and Vietnam,” the company said.

The company is also refreshing its snack portfolio globally, with India among the key markets for product and marketing upgrades. PepsiCo said it is updating the Lay’s brand with new packaging, fresh marketing campaigns and messaging focused on simple, high-quality ingredients and the absence of artificial flavours and colours.

In India, the company is also giving Kurkure a new visual identity while highlighting its “no artificial flavours or colours” proposition.

Earlier this month, PepsiCo India announced plans to invest Rs 5,700 crore between 2025 and 2030 to expand its manufacturing operations in the country. The investment includes new food manufacturing plants in Assam and Tamil Nadu, along with the recently commissioned Rs 1,266 crore flavour manufacturing facility in Ujjain, aimed at strengthening its production and supply chain network.

“Net revenue increased 6.4% due to 2.4% organic revenue growth, a 2.2% point benefit from foreign exchange translation and a 1.8% point net benefit from acquisitions and divestitures,” the company said. Looking ahead, PepsiCo said it continues to expect organic revenue growth of between 2% and 4% in 2026.

“Year-to-date, PepsiCo’s global organic volume has increased at the highest rate since 2022, aided by the strength of the international business and the continued evolution of the portfolio to offer more choices,” said Chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta.

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Dadu Salgar’s story is not just about building a tea brand — it’s about never giving up, learning from every failure, and turning pain into purpose.

He was born in a small drought-affected village in Maharashtra. Water scarcity and poverty were a part of everyday life. When drought conditions worsened, his parents had no choice but to move to Konkan (Maharashtra) in search of work. There, they worked in stone quarries to survive — breaking stones under the hot sun, just to earn enough to eat. Dadu spent his entire childhood in this tough environment, growing up with very little, but dreaming of a better life.

Due to family conditions, he had to leave his studies at an early age. But he always believed one thing: “No matter how big the struggle is, you can win if you dare to dream big.” He started his first business by buying a tractor on loan, planning to rent it out to farmers. But the business failed badly. Still determined, he tried farming — he planted grapes and started modern vegetable farming. Even there, he was hit by bad luck — changing climates, poor rainfall, and volatile market prices. Every crop brought a loss. Then he tried goat farming, starting with 100 goats. Unfortunately, this too failed due to diseases and mismanagement.

In just 2–3 years, he faced failure in almost every attempt. But instead of giving up, he chose to learn from each one. With nothing working in the village, he moved to Pune in search of a job. He struggled for over a month, walking from place to place with his resume. Finally, he got a job as a security guard at G4S Company. Even with this small job, his eyes were always looking for a new opportunity.

That’s when he got the idea of starting a mosambi juice cart. He moved to Kolhapur and began selling juice on a roadside cart. The response was decent. A year later, he started a sugarcane juice stall — Raswanti Gruh — and that turned out to be his first real success. This juice business brought him some income and stability. But like every entrepreneur, he was curious to try more. He entered the share market, hoping to grow his money quickly — but again, he suffered huge losses.

That failure reminded him that shortcuts don’t work. So he returned to his juice business with more focus. Slowly, he expanded it to 7+ outlets across Kolhapur.

Still, he didn’t stop. During the monsoon, to manage off-seasons, he started selling boiled sweet corn — and that clicked! He even sold wooden toys, nursery plants, and anything that could support his dream. He believed that no work is small when the vision is big.

He also began visiting exhibitions, talking to successful business people, and learning about poultry, greenhouse farming, goat farming, and more. But deep down, he wanted a business that could work year-round, reach more people, and grow into something big.

That’s when he thought about tea — India’s most loved drink. Tea was not seasonal. It was affordable, loved by all ages, and part of everyone’s daily routine. But he didn’t want to sell just any tea — he wanted to offer something special. He began researching tea recipes. He spent five months experimenting with ingredients and flavours until he created a tea that truly stood out. He kept testing, changing, improving— until he finally found the perfect blend.

That’s when he launched his dream — Salgar Amruttulya Tea — starting with his own five outlets. The response was beyond his expectations. People loved the taste, the quality, the hygiene, and the warm service. Slowly, people began requesting franchises, and that’s how the brand began to grow.

Today, Salgar Amruttulya Tea has over 500+ outlets across India — and the number continues to grow every month. Dadu Salgar says, “People see me driving a Ford Endeavour today, but very few know the 18 years of struggle it took to get here. When someone calls me ‘Sir’, I think of that small boy from the village who just wanted to make his family proud.”

His life truly reflects the famous dialogue from the movie 3 Idiots — “Success ke peeche mat bhaago. Kabil bano, kamyabi toh jhak maarke peeche aayegi.” (Don’t chase success. Become capable, and success will come running after you.)

Salgar Amruttulya Tea: A Brand Made from Hard Work and Heart 

Salgar Amruttulya Tea, the Maharashtra-based tea franchise brand founded by Dadu Salgar in 2018 is known for its rich, creamy, strong, and aromatic flavour profile. What began as a single tea outlet has evolved into a rapidly expanding franchise network operating through more than 500 outlets across India.  Beyond its signature chai, Salgar offers a complementary portfolio of coffees, milk beverages, cold drinks, and tea-time snacks, making its outlets convenient gathering spaces for students, office-goers, travellers, and families. Operated through Salgar Foods Pvt. Ltd., headquartered in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, the company supports franchise partners through training, tea-making processes, branding, and centralised sourcing of key ingredients and raw materials.

Brand Positioning

Brand’s core proposition revolves around:
a) Authentic Amruttulya tea
b) Affordable pricing
c) Standardised taste across outlets 
d) Franchise-driven scalability
e) Strong focus on hygiene and consistency

The brand’s vision is to become a preferred tea destination in every neighbourhood while preserving the traditional art of tea-making and adapting it to modern consumer preferences.

What Differentiates Salgar?

What sets Salgar Amruttulya Tea apart is its ability to blend tradition with a scalable and standardised business model. At the heart of the brand is its signature Amruttulya tea recipe, prepared through a consistent process that ensures the same rich taste and quality across all outlets. Deeply rooted in Maharashtra’s tea culture, Salgar has successfully transformed a beloved regional beverage into a nationally scalable retail concept. Its compact outlet format enables efficient expansion, while centralised training, operational support, and franchise assistance help maintain uniform standards across the network. Beyond its core tea offerings, the brand has diversified into coffee, milk-based beverages, cold refreshments, and snacks, enhancing customer choice and increasing consumption occasions. Positioned as a community-oriented neighbourhood tea destination, Salgar outlets serve as welcoming spaces where people can connect, relax, and enjoy a familiar, high-quality beverage experience.

Going Forward

Today, Salgar Amruttulya Tea stands as a symbol of trust, quality, hygiene, and customer satisfaction, having grown from a modest roadside venture into one of India’s fastest-growing tea franchise brands. The remarkable journey of its founder, Dadu Salgar, is a testament to the power of perseverance, resilience, and an unwavering belief in one’s dreams. From enduring drought, poverty, and repeated business failures to building a thriving network of over 500 outlets, his story inspires aspiring entrepreneurs to view challenges as opportunities for growth. As Salgar prepares to expand into international markets, the brand’s success reinforces a timeless truth: with determination, continuous learning, and hard work, even the most ambitious dreams can become reality. 

The post From Drought to Dreams: How Dadu Salgar Brewed a 500-Outlet Tea Empire appeared first on Business of Food.

The ideal example is Bollywood Star Katrina Kaif, who was recently re-signed as Brand Ambassador for Bonn Group. It is a relationship the brand has chosen to renew rather than replace. The star’s widespread appeal transcends age groups, regions and audiences, making her equally effective on television, digital platforms, retail communication and e-commerce. Bonn has leveraged that influence through integrated campaigns spanning digital platforms, traditional advertising, and on-ground activations, ensuring the brand remains visible and relevant to consumers across the country. At its core, the strategy is about credibility – pairing familiar, trusted personalities with products that meet consumer expectations and keeping that connection front and centre across every platform.

While Katrina Kaif has played a pivotal role in strengthening Bonn’s national appeal, the brand has expanded its celebrity portfolio to connect with diverse audiences across regions and demographics. Brand ambassadors like Karisma Kapoor and Sonam Bajwa have helped Bonn maintain a consistent presence across packaging, digital platforms, and region-specific campaigns, ensuring the brand resonates with consumers in multiple markets.

The strategy extends beyond individual endorsements. Bonn has also leveraged popular entertainment properties to deepen regional engagement. The Punjabi blockbuster Carry On Jatta became a natural platform for promoting Americana’s Flick biscuit range, with the film’s lead stars, Gippy Grewal and Sargun Mehta, fronting the campaign. By aligning with a franchise that enjoys strong regional loyalty, Bonn strengthened its connection with Punjabi audiences while reinforcing the relevance of its product portfolio.

Celebrity endorsements can spark interest, but lasting impact depends on the products behind them. Bonn has consistently ensured that its marketing campaigns are supported by meaningful product innovation, giving consumers compelling reasons to engage with the brand. Americana has continued to expand its biscuit portfolio with launches that cater to evolving tastes. TOP Biscuits entered the market with the tagline “Taste Mein Top, Crispy Non-Stop” while the Flick range welcomed a new Mango Flavoured Creme variant alongside its popular Strawberry, Coconut, and Vanilla offerings. These launches have given the brand fresh stories to tell while keeping its portfolio relevant and exciting.

How AI Expanded Bonn’s Digital Reach

In the bread category, Bonn introduced what it describes as India’s first Desi Twist Breads, bringing familiar Indian flavours to an everyday staple. Varieties such as Lehsuni Tadka, Digestive Ajwaini Jeera, and Missi transformed a simple loaf into a product rooted in regional tastes and preferences, giving the brand a distinctive proposition in an otherwise crowded market.

The launch campaign reflected the same spirit of innovation. AI-generated videos designed for high engagement across digital platforms came into play before extending to large-format hoardings at prominent locations across Delhi NCR. By combining social media momentum with strong outdoor visibility, Bonn created a seamless campaign that connected with consumers both online and offline, ensuring the new range remained front and centre wherever they encountered the brand.

Technology is where Bonn’s celebrity-led marketing gains even greater momentum. By combining AI-generated video campaigns with high-profile endorsements featuring Katrina Kaif and AI-powered product launch films, the brand has amassed more than 500 million views across digital platforms.

The strength of Bonn’s integrated marketing strategy, where trusted celebrity ambassadors, compelling product innovation, AI-driven content, and omnichannel distribution work in tandem creates better numbers. From social media feeds to prominent hoardings across Delhi NCR, every touchpoint reinforces the same brand story, creating a level of visibility, recall, and consumer engagement that no single medium could achieve on its own.

Taken together, Bonn’s celebrity partnerships, product innovations, and technology-led campaigns reflect a long-term commitment to building brand equity rather than chasing short-term visibility. Every endorsement is backed by a product story, every launch is amplified through integrated marketing, and every campaign is designed to strengthen consumer trust and recall.

As Bonn continues to expand across markets, this strategy is likely to remain at the heart of its growth journey—proving that while celebrities may capture attention, it is the combination of innovation, consistency, and meaningful consumer engagement that turns a familiar face into a lasting brand advantage.

Amrinder Singh, Director, Bonn Group expressed , “In today’s fast-moving consumer landscape, brands need to create relevance at every touchpoint. Our collaborations with celebrated personalities such as Karisma Kapoor, Sonam Bajwa and Katrina Kaif have helped Bonn go beyond advertising and build stronger emotional connections with consumers. When supported by quality products, extensive distribution and consistent visibility, celebrity endorsements become powerful catalysts for brand growth. At Bonn, we view these partnerships as strategic investments in long-term brand equity and consumer trust.”

Bonn is treating brand equity as something to invest in, not just advertise. The company plans to keep building on that approach as it pushes for growth across markets. Taken together, Bonn’s celebrity roster, new product launches, and digital-first campaigns underscore a clear strategy: investing in brand equity to drive long-term growth.

The post Star Power Elevates Bonn from Brand to Household Favourite appeared first on Business of Food.

For years, momos have largely been an individual indulgence—a quick snack grabbed on the go or a personal comfort meal. But today’s consumers, especially Gen Z and young millennials, are redefining the way they dine. Meals are increasingly becoming social occasions, centred around sharing, discovery, and getting more variety and value in every order. Recognising this shift, Wow! Momo has introduced its first-of-its-kind 4-in-1 Momo Box, transforming momos from a solo snack into a complete, shareable feast.

By combining multiple flavours in a single box at an accessible price point, the 4-in-1 Momo Box delivers more choice, more food, and a more engaging experience. Whether it’s a family dinner, an office lunch, a movie night, or a weekend celebration, the new box brings together four distinct momo flavours in one pack, making it easy for everyone around the table to enjoy their favourites.

The 4 in 1 Box brings together four momo variants, drawn from over 28 varieties including Darjeeling, Pahari Fresh, Chatpata Paneer, Corn Cheese, Hot Garlic Kurkure, Korean, Chicken Cheese Chili, and Chicken Masala Kurkure, across six distinct flavour profiles. It’s available for both dine-in and delivery. With four distinct flavours in one generously packed box, it transforms every meal into a shared experience where everyone gets to enjoy a little bit of everything.

Speaking on the launch, Muralikrishnan, Co-Founder & CMO, Wow! Momo Foods Pvt. Ltd. said, “Food today is as much about the occasion as the dish itself. People want more variety, more value, and more reasons to sit down and eat together. The first of its kind 4-in-1 Box answers that. Instead of choosing a single flavour, you get four to share, which gives friends and families one more reason to gather around the table over a full meal.”

Built around the campaign tagline, “Ab Har Yaar Banega Dildar,” the launch celebrates the joy of sharing and togetherness. The integrated campaign comes alive through engaging digital content, creator collaborations, moment marketing, in-store activation, and a digital film that resonates with Gen Z, young professionals, and families alike.

As Wow! Momo expands its presence across the country, the 4-in-1 Momo Box reflects the brand’s vision of turning everyday meals into shared experiences. It’s a simple yet meaningful innovation that celebrates variety, value, and togetherness—making every box an invitation to share more than just food.

The post Wow! Momo Introduces India’s First 4-in-1 Momo Box for the Ultimate Sharing Feast appeared first on Business of Food.