As Q3 2024 came to a close, the FMCG industry across the Asia-Pacific continued to show promising progress. Value growth reached 3.4% – a clear improvement on last year’s Q3 increase of 2%. This is testament to the region’s ability to navigate shifting market conditions and evolving consumer needs.
Beverages remains the top-performing sector, delivering remarkable growth of 9%. Other sectors – including household care – are also making positive contributions to the overall positive picture.
North Asia leads the region’s growth
North Asia’s mature markets achieved a strong 3.3% rise in value, in contrast with a drop of 0.4% in Q3 of 2023. The steepest increase was seen in the beverages category (+10.9%).
Mainland China's FMCG market remains steady, with overall sales increasing by 1.8% across the first three quarters of 2024. The beverages and household cleaning categories maintained good momentum in Q3, while dairy and personal care faced serious growth challenges.
In Taiwan, both offline and online channels are performing well. Hypermarkets and supermarkets showed stable performance in Q3, with growth in spend of around 4%, while e-commerce continued to experience significant growth of 13%.
Frozen food and sauce/seasonings are driving expansion in South Korea’s food sector, owing to their affordability and convenience. Meanwhile, there was simultaneous growth in both frequency and basket size within the non-food categories in Q3.
South East Asia’s outlook remains optimistic
In Malaysia, expenditure grew in packaged groceries, beverages and toiletries, while the dairy and household sectors underperformed. Prices remained at a modest level, indicating that growth is being driven by real demand – not inflation.
Every shopping trip counts in Indonesia, where FMCG growth remains at around 6%. This is primarily due to larger trip sizes, with no rise in shopping frequency, highlighting an increased urgency for brands to optimise every shopping occasion.
As Thai consumers search for better value for money, shopping frequency and the number of retailers they visit remain high. National supermarkets and convenience stores grew their share in Q3, while online channels also gained momentum.
With inflation hitting a four-year low, Filipino shoppers are purchasing a broader range of categories. These include pantry staples such as cooking oil, water and seasonings, and non-food items like shampoo and home care products.
FMCG growth in Vietnam’s urban key cities continued to decline across almost all sectors in Q3, with beverages witnessing a sharp drop in volume. Growth appears to be more stable in rural areas, with the personal care sector a particular bright spot.
Inflation impacts India’s urban households
FMCG volume growth in urban areas slowed down in the last quarter, with volume in the food sector only growing by 4.3%, compared to 8.9% in Q3 of 2023. Almost all channels have experienced a rise in shopping occasions, a trend which is primarily led by e-commerce. However, household spend per trip has stabilised across all channels.
Purchase volumes rise in United Arab Emirates
There is an upward trend in total volume in UAE, across both the food and non-food sectors. This is being driven by a significant rise in shopping frequency – however consumers are spending less per trip as they are visiting more lower-cost stores. The habit of shopping online is growing, encouraged in particular by the rise of quick-commerce.
The Q3 2024 edition of Asia Pulse report is curated by Kantar Asia's Worldpanel Division. In it, we explore the dynamic shifts and emerging opportunities within the FMCG landscape.
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