Britannia, HUL, Dabur, Godrej Consumer may raise prices in September quarter: Report

Leading fast-moving consumer goods companies in India are preparing to raise prices selectively in the September quarter as higher commodity costs and geopolitical uncertainties put pressure on margins. Despite the inflationary environment, companies remain positive about consumer demand, pointing to resilient consumption, premiumisation and expectations of stronger revenue growth, PTI reported.

The FMCG sector, which implemented average price increases of around 2-5% during the June quarter, is now turning increasingly toward shrinkflation and targeted pricing measures.

Companies are reducing product grammage in some packs or selectively increasing prices to protect margins, while closely monitoring commodity inflation, crude oil price volatility and weather-related risks, including the monsoon and the potential impact of El Nino.

Britannia Industries expects to implement an additional 1.5-2% pricing action in the second quarter, primarily through shrinkflation in its ₹5 and ₹10 biscuit packs. The company is facing elevated costs for key inputs such as sugar and palm oil.

“Going ahead in the quarter, you will see something more coming in. If the overall impact was 1 per cent, you would probably see maybe another 1.5-2 per cent coming in,” PTI quoted Britannia MD and CEO Rakshit Hargave in the earnings call.

The bakery products maker said its pricing-led growth during the first quarter was driven largely by shrinkflation and expects to undertake further pricing measures during the current quarter as commodity costs remain elevated.

Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL), which raised prices by an average of about 5% in the June quarter, could also introduce another increase during the September quarter. However, the company is currently waiting for greater clarity on commodity cost movements before taking additional pricing action.

GCPL Chief Executive Officer Sudhir Sitapati said during the company’s earnings call that it had avoided larger price increases because of uncertainty surrounding crude oil prices.

According to Sitapati, several of the company’s input costs are linked to crude oil and generally respond to movements in crude prices with a lag of three to four weeks. With Brent crude trading around $80-$85 a barrel, GCPL believes its current pricing remains broadly sufficient and does not expect to require a significant additional increase at present.

Dabur India also expects elevated input costs to remain a challenge in the near term. The company plans to respond through calibrated price increases while focusing on productivity improvements and cost efficiencies to protect margins.

Despite the cost pressures, Dabur remains confident about its growth outlook and expects to deliver double-digit revenue growth in FY27. The company is banking on the strength of its brands, a healthy innovation pipeline and disciplined execution to support performance.

The growth “will be more driven by revenue and price. Because of inflation, we had to pass it on to the consumer. Price growth and value growth are becoming higher than volume growth. Volumes will be under pressure as the inflation is too much,” said Dabur India Global Chief Executive Officer Mohit Malhotra in the earnings call.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), another major player in the Indian FMCG sector, is also expected to raise prices across several product categories during the September quarter. The company anticipates sequential inflation of around 2-5% compared with the April-June period.

HUL had already implemented price increases of 2-5% during the first quarter of FY27. Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Priya Nair said during the company’s post-earnings call that HUL would continue taking calibrated pricing action to counter inflationary pressures while protecting its volume-driven growth.

Nair said HUL expects inflation to increase sequentially during the September quarter, making pricing and cost management key priorities for the company.

“Between the September quarter versus June quarter, we see sequential inflation, which could range between 2 to 5 per cent. We will continue to take calibrated pricing into the quarter, depending on how inflation pans out,” she said.

The latest pricing moves highlight the balancing act facing FMCG companies: protecting profitability from rising input costs while ensuring that higher prices do not undermine consumer demand. With consumption trends remaining relatively resilient, companies are increasingly relying on selective price increases, smaller pack sizes, premiumisation and efficiency measures rather than broad-based price hikes.