Venu Madhav: Growth in Indonesia is in smaller towns

At Kantar Worldpanel, we are glad to open a new section in our website devoted to gather the insights of our experts from all over the world in a visual and informal way. In this first edition of Perspectives, we talk to Venu Madhav, General Manager of Indonesia, about the economy of the country, his FMCG prospects and the changing purchase behaviour of Indonesians.

In our talk, Venu Madhav speaks about the steady Indonesian economy, which grows at 5% thanks to the Government infrastructure expenditure beyond Java. He presents a mixed FMCG reality in Indonesia:

"When we look at the upper classes, we see more experiential expenditure such as eating out, travelling etc., whereas middle and lower classes still hold their spending for FMCG".

This year's provintial elections, the Asian Games taking place in Jakarta and next year's presidential elections promise an inflow of money into the system, which will help FMCG grow among middle and lower classes. 

Regarding purchase behaviour, upsizing becomes the trend in a country where consumers shop less but spend more in their purchases. In addition to that, buyers are making more smart and informed choices every time. In order to grow in this circumstances, Venu Madhav gives the market players some tips:

"FMCG players have to look at their portfolio and manage it to push the right channels and packages".

"As smartphone penetration is gaining importance, how to manage offline vs online is key to be adapted to this changing behaviour".

Watch the full interview with Venu Madhav by clicking in the video on the right and learn how to grow in the Indonesian changing FMCG landscape.