— Earnings call transcripts of Hindustan Unilever, Nestle India and Marico
For fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies Hindustan Unilever, Nestle India and Marico, quick commerce is no longer just another sales channel. It is actively contributing to their market expansion and premiumisation. That much, at least, is clear from their Q1 FY27 earnings calls. While there are concerns about a relative slowdown in modern trade and marketplace e-commerce over the last few quarters, these legacy FMCG companies are betting big on quick commerce because of the value it brings.
AI is emerging as another key focus area. AI is increasingly being embedded across their entire value chain, not just as a standalone initiative, but to enhance their online brand visibility, get actionable consumer insights, and optimise inventory management.
Let’s take a closer look at what the top executives of these FMCG companies said during their latest earnings call.
1. Hindustan Unilever is designing price packs exclusively for quick commerce.
The management sees quick commerce as a huge opportunity and “route to market,” allowing them to serve consumers differently.
“Quick commerce actually allows us to segment consumers, and that is a very powerful thing from our perspective, to actually create the right portfolio, channel architecture, which we are building with a lot of packs designed for that particular channel,” said Priya Nair, its CEO and managing director.
Nair added that quick commerce also unlocks opportunities to upsize and create new sub-segments, which would have been difficult to tap through traditional retail channels.
Hindustan Unilever CFO Niranjan Gupta acknowledged that the segment is seeing new entrants and continues to evolve rapidly. However, the company’s focus is on improving product availability, developing curated tech solutions, building tailored assortments across its portfolio and creating a price pack architecture exclusively for the segment.
Quick commerce continues to deliver 40-50% growth for HUL, as the company ramps up distribution across small towns and rural markets through its omnichannel network and accelerates offline expansion of its D2C brands Minimalist and Simple. HUL acquired a 90.5% stake in Minimalist last January, which offers skin, body and hair care products.
The management believes quick commerce remains structurally attractive for long-term growth. HUL is also working with partner platforms to leverage consumer data and insights to improve conversion, visibility and repeat usage.
“So, the channel remains fast-growing. It is structurally attractive. It provides a deepening of scale and improves the quality of growth,” said Gupta.
On artificial intelligence, the company said AI has become a core enabler of how it operates.
“An example of this is our digital-first distribution centre in Vijayawada, where AI-enabled real-time visibility creates a digitally orchestrated fulfilment ecosystem. It improves accuracy and transparency through faster demand sensing, warehouse operations, truck tracking and digital proof of delivery,” the management said.
2. Marico is testing new products specifically for quick commerce sales to reduce cannibalism.
Marico is aggressively scaling its quick commerce operations while simultaneously investing in AI-led demand sensing and forecasting. During the Q1 FY27 earnings call, management highlighted that quick commerce contributed more than 50% to the growth of its core business. It now accounts for 5% of its India business revenue, excluding digital brands. While general trade remains the dominant channel, quick commerce is helping the company strengthen its premiumisation play.
“We believe alternate channels are a source of driving premiumisation as well as a test market for innovation. And we have been avoiding cannibalistic growth. I think that’s the reason we have multiple growth levers and do not depend on one channel. Having said that, I think quick commerce has established itself. It is unique to India, where, because of certain factors, it is bound to grow. That’s why we’re investing in quick commerce,” said Saugata Gupta, CEO and managing director of Marico.
According to the management, users in this segment are willing to pay more for convenience. Therefore, the company is building channel-specific price pack architecture and testing new products specifically designed for the format to reduce cannibalism.
“I believe there is a certain shopper who is slightly different, which is less price sensitive, maybe wanting more convenience. So, we ensure that there is a separate pack architecture for each channel so that it is not cannibalistic and therefore, we maximise each channel and also ensure that we are test marketing new products to this quick commerce opportunity. So, we are seeing it slightly differently so that we reduce the cannibalistic sale,” Gupta said.
Beyond its diversification push, Marico is leaning heavily on AI to strengthen its operational execution. The company has significantly invested in AI-led demand sensing and forecasting across its entire supply chain. This has allowed the company to maintain a “very thin” distributor pipeline and execute any price changes, depending on changing supply chain dynamics, much faster.
3. Nestle India sees quick commerce as a launchpad for innovation and ‘fit-for-purpose product portfolios.
The management said quick commerce is helping Nestle India’s premium products reach more consumers, and that the segment will be a key growth driver for the company in the long run.
“These channels [e-commerce and quick commerce] are not just about overall consumption, but also about acquiring new customers, and more importantly, premiumising our portfolio, and then, of course, driving rapid innovation using this channel,” said Manish Tiwary, chairman and managing director of Nestle India.
He further highlighted that Nestle India has been working closely with its channel partners to make these e-commerce and quick commerce websites “almost a launch pad for innovation”.
The company is working closely with quick commerce partners to develop fit-for-purpose portfolios, using the channel to test and launch targeted activations and new consumption occasions. For instance, Nestle India launched MAGGI Bowl and a Vietnamese Latte variant in an exclusive partnership with one of the quick commerce platforms, Tiwari told analysts, without naming Blinkit. He added that several new launches are in the pipeline.
“I think, together with our partners in quick commerce and e-commerce, these capabilities are helping us scale faster in urban markets, drive our innovations faster, and premiumise much faster. So, a very, very significant role. If you look at our premium portfolio, the contribution has grown rapidly from 11% to 14%,” he added.
Management highlighted that players in this segment operate close to 6,000 dark stores. This requires highly reliable supply chain partners capable of managing two days of stock across a massive network. Nestle is meeting this challenge through enhanced operational efficiencies.
“I think quick commerce is doing well. I also think that when you think of quick commerce players, they have close to 6,000 dark stores [cumulatively]. They need partners who can reliably supply [stock] because that is one of the biggest challenges. It’s not easy to manage two days of stock across 6,000 dark stores. But I think our supply chain team has done that. We are one of the best suppliers if you speak to some of our partners,” Tiwary said.
At the core of this operational agility is Nestle’s migration to the SAP S/4HANA system, which provides the high-quality data necessary to embed advanced technology. Building on this foundation, the company has embedded machine learning and AI models end-to-end, spanning from millions of sales touchpoints directly to raw material planning.
The integration of AI across its entire value chain is expected to drive efficiencies, improve service levels, and boost cost efficiency despite massive volume growth. The management believes that AI acts as a force multiplier for human capacity.
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