I attended the Anuga Select India trade show in Mumbai in August, along with over 28,000 other visitors and 335 exhibitors from over 40 countries. The event was a fertile ground to understand some of the key F&B industry trends within India. 

Even though this piece is ever so slightly delayed (!), these key trends and highlights are still very much relevant. Better late than never…

What’s trending?

Strong coffee

Over the last decade, India’s coffee space has been seeing some remarkable transformations. The traditionally tea drinking nation, like much of the rest of the world, is falling in love with coffee and brands are here for it! Among the exhibitors were established retail brands from India, like the 75-year-old Cothas, as well as brands from Indonesia and Vietnam. There were also a number of smaller Indian startups taking advantage of this growing consumer demand for coffee, supported by the Coffee Board.

India’s coffee market was worth US$478 million in 2022 and is expected to reach US$1,227 million by 2032, growing at an impressive CAGR of 9.87% during this period. This anticipated surge in coffee is due to the growing disposable income and the influence of a Westernized coffee culture. 

The coffee chain market is expected to reach US$160.6 million in 2024 and grow at a CAGR of 8.1% to reach US$323.8 million by 2033. And major global chains have all started to see India as a massive growth market as their own home markets reach saturation. In addition to Starbucks, which has been in the country for over a decade and opened its first Reserve store in Mumbai a couple of years ago, Pret A Manger and Tim Hortons have also started operations in the country over the last couple of years. 

There’s also been significant innovation in the retail space to help consumers become familiar with different types of coffee as well as formats. 

Cothas has expanded its portfolio from standard fresh grounds blended with chicory to ensure affordability to more premium offerings, in line with consumer interest in premium coffee. The company even recently launched single-serve instant variants in both liquid and powdered formats as well as vending machines for institutional and home use.

Other formats seen at the show included a ready-to-drink nitro brew, drip coffee pouches, and even a compressed coffee cube range with different flavors.

These retail launches were taking advantage of the shift of coffee from a premium out-of-home drink to a more affordable at-home/on-the-move standard.

Spilling the tea on tea

As coffee becomes hot, tea cools down. 

Tea has a near global penetration in India and is usually consumed hot, milky, and sweet, with different spices like ginger and cardamom. Iced tea varieties were few and far between, with just a couple of brands in this space. Tea companies are responding to the demand for better-for-you soft drinks and are launching RTD iced tea options, with both black and green tea. These products include a range of botanicals to enhance the healthier soft drink image. 

Tea’s inherent health credentials has also made it the ideal carrier for functional ingredients and infusions. Such products focus on different functional benefits, ranging from digestive health and energy to women’s wellness.

Let it go frozen

Now, from cool to cooler…

Convenience is becoming a major trend for consumers in India as consumers become busier and more time-pressed. This means a greater demand for ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat convenience foods. Over the last five years, we’ve seen an explosion in ambient ready meals and the growth of chilled ready-to-cook products. 

Frozen food has been a more recent entrant and has started to gain a foothold, particularly in terms of children’s snacks (think potato-based snacks and chicken nuggets). And now, this space is opening up to more meal and snack options, from rotis to samosas. 

Anuga Select featured a number of frozen food brands, primarily suppliers to the food service channel, exploring retail options for consumers. 

The conditions for frozen food to gain traction are falling in place – the demand for convenience as well as an improved and more reliable cold chain infrastructure. The frozen food market, which includes fruits and vegetables, snacks, meat, poultry, seafood, and ready-to-cook meals, was worth INR144.30 billion (US$1.72 billion) in 2022 and is expected to reach INR367.97 billion (US$4.40 billion) by 2028, expanding at a CAGR of 16.97%. 

Global crowd-pullers

I’ve included these brands and products just based on crowd size, a popular metric in today’s geopolitical discourse that we’re stealing for market potential. In case you’re wondering where the crowds are, I got in super early so that I could take photos of the booths themselves!

Bubble tea has as much a fan following in India among younger consumers as it does everywhere else in the world. It’s still a massively under-tapped segment but a few independent brands in the country have led the charge. Popping boba is very new for the country, with only a couple of places offering it. But judging by the popularity of this booth on all three days of the show, there’s a strong market. I may have gone back for more than one sample myself… 

Korean food gets a big thumbs up all round. The samples for this brand of ready-to-cook K-favorites were flying off the counter faster than the cooks could manage. ‘Nuff said.

Tempeh is a new product for India and has a niche following, mostly among those who are serious about their plant protein. There are a few local brands that are capitalizing on the global interest in tempeh. The global tempeh market was worth US$5.21 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach US$8.85 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 5.44%.

What is available currently in India is mostly ready-to-cook tempeh chunks. But Indonesian brand Tempe Azaki is looking at a wider variety of offerings, including these tempeh chips. The jury is still out on this one at the moment, but with the right flavors and target market, it could be an interesting addition to the protein snacks movement. 

From food to packaging, I thought this was an interesting format for dry spices and powders from Norwegian company Fimtech. Push & Dose’s format allows you to sprinkle from a flexible pouch. 

Like what you’re reading?

The newbies

Food and drink in India is only beginning to scratch the surface. There are so many products being developed, from new to renewed, it would be remiss of me not to talk about the startups at Anuga Select. While there were quite a few, the following stood out to me.

I spoke to the founders for each of these brands and thought you might like to hear about their products directly from them.  

JoySpoon

This is a brand of snacks and traditional mukhwas, also known as mouth fresheners or palate cleansers in India. 

I spoke to Yash Mehta, the founder of Joyspoon, who gave us a behind-the-scenes look at how the start-up is bringing back an ancient Indian tradition with a modern spin. Joyspoon is reviving mukhwas, turning it into a healthy, convenient, and tasty snack for today’s health-conscious Indian consumer. Yash talks about the journey of launching the brand, the importance of smart packaging, and how Joyspoon taps into nostalgia while staying relevant to contemporary consumers. Listen to Yash here:

The Misfits

Launched in May 2024, The Misfits is one of India’s few upcycled food brands, transforming imperfect produce into dips, spreads, and snacks. The company sources misshapen and overlooked produce directly from farmers, along with edible parts often discarded. Their products are enriched with nuts, seeds for added protein and fiber, and Ayurvedic ingredients like ashwagandha, moringa, and brahmi.

Founder Aditi Jhala explains that the brand is rooted in local, zero-waste cooking – longstanding practices in Indian households. Today, food waste is a pressing issue for food security, carbon emissions, and farmers’ livelihoods.

“Globally, 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted annually, costing around US$940 billion. In India alone, 68.1 million tons of food are wasted, equating to US$13 billion. Fruits and vegetables make up US$4 billion of that,” Aditi shared. “Most of this waste happens in homes.”

Her journey began while working in private equity, investing in food and agriculture. “I saw two problems: farmers struggling to get fair prices for cosmetically imperfect produce and having to discard it. While large companies could repurpose waste into biodiesel, smaller businesses simply disposed of it,” she said.

The Misfits addresses these challenges while adhering to 10 of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. Farmers are paid full vegetable market rates even for usually discarded parts like carrot tops and soft coriander leaves, which are used in their pesto. The brand is plastic neutral, sources 80% of its energy from solar, and ensures full traceability of products. 

“We’ve partnered with InQube to offer complete traceability. Each product has a QR code linking to the farmer, sourcing region, and a batch processing video,” Aditi added.

The company’s packaging is also plastic neutral and they work with The Disposal Company to ensure that 100% of their plastic footprint is measured and offset. 

When asked about their impact, she shared, “Since May 2024, we’ve saved 90 kg of veggies, 12,000 liters of water, and 50 kg of greenhouse gases. That rescued produce could have provided 165 meals if donated.”

Kandee Factory

Kandee Factory specializes in crafting plant-based candies and sweets. The company focuses on creating better-for-you alternatives to traditional confectionery by using natural colors and flavors without preservatives or artificial additives. They are also the only brand in the country that makes 100% plant-based marshmallows, with soy protein as the base. 

The company recently introduced smaller packs of their candy sold for INR10, compared to their standard packs that are priced at over INR100. I spoke to the founder and CEO, Mahesh Dharam, about the shift to smaller packs. He shares interesting insights on finding the perfect price points, adapting to India's diverse markets, and building a brand that really resonates with people. Listen to it:

Kaatil

You’d think that with a reputation for spicy food, India would be teeming with hot sauces. That unfortunately is not the case. But Kaatil is attempting to change that. Kaatil uses chili variants native to different parts of India to offer a range of hot sauces, ketchup, and chili oils of varying heat levels. “Kaatil” is the Hindi word for “Killer” - so consume at your own peril! 

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