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India may be the second largest country by population with over 1 billion
people, but the statistic that is more important to American investors is
India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The GDP is currently at $1.089
trillion dollars and grows at a rate of approximately 7.5% per year, which
makes India the 12th largest country in terms of economic size. The United
States has a much larger GDP, but only grows about 2% on average each
year. As a developing nation, India has one of the fastest growing economies in the world and one of the largest labor forces, second only to China. According to Goldman Sachs, the size of India’s economy is expected to surpass that of the United States by 2043.
There are many service markets that are leading the investments made in India, including customer service and information technology. However, with a large labor force that continues to increase its per capita income, there is also a growing opportunity for consumer packaged goods. Weatherchem recently had the opportunity to research the expanding consumer packaged goods market with a focus on the Spices and Seasonings segment.
Our research took place in a city called Chennai (also known as Madras) that is located in the Southeastern part of India in the state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai is the 4th largest city in India and is a densely populated urban area. The climate is very hot and humid with an average temperature in the winter of 65-80 degrees Fahrenheit and in the summer of 100-107 degrees. There are a variety of different shopping venues available for people to purchase goods ranging from street vendors to large retail outlets. Similar to the United States, it is mostly the women that make purchasing decisions about what household goods to buy.