COVID-19: CHALLENGES FOR THE INDIAN FMCG - F&B SECTOR – DREAMS OR DIGITAL ENGAGEMENTS?

Abstract

The Indian FMCG - Food and Beverages (F&B) industry is one of the fastest and largest industries of the world.(1)During the pandemic, since consumers have become more family oriented and health conscious, the focus and challenges for companies in the FMCG sector is to integrate and associate their brands with a key focus on safety and wellness. The modern Indian consumer has nowbecome more conservative and prefer online purchases to a larger extent than social mixing and indulging in family purchases.(2)These changes in the environment due to COVID-19 crisis have forced organizations to change their strategies and approaches. As a result, marketers are looking for new ways and means to reach consumers as digital buying and online purchases have become the order of the day. These digital engagements could lead to brand delight for consumers in Indian FMCG - F&B sector which has to be evaluated in a COVID-19 context. The digital engagement strategy is highly influenced by brand communication, brand personality and brand image.

New ways of consumer and product engagements and promotions have emerged as we move in to digital marketing amidst the COVID-19 crisis. Will this create new challenges/ opportunities for brands and how can they capitalize these situations and convert them into opportunities for their company’s growth and development? We could find that research has already been conducted in the areas of branding, brand engagement, perceptions and attitudes, digital engagements, consumer brand relationships, brand loyalty, brand identity, brand image, brand experience and brand extensions. However, research gaps do exist on the domains of digital engagement strategies and its relationship with brand communication and brand personality that leads to digital delight. As these dimensions of the study have not been explored with reference to the Indian FMCG - F&B sector, this research is conducted for the first time in India.