After unseasonal rains in late March and early April delayed the onset of peak summer demand in several regions, makers of summer-centric products say sales are now beginning to pick up, though price hikes, particularly in air-conditioners, remain a key concern.
Companies across categories such as air-conditioners, ice-creams and beverages said intermittent rains and cooler temperatures in North, East and West India had slowed the seasonal demand cycle, even as southern markets saw earlier traction. With forecasts pointing to a longer summer, industry players expect the core demand window to open up in the coming weeks.
Southern markets pick up
For air-conditioner makers, summer remains the single biggest driver of annual sales. While the Southern region saw the early onset of summer, unseasonal rains in Northern, Western and Eastern regions delayed the seasonal uptick in demand. However, companies say momentum has begun to build in recent days.
Retailers also reported stronger traction in the South compared to other regions. Deenadayalan C, CEO, Sathya Agencies Ltd, said demand momentum remains robust in southern markets. “Southern markets are picking up. We are witnessing strong demand in Tamil Nadu and seeing high double-digit growth.”
Seasonal food product makers, particularly in ice-creams and dairy-based beverages, said consumption trends had begun to revive after a brief weather-led slowdown.
Jayatheertha Chary, Managing Director, Mother Dairy, said, ”Summer is the most anticipated season for our value-added dairy products, and while it began on a positive note, intermittent spells of rain and relatively milder temperatures led to some short-term softening in demand across certain categories. With temperatures now on the rise, we are witnessing a gradual revival in consumption.”
He added that given underlying consumer appetite for categories such as ice creams, curd, and dairy beverages remains robust, Mother Dairy anticipate growth of over 30 per cent across key categories.
Brief disruption
Ice-cream makers said early signs of strong seasonal demand are already visible across formats. “Although the full onset of summer is still not upon us, we are seeing strong traction for our portfolio of products. Overall, we are seeing broad-based growth across both impulse and take-home formats, which gives us strong confidence in the overall business outlook for the season. Categories such as cones, sticks, and single-serve cups are seeing accelerated off-take, especially driven by quick commerce and immediate consumption occasions,” said Debabrata Mukherjee, MD- Havmor Ice Cream.
Beverage makers said consumption patterns had started earlier this year but were briefly disrupted by weather fluctuations.
Saurabh Munjal, Co-Founder and CEO, Archian Foods, known for Lahori Zeera, pointed out that the beverage industry saw an advanced consumption cycle from February-end through March. “The first ten days of April did see some unseasonal rains and milder temperatures, which slightly impacted offtake at the retailer level. That said, in a category like ours, demand is highly weather-linked, and once temperatures rise even for a few consecutive days, consumption rebounds immediately, the early signs of which are already visible.We remain optimistic that the core summer window is still ahead of us,” he added.
Kamal Nandi, Business Head and EVP, Appliances Business, Godrej Enterprises Group, said southern markets had shown early traction. “But in the last couple of days we have begun witnessing an uptick in AC sales in other parts too and given the forecasts we expect demand to pick up. We are hoping once the temperatures pick up, it will also offset the impact of price hikes that the industry has had to take due to higher raw material costs and rupee depreciation. We remain cautiously optimistic,” he added.
Despite the improving demand outlook, industry players said price increases — particularly in air-conditioners — remain a key monitorable, driven by higher raw material costs and the impact of rupee depreciation.