India poised to be world’s next consumption engine: Sanjiv Mehta

Sanjiv Mehta, former MD of Hindustan Unilever, shared his vision for the Indian economy predicting a new era of growth for the country during his address at the e4m Media ACE 2024 Awards

by e4m Staff
Published: Nov 13, 2024 2:43 PM | 2 min read

“Only two major economies have grown over 20% since 2019—India and China,” announced Sanjiv Mehta, former Managing Director of Hindustan Unilever, at the e4m Media ACE 2024 Awards, as he highlighted India’s powerful economic resurgence on the global stage.

"We went down during COVID, but we bounced back strongly," he noted. He said: “India’s economy has expanded over 20% since 2019, placing it among the world’s top-performing economies,” calling the post-pandemic recovery a remarkable indicator of its economic strength. He also highlighted the sharp contrast between India’s recovery and China’s steady trajectory.

Tracing India’s economic progress through the decades, Mehta added, “Our economy grew at just 0.5% before independence, then 3.5% in the four decades afterward, and 6.5% during liberalization. In the last three years, we’ve achieved over 8% growth.”

Mehta underscored how this trajectory, coupled with India’s expanded infrastructure, signals a new era of growth. "In a decade, we’ve gone from 98,000 kilometers of highways to 1.5 lakh, and nearly doubled electric railways and airports," he noted, also lauding India’s digital edge with “500 million UPI transactions daily” and universal biometric identity.

“India is poised to be the world’s next consumption engine, just as China was for the last two decades,” he said, calling this an “unprecedented opportunity.”

In a direct address to media agencies, Mehta shared strategic insights for navigating today’s dynamic marketplace. Speaking to his colleagues in media, he urged agencies to “soul search and reinvent” their business models in this data-driven age. He emphasised that while consumer behaviour has shifted substantially, television still serves as a cost-effective medium for mass brands to reach the first 30-40% of their target audience. However, he warned that “spray and pray” tactics are outdated in the current era of precision targeting.

Mehta stressed the power of data analytics, which today allows companies to attribute growth directly to advertising spend, a game-changer he encouraged agencies to harness. He pointed out that agencies are now competing with brands to create and plan their own content, making reinvention crucial.

“Just as no category in India is mature, no business has ‘run its time’ as long as it’s willing to evolve,” he concluded. The path forward, he suggested, is rich with opportunities for those ready to adapt and reimagine themselves in the face of change.