Premiumisation key for middle class now: WPP Media’s Sairam Ranganathan & Ritika Taneja

Earlier this year, e4m reported that India’s middle class is set to drive 55% of the country’s consumer spending by 2031, rising from about $1.9 trillion today to nearly $5.2 trillion. Just a few weeks before, e4m had published another report that asked a significant question: Has Indian advertising forgotten the middle class? The report argued that while brands continue to market to an outdated archetype of the “value-seeking Indian”, the middle class of today is far more experimental, design-conscious, quality-driven and upgrade-oriented. They actively seek better formats, richer experiences, trusted brands, and meaningful differentiation, and they are willing to pay for it.

Now, together, these reports have signalled that a deeper transformation is underway in India’s consumption story. The middle class is not just expanding in size; it is upgrading in behaviour. The old assumption that this segment is driven primarily by price sensitivity is starting to fade off. Instead, this new middle-class consumer is displaying a clear willingness to trade up when value, experience and trust are evident. As this behavioural shift unfolds, it inevitably forces brands to reconsider how they must evolve along the new middle-class consumer, and this is exactly where the conversation around premiumisation comes into play.

Premiumisation in India is no longer about luxury; it has become the mechanism through which the new middle class expresses aspiration. Consumers are not buying the most expensive option; they are buying the most meaningful upgrade within their reach. 

As Sairam Ranganathan, Head of Commerce for WPP Media India, puts it, “Premiumisation is highly relevant for the middle class because their aspirations have grown, their purchasing power has expanded, and e-commerce has given them unprecedented access to better choices. What they now seek is convenience, quality and distinctiveness, not just a lower price.”

This shift from affordability to “value-plus” decision-making forms the foundation of WPP Media’s latest playbook, Beyond Price Tags: The Power of Premiumisation in India’s E-commerce Boom. The playbook builds on these consumer cues, breaking down how premiumisation is reshaping product ladders, category strategies, media choices and e-commerce behaviour across India.

In a conversation with e4m, Ranganathan and Ritika Taneja, Sr. Vice president, E-commerce, WPP Media, dive deeper into these themes, breaking down how India’s premium wave is unfolding and what it means for marketers in 2025 and beyond.

According to Ranganathan, the premiumisation playbook for India’s middle class is fundamentally different from traditional mass or entry-level strategies. “Premiumisation focuses on convenience, quality and distinctiveness, not just price,” he explained. “This approach targets a narrower base compared to mass-market strategies, offering high-quality, personalised experiences with slightly higher average order value. The focus is on relevant and precision reach, rather than mass reach competing purely on pricing.”

This mirrors a structural shift in how the middle class evaluates value. They are willing to spend more, but only when the upgrade is justified through experience, quality, performance or storytelling.

Taneja spoke about how premiumisation in India isn’t unfolding uniformly across categories. Some sectors like beauty and personal care are witnessing the most natural and organic uplift, driven by ingredient awareness, influencer education and the rapid adoption of global formats. In comparison to this, categories like fashion and durables often see brands “pushing premium” without offering a genuinely differentiated experience. Where the product or service doesn’t justify the upgrade, consumers quickly see through the façade. “Premiumisation has to be earned, not forced through a higher price tag,” she said.

She pointed out that this misconception is even more pronounced in FMCG, where premiumisation is frequently equated with expensive line extensions. The real shift, however, is happening at the entry level, with small step-up formats and functional upgrades that deliver better value without alienating cost-conscious buyers. A face wash becomes vitamin C–infused, coconut oil becomes cold-pressed, and tea evolves into crafted or region-specific blends. These subtle but meaningful improvements have become the engine of the trend because they let consumers upgrade confidently without feeling priced out. According to Taneja, the reason this works is that the middle class may remain cost conscious, but it is no longer uninformed. 

Gen Z and young millennials approach purchases with a far more discerning lens. They look at ingredients, usage experience, packaging, convenience, credibility and design. With exposure to global aesthetics, transparent reviews and cross-category comparisons, their definition of “value” has become multidimensional rather than purely price-led. This is also what separates categories where premiumisation is happening organically from those where it feels forced. Beauty and personal care enjoy genuine consumer pull because routines, efficacy and ingredient-led narratives naturally nudge people to upgrade. 

Across sectors, she said, the new consumer expectation is not just better performance but better storytelling, seamless usability and a more thoughtful fulfilment experience. For brands, this means every tier has to offer a clear, defensible benefit. Premiumisation cannot be an MRP strategy; it must be a value strategy.

When asked how brands should balance premiumisation with India’s value-conscious mindset, especially in FMCG, Ranganathan explained, “Today’s middle class is seeking elevated experiences — whether it is unboxing, ethical sourcing or personalised storytelling. They are not confined to metros or limited to a few categories. In beauty, for example, aspirations are very high and consumers actively seek premium offerings. Brands need the right portfolio: mass brands and premium brands for different channels and mindsets. To succeed, brands must combine premiumisation with clear segmentation, understand aspirations and purchase baskets, and communicate in a personalised way to a highly engaged audience.”

Interestingly, WPP Media has also revealed that the premiumisation lens is also being reshaped by who the premium consumer actually is today. The age profile of this audience has shifted dramatically. Premium consumption is now driven by Gen Alpha, Gen Z and young millennials, roughly the 16–35 bracket. Within this, the most concentrated spending power sits with 25–35-year-olds, a cohort that is earning, spending and far less financially dependent. Older consumers remain important, but the aspiration curve has moved downward.

Importantly, premium consumption is no longer restricted to metros. Tier 2 and 3 markets are emerging as powerful growth engines, showing some of the highest repeat rates and larger pack purchases in premium categories. E-commerce and quick commerce have flattened access, making specialist brands and premium formats available in pin codes previously excluded from the premium conversation.

As premiumisation becomes a central growth lever, WPP Media is urging brands to rethink one of their biggest engines of scale: the media mix. The old efficiency-only mindset is giving way to what they describe as a dual mandate, premium reach and premium shelf. This means investing not only in lower-funnel performance, but also in upper- and mid-funnel formats that seed desire, build aspiration and establish the narrative for premium SKUs. At the same time, retail media budgets need to be protected so that premium products win at the point of decision and don’t get overshadowed by cheaper alternatives. As Taneja put it, “If brands want consumers to trade up, then the media mix itself has to trade up, from pure efficiency to seeding desirability.”

This shift is already visible in ad spends. While performance marketing still dominates, brands are slowly redirecting more money toward flagship ranges, premium kits, routines and efficacy-led storytelling. The goal, the duo explained, is to stop treating brand-building and performance as two separate tracks. Premium brands need both to work together. This means creating desire in the upper funnel while ensuring that the same consumer converts in the lower funnel, all measured through frameworks that balance short-term efficiency with long-term premium equity.

WPP Media is guiding brands toward frameworks that separate premium equity from efficiency, focussing on cohort behaviour, repeat rates, trading patterns, cross-sell potential and lifetime value. These metrics provide a more accurate picture of whether consumers are truly trading up, not just converting once on discount-led triggers.

They also pointed out a harder truth shaping premium strategies today: e-commerce margins are getting tighter, and discount-led growth is reaching its limits. Deep promotions may drive short-term volume, but they erode brand value and make premium ladders impossible to sustain. The next phase of growth will require brands to trade up average order value, improve the on-platform experience, and build stronger repeat behaviour rather than buying one-off conversions. As Taneja noted, the maturity and spending power of digital-first consumers is now high enough for brands to move away from heavy discounting and instead focus on better product mixes, better experiences and better customer value.