Changing dynamics: Half of Indian homes now embrace nuclear living

This change in family structure has a bearing on future consumption as nuclear families tend to outspend joint families and experiment with more premium products, market researcher and insights provider Kantar said in a report.

Nuclear families are better educated with 80% having some level of education. They also have higher instances of working women—40% of women in such households are employed. Meanwhile, in urban markets, nuclear households enjoy similar levels of affluence to their joint family counterparts. As of 2022, India had 320 million households.

When it comes to consumption, such households also typically consume more and buy into more premium products, Kantar said. “Even though nuclear and joint families are of a similar socioeconomic profile, nuclear families are liberal in their consumption and spends," Kantar said as part of its Consumer Connections 2023 research.

India has for long held close the joint family structure where generations of family members live together. Social norms aside, such familial structures also thrive as households dip into a common pool of resources such as shared housing, food and childcare, among others. However, over the years, this structure has been slowly breaking down, giving way to nuclear families.

As of 2022, a typical nuclear family in India had an average of three members as opposed to seven in a joint family setup. South India paves the way when it comes to adoption of nuclear families, with 69% of households classified as nuclear in 2022. North India is a laggard, with joint families still making up a majority of households.

 

Meanwhile, Kantar said even though family sizes are shrinking, monthly expenses of nuclear families are actually higher than those of joint families. Penetration of premium segments is also relatively higher among nuclear families, it added. “Nuclearization of family is leading to premiumization of FMCG in India," the researcher said. In fact, on an average, nuclear families buy into 21 categories of fast-moving consumer products against 20 purchased in a joint family setup. In terms of pack sizes, nuclear families actually consume more too.

“As family size increases, families become more judicious in their consumption. Home hygiene, snacking and beverages are chosen more in nuclear homes. Contrary to popular opinion, large families don’t necessarily buy large packs; higher consumption is mainly due to increased number of packs," it said.

Brands concurred with Kantar’s data, adding that greater number of nuclear families are indeed driving demand for products such as frozen foods. “The nuclearization of families and the increasing participation of women in the workforce have created a demand for convenient, ready-to-eat or ready-to-cook food. We are seeing this happening for our frozen ready-to-cook brand Godrej Yummiez," said Mohit Marwaha, assistant vice-president, Yummiez, Godrej Tyson Foods Ltd.