From India to the World: The Playbook for Building Global Consumer Brands

What does it take to build a brand in one of the most complex consumer markets in the world, and then take it global? In Episode 8 of India for the World, a leadership podcast by Mint and Boston Consulting Group (BCG), host Soumya Gupta is joined by Saugata Gupta, MD and CEO of Marico Limited, and Abheek Singhi, Managing Director and Senior Partner at BCG.

The conversation explores the realities of building consumer brands in India’s inherently fragmented market, and the strategic shifts required to scale beyond borders. From affordability and distribution to premiumisation, diaspora-driven expansion, and digital-first strategies, the discussion offers a nuanced playbook for Indian brands aiming to compete globally.Watch Episode 8 on YouTube

Key Stats and Insights from Episode 8

• Affordability and availability remain the two most critical drivers of domestic mass brand growth
  
  
• Food categories cater to the highly regionalised taste preferences in India, while personal care categories tend to be more universal
  
  
• Indian brands often achieve early global traction through deep diaspora-led demand
  
  
• Emerging markets in Asia, Africa and the Middle East offer higher growth headroom for Indian-origin brands
• Digital-first brands are lowering entry barriers for developed markets such as the US and UK
  
  
• Indian companies looking at a global expansion must compete with strong domestic growth opportunities for capital and focus
  
  
• Premium consumers across global cities exhibit increasingly similar consumption behaviours
  
  
• Trends like health and wellness represent long-term “mega trends,” while short-term “fads” require cautious entry

Building in India: Scale Comes from Affordability and Reach

India’s consumer market is often described as one of the most dynamic in the world, but also one of the most complex.

For Saugata Gupta, the fundamentals of building a successful brand in India remain unchanged: affordability and availability. Whether in telecom, aviation, or FMCG, these two levers have consistently driven scale. However, the challenge lies in execution. India is not a single market, but a collection of many, shaped by different preferences and needs.

Consumer preferences vary sharply across regions, especially in food. What works in one state may fail in another. This makes consumer insight and localisation critical to success. At the same time, categories such as personal care are more uniform, allowing brands to scale more easily.

What has changed, however, is the role of distribution. The rise of e-commerce, quick commerce, and modern retail has enabled brands to operate nationally even with niche propositions. Yet, for mass-market dominance, traditional strengths, like strong distribution, cost efficiency, and scale marketing, remain indispensable.

Category Creation vs Substitution: Why Some Brands Scale Nationally

Not all categories behave the same way when it comes to building national brands. As Abheek Singhi points out, category creation offers a structural advantage. When a product creates a new habit, as instant noodles once did, it can achieve uniformity across markets. But when brands attempt to replace existing consumption habits, localisation becomes essential.

This explains why some brands scale seamlessly across India, while others must adapt region by region. The implication for brand builders is clear: the path to scale depends not just on execution, but on the nature of the category itself.

Taking Indian Brands Global: The Diaspora Advantage

For many Indian brands, global expansion begins with a familiar audience: the Indian diaspora. Markets like the Middle East, the US, the UK, and Canada provide a ready consumer base that understands the product, reducing the barriers to entry. This creates an initial “critical mass” that can support early growth. But diaspora-led expansion has its limits.

As Saugata Gupta notes, relying solely on diaspora demand cannot build a truly global brand. Sustainable growth depends on connecting with local consumers, their preferences, and usage context. This often involves a mix of strategies, including acquisitions, partnerships, and product innovation tailored to specific markets.

Beyond the West: Rethinking Global Market Strategy

A recurring theme in the discussion is the misconception that global success must be defined by winning in Western markets. In reality, developed markets like the US and Europe are highly saturated, with high entry costs and slower growth. In contrast, emerging markets across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East offer stronger growth potential, lower penetration, and more favourable competitive dynamics.

For Indian brands, these regions often represent a more natural extension of their capabilities, with similar income levels, younger populations, and evolving consumption patterns. The more effective approach, therefore, is not to think in terms of geography alone, but to identify markets with similar economic, cultural, and demographic characteristics.

Digital-First Brands: A New Route to Global Markets

While traditional expansion models are capital-intensive, digital-first brands are changing the equation. Platforms like Amazon, direct-to-consumer (D2C) channels, and global retail networks have made it possible for Indian brands to enter developed markets with lower upfront investment.

Several emerging brands have already begun building a presence in markets like the US and UK, often targeting niche segments with differentiated propositions. However, this approach requires patience, strong digital marketing capabilities, and a clear value proposition. Scaling beyond niche success remains a longer-term challenge.

Premiumisation: Opportunity or Overhyped Trend?

Premiumisation is often seen as the gateway to global markets. But the reality is more nuanced. India’s historical strength lies in affordable, accessible innovation, not premium positioning. While opportunities exist in premium segments, particularly in categories like apparel and personal care, they are not always the most scalable entry point.

That said, a new global consumer segment is emerging that transcends geography. As Saugata Gupta points out, premium consumers often share similar behaviours, preferences, and aspirations, regardless of where they live. This allows brands to focus on specific consumer segments globally, rather treating each market in isolation.

Still, both speakers caution against overestimating premiumisation as a universal strategy. Its definition varies widely, and its execution requires clarity and consistency.

Trends vs Fads: The Discipline of Timing

In a fast-evolving consumer landscape, identifying the right trends is critical. Abheek draws a clear distinction between trends and short-term fads. Trends, such as health and wellness, represent long-term shifts in consumer behaviour. These can be entered even if a brand is not the first mover.

Fads, on the other hand, are short-lived and high-risk. Entering too late can result in wasted investment. Saugata Gupta adds that even trends require sustained investment to become mainstream. Category creation is rarely a solo effort. It often takes multiple players to drive awareness and habit change.

The ability to distinguish between enduring shifts and temporary spikes is therefore a key capability for brand builders.

The Global Playbook: Three Rules That Matter

Despite the complexity, the discussion converges on a clear set of principles for building global brands:

• A distinctive proposition: Brands must stand for something unique. Me-too offerings rarely succeed in global markets.
  
  
• Emotional and functional relevance: Beyond product performance, brands must connect with consumers at an emotional level.
  
  
• Global scale with local adaptation: Standardisation alone does not work. Successful brands balance global ambition with local relevance.

To this, Saugata Gupta adds two more essentials: deep consumer understanding and consistent quality. Without these, global expansion cannot be sustained.

The India Paradox: A Market Too Big to Ignore

One of the most important insights from the episode is also the simplest. India itself is a massive growth opportunity. For many companies, the domestic market offers higher returns, lower risk, and greater scalability than global expansion. This creates a natural trade-off in capital allocation and strategic focus.

As a result, globalisation is often deprioritised, not due to lack of ambition, but due to the sheer size of the opportunity at home. This “India paradox” explains why relatively few Indian consumer brands have achieved true global scale so far.

Final Thoughts: Global Ambition, Grounded in Reality

The aspiration to build global brands from India is both valid and achievable. But as this episode makes clear, it cannot be driven by ambition alone. Globalisation is not a checkbox. It is a strategic choice that must be grounded in consumer insight, economic logic, and long-term commitment.

The most successful Indian brands will not simply replicate Western playbooks. They will build on their inherent strengths, like affordability, innovation, and adaptability, while evolving to meet global expectations on quality, design, and experience. In the end, the path to building brands “from India for the world” lies not in chasing global validation, but in creating genuine consumer value, wherever the consumer may be.

Note to readers: This article is part of Mint’s paid consumer connect Initiative. Mint assumes no editorial involvement or responsibility for errors, omissions, or content accuracy.

Want to get your story featured as above? click here!