India F&B out-of-home consumption volume drops 8.6% in FY26: Worldpanel by Numerator

Food and beverage (F&B) sales volumes outside the home fell 8.6% in the 12 months ended March 2026, according to global market research firm Worldpanel by Numerator.

“When there's a little bit of tightness, one way is to reduce the consumption inside the home, which they have not, it's not so easy to do. But you can reduce the number of times you go out,” said K. Ramakrishnan, managing director, South Asia, Worldpanel by Numerator to Mint.

“And when you go out, you can reduce the number of things that you buy, because out of home is all impulse and discretionary,” he said.

But the value of these out-of-home consumption increased by 0.5% during the period. “They are spending the same kind of money, but they're buying less for that,” he said.

While the number of shopping trips increased, the packs purchased and pack size fell, according to the report.

The findings are based on Worldpanel’s out-of-home panel, which has over 11,000 households reporting monthly.

Volume growth suffered across consumer cohorts. The mini-metros, with a population between 1 and 4 million, were the worst hit, according to the report. Volume of sales dropped 10% in mini-metros, and 3% in the reported period.

Impact of the LPG crisis

K. Ramakrishnan attributed this drop to the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) crisis after the US-Iran war broke out in late February.

“The LPG shortage, metros hardly saw anything significant at a household level, probably some restaurants closed, but nothing beyond that. But mini-metros had a severe LPG shortage even at the household level,” he said.

Roughly 60% of India’s LPG is imported, with about 90% of those shipments passing through the Strait of Hormuz. With more than 300 million domestic LPG users, officials prioritized household supplies over ensuring adequate supplies for restaurants and commercial kitchens.

The supply constraints came as inflationary pressures were already building. India’s retail inflation rose to 4.45% in July from 4.38% in June, moving above the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) 4% midpoint target. Food inflation rose to 5.52% in July, a sharp reversal from the historic low of -5.02% in October 2025.