FMCG brands revive ad spending as consumer sentiment and festive demand improve

HUL, Dabur and Colgate-Palmolive are increasing marketing outlays after two quarters of cutbacks, with campaigns focused on festive demand and ROI-led digital and outdoor media. Colgate’s advertising expenditure rose 34% year-on-year to 15.7% of sales.

— Filed Sun, 2 Aug, 2026, 20:59 IST · Source The Hindu BusinessLine · Updated

Indian FMCG brands including HUL, Dabur and Colgate are raising advertising budgets after two quarters of cuts, targeting festive demand and improving consumer sentiment. Colgate lifted ad spend 34% year-on-year to 15.7% of sales, with brands emphasizing ROI-led digital and outdoor media.

Why this matters

HUL's ad-spend revival follows signals that HUL, Asian Paints and peers are preparing fresh price hikes before the festive peak, while consumer majors respond to rising input costs.

Retail-brand signals are accelerating, up +94,250% quarter-on-quarter.