Sanjay Sharma, Managing Director & CEO, Orkla India
Even as Eastern consolidates its leadership in GCC markets and broadens its appeal beyond the Malayali diaspora, Orkla Foods India, which owns MTR and Eastern spice brands is navigating an unusual two-year commodity deflation cycle that has compressed realisations despite strong volume growth and rising digital demand.
CEO and Managing Director Sanjay Sharma said the company has faced an unprecedented drop in input prices over the past two years, with commodity costs declining nearly 30 per cent and chilli prices falling about 50 per cent. This has weighed on value growth even as demand remains strong.
In spices, volumes grew 10.1 per cent during the quarter, while value growth was limited to 3.1 per cent due to price deflation. Convenience foods continued to gain traction, with breakfast and meals delivering strong double-digit growth. The sweets segment declined during the quarter due to festival timing and mild seasonality.
Digital commerce emerged as a key growth driver, particularly in the breakfast category, where e-commerce sales rose about 45 per cent. Regionally, growth was broad-based, with North and West India outperforming and recording roughly 17 per cent value growth, signalling expansion beyond the company’s traditional southern stronghold.
The international business remained robust. The GCC region, which contributes about 70 per cent of overseas revenue, grew 16.4 per cent in the quarter. While the Malayali diaspora remains the core consumer base, the company is expanding its reach to Arab consumers through an Arabic spices portfolio that continues to gain traction. Eastern has also emerged as the leading Indian spice brand in household reach across the GCC.
Orkla Foods India reported a 3.8 per cent rise in net profit to ₹68 crore for the quarter, while revenue rose to ₹636 crore, supported by volume growth of 5.4 per cent.
Sharma said the company will continue to invest in scaling convenience foods across breakfast, meals and cooking solutions while strengthening digital channels and expanding its consumer base in international markets.
Published on February 15, 2026
