From More Demand to More Shelves: Personal Care’s Festive Growth Story
by Lakshit Lakhlan
September 24, 2026 | 03 min read
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Personal Care just had a very different August.
After declining 2.3% in July, the category grew 8.1% in August – a 10.4 percentage-point turnaround in a single month.
But August looks like more than a simple recovery.
It comes at an important moment for the category: the festive season is beginning to build, consumers are stepping into higher-consumption occasions, and the shopping basket itself is evolving.
And Bizom’s retail data is showing that shift on the ground.
The festive season is beginning to show up in Personal Care
The turnaround is visible across markets.
Urban Personal Care moved from -3.9% in July to +4.1% in August.
But the bigger movement came from Non-Urban markets, which went from -1.0% to +12.0%.
That matters because festive consumption is not restricted to India’s largest cities.
As shoppers prepare for festivals, celebrations and family occasions, Personal Care becomes part of a broader preparation basket — from everyday hygiene and grooming to products that are increasingly more aspirational.
August could therefore be an early signal of the festive demand cycle beginning to flow through Personal Care.
Consumers are not just buying more. They are trading up.
The next part of the story is premiumization.
Personal Care is moving beyond purely functional purchases. Consumers are increasingly exploring better formats, higher-value products and premium propositions, creating an opportunity for brands to grow not just through more consumption, but through higher-value consumption.
That makes the August turnaround particularly interesting.
The category is gaining momentum at the same time that the retail environment is expanding and the basket itself is becoming broader and more premium.
More demand. More shelves. A broader basket.
Kirana reach for Personal Care grew 5.5% YoY in August.
So the category is not simply selling more through the same retail network.
It is showing up in more stores.
And that expansion is visible across multiple Personal Care segments.
Feminine Hygiene, Perfumes & Deos and Children’s Products recorded particularly strong gains in kirana reach, while Hair Care and Grooming also moved higher.
That combination tells an important story.
Personal Care is becoming a broader basket – spanning hygiene, grooming, family needs and lifestyle-led purchases – while simultaneously reaching more of India’s retail universe.
The festive season could be the start of something bigger
August’s turnaround points to more than a seasonal recovery.
With growth turning positive, kirana reach expanding and consumers increasingly trading up, Personal Care appears to be moving beyond a simple recovery – towards a broader, more premium and increasingly diversified consumption story.
For brands, the opportunity is to understand where this shift is happening and act on it early.
As festive demand picks up, the next wave of CPG growth is already beginning to take shape across India’s kirana network.
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Lakshit Lakhlan
Research Analyst | Multi-Brands Analytics
Lakshit specializes in CPG, retail and consumer analytics with a focus on retail trends, category performance and consumer insights. His work includes research, market analysis and developing industry reports that track key trends and shifts across India's evolving market landscape.
