{"id":93662,"date":"2025-09-11T17:15:45","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T11:45:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bizom.com\/?p=93662"},"modified":"2026-09-08T14:01:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T08:31:09","slug":"gst-2-0-impact-fmcg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bizom.com\/id\/blog\/gst-2-0-impact-fmcg\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Chips Packets Finally Deliver More Crunch Than Air?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Will Chips Packets Finally Deliver More Crunch Than Air?<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tby Aftab Sheikh\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Sep 11, 2025 | 07<\/strong>\u00a0min read<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Share:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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I was scrolling through the morning paper in my usual way, by downloading the e-paper straight into my neural feed. The headline blinked brighter than a neon sale sign:\u00a0<\/span>\u201cGST Reset: Council Collapses Four Slabs into Two, Adds a 40% Sting.\u201d
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For most readers, it was another government reform story. For me, it was a call to adventure. After all, I\u2019m RIO, a cyborg reporter at the Bizom Bulletin. My job is to explore the future of CPG, even if it means bending time.<\/p>

So I did what any sensible AI-journalist hybrid would do: I flicked my teleport switch, and in an instant, I was standing outside a supermarket on September 22nd, 2025, the very day the new GST rates went live.<\/p>

The glass doors slid open with a hiss, and I stepped inside. The store was alive with fluorescent lights, packed aisles, and shoppers clutching baskets that seemed to bulge a little more than usual. A banner stretched across the entrance:\u00a0<\/span>\u201cWelcome to GST 2.0: Pay Less, Get More.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>

It was time to see if the hype matched the headlines.<\/p>

The scent of fresh bread hit me first. I drifted towards the bakery, where biscuit packets and pastry boxes stacked like towers of temptation. A bright yellow sticker screamed:\u00a0<\/span>\u201cNow with 10% Extra at Same Price!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>

I picked up a packet of butter biscuits. Just last week, it would have been taxed at\u00a0<\/span>18%<\/strong>. Today, thanks to GST 2.0, it sat comfortably at\u00a0<\/span>5%<\/strong>. The MRP hadn\u2019t changed (\u20b920), but the pack weighed\u00a015 grams more<\/strong>.<\/p>

This is the quiet genius of grammage. Consumers hate messy MRPs, nobody wants to see \u20b919.50 scribbled on a pack. But add a cookie or two? Suddenly, the deal feels like a gift.<\/p>

The ripple was everywhere. Namkeen packets, once 12%, now basked in the glow of 5%. Pastries that once pinched the pocket felt almost indulgent. Families were tossing extra packs into their baskets, muttering the magic words retailers love to hear:\u00a0<\/span>\u201cWhy not, it\u2019s cheaper now.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>

Yet the transition wasn\u2019t all smooth. Some brands were still pushing out older stock, with employees hurriedly pasting stickers on biscuit cartons: \u201cRevised MRP under new GST rates.\u201d I remembered the reports\u2014over\u00a0<\/span>\u20b92,000 crore<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>worth of packaging waste had loomed as a threat because MRPs were pre-printed under old tax slabs. Government relief allowed relabeling until December, but the race against time was visible in every aisle.<\/p>

As I moved past the bakery, the smell of butter gave way to the cool, creamy air of the dairy section.<\/p>

Here, the changes were colder but even more impactful. Paneer blocks, butter tubs, and cheese slices were all now under the\u00a05% bracket<\/strong>. A litre of ghee that sold for \u20b9500 last week was now marked down to \u20b9475.<\/p>

I watched a shopper compare branded butter with loose white butter sold at the counter. \u201cIf branded is cheaper now, why bother with the loose one?\u201d she said. That\u2019s the quiet revolution happening:\u00a0tax relief is pulling consumers away from unbranded staples towards packaged goods<\/strong>.<\/p>

Bread loaves, usually stacked next to milk, still remained tax-free, but their packaged cousins\u2014flavoured buns, stuffed rolls, showed fresh discounts. And in the corner, packaged rice bags carried new tags too, their MRPs sliced thinner than ever.<\/p>

But here\u2019s the cautionary tale:\u00a0<\/span>consumption doesn\u2019t rise endlessly<\/strong>. No family will suddenly start eating six slices of bread instead of four. Elasticity differs by category. Staples will see\u00a0<\/span>brand shifts<\/strong>, not bingeing. Biscuits and snacks, though? That\u2019s where demand will explode.<\/p>

Leaving the chill of the dairy section, I turned into the personal care aisle, where drama was written not on packs, but on faces.<\/p>

The shelves here felt like they\u2019d been through a festival sale. Shampoo bottles, toothpaste packs, bars of soap, all bore red stickers:\u00a0\u201cNow at 5% GST!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>

A 200ml shampoo bottle that was \u20b9120 just yesterday now stood at \u20b9105. Shoppers were smiling, some even grabbing a mini conditioner to celebrate.<\/p>

But the joy was uneven. Right across, detergents sat sulking at their old\u00a018% tag<\/strong>. Skincare creams and cosmetics were left untouched by reform, their price points unchanged. I overheard a shopper laugh:\u00a0<\/span>\u201cSo I can wash my hair cheaper, but not my clothes or my face?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>

Analysts had called this out already, leaving detergents out baffled both companies and consumers. Detergent is hygiene, not luxury. And in cosmetics, the exclusion risked dampening India\u2019s booming beauty market.<\/p>

But that\u2019s how GST 2.0 drew its lines: some winners, some forgotten categories. And in this aisle, the tension was thick.<\/p>

As I walked ahead, the scent of talcum faded, replaced by the sharp medicinal air of the pharmacy counter.<\/p>

This was the aisle of relief. A pharmacist showed me the updated price list: essential medicines and diagnostic kits, once taxed at 12%, were now under the 5% GST slab.<\/p>

This was no small change for families managing chronic conditions. A glucometer that once cost \u20b91,000 was now \u20b9950. Strips for daily monitoring saw similar cuts.<\/p>

For me, the bigger story wasn\u2019t in percentages, it was in faces. Elderly shoppers smiled as they noticed a drop in price. That\u2019s the human side of tax reform.<\/p>

But pharma companies weren\u2019t fully celebrating. Their raw materials and packaging costs still carried higher slabs, meaning margin pressures remained. Relief for consumers didn\u2019t always mean relief for manufacturers.<\/p>

And as I turned the corner, the cool pharmacy aisle gave way to the fizz of the beverage section.<\/p>

The soda aisle looked deserted. Bottles of cola, once priced at \u20b940, now carried tags closer to \u20b955. The reason? GST had shot up from\u00a0<\/span>28%<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>to\u00a0<\/span>40%<\/strong>.<\/p>

One teenager picked up a bottle, sighed, and put it back. A few feet away, juice cartons flew off the shelves. Their rates had dropped to 5%, making them the heroes of the hour.<\/p>

Retailers whispered to me:\u00a0<\/span>\u201cCola is dead stock now. Everyone\u2019s buying juice.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>It was clear: GST wasn\u2019t just changing MRPs, it was changing consumer behaviour.<\/p>

From here, I strolled into the clothing section, where racks of shirts and dresses awaited their own twist.<\/p>

A woman held two dresses, both equally stylish. One priced at \u20b91,999, unchanged. The other, \u20b92,599, now bore a higher tag thanks to GST jumping from 12% to\u00a0<\/span>18%<\/strong>. She put it back.<\/p>

Here, GST had drawn a hard line:\u00a0<\/span>\u20b92,500 became the fashion border<\/strong>. Brands were quick to adapt\u2014suddenly, I saw rows of products tagged at \u20b92,499. A clever dodge to stay in the lower tax bracket.<\/p>

This aisle told a story of psychological pricing more than real affordability. Consumers weren\u2019t poorer overnight, but GST created thresholds that reshaped what brands chose to sell.<\/p>

Beyond apparel, the glow of flashing screens pulled me toward the electronics corner.<\/p>

\u201cTVs, Fridges, ACs: Now Cheaper with 18% GST!\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>blared a display ad. A \u20b930,000 fridge now cost closer to \u20b927,500. Cooling appliances and flat-screens suddenly felt within reach for many middle-class families. In rural and tier-2 towns, GST 2.0 might even spark a wave of first-time buyers\u2014households welcoming their very own modern comforts.<\/p>

As I lingered, the demo TV switched ads. This time, it wasn\u2019t about electronics but automobiles. Luxury cars and premium bikes, once taxed at 28%, were now burdened with a\u00a0<\/span>hefty 40% GST<\/strong>. A Royal Enfield spot appeared for a second, then vanished almost sheepishly. Brands, it seemed, preferred silence over announcing a price hike that steep.<\/p>

And that\u2019s when it struck me: this supermarket wasn\u2019t just selling products. It was projecting India\u2019s shifting dreams: some made more affordable, others pushed further out of reach, all rewritten overnight by a tax reform.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The Checkout Line: The Big Picture<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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I queued up with my basket full of biscuits, shampoo, and a discounted ghee pack. Around me, shoppers compared notes:<\/span><\/p>