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Why taste, trust and innovation will define the next decade
This article is authored by Sanjay Sharma, managing director and CEO, Orkla India.
The second quarter of the 21st century sees India’s food market entering a defining period with a wide variety of choices for consumers, more than ever before! However, this choice comes at a time when consumers are also more discerning, better informed, and less forgiving. And three key factors will keep brands ahead of the rest: taste, trust and innovation.
Trust is fast becoming the most valuable asset in food. People are no longer satisfied with broad assurances of quality. Repeated headlines about adulteration, contamination, and misleading labels have alerted consumers and shifted the narrative from plain vanilla compliance to credibility. Consumers want proof! Brands that can show where ingredients come from, how they are tested, and what standards they follow will build loyalty that conventional marketing and discounts cannot buy. Traceability to source, third party certifications, clear allergen and ingredient disclosure, and honest labelling are no longer just nice to have but are essential.
Trust is not only a domestic issue. When safety lapses occur in a high visibility category, the reputational impact can travel quickly across borders and shape how Indian food exports are perceived. That is why trust has to be built end to end through the supply chain and product journey - from farming practices and supplier controls to processing hygiene, packaging integrity, storage, transport, and retail handling. Food safety must be integrated into systems, culture, and incentives. The next decade will see brands that make quality measurable, auditable, and visible to consumers come out in front and succeed.
Taste is always the final deciding factor. Consumers can admire a brand’s values, but they buy again only if the product is genuinely delicious. The difference now is that taste must co-exist with health goals, clean labels, and ethical expectations. People want indulgence with fewer compromises. That demands sharper formulation discipline, stronger process control, and smarter use of science.
This is where innovation becomes the bridge between enjoyment and responsibility. Sensory research, advanced analytics, and AI-driven insight can help teams understand what consumers love about a flavour and how to deliver the same satisfaction while improving nutrition, shelf life, and consistency. Innovation is not only about launching new flavours. It is also about better textures, simpler ingredient lists, and reliable performance across geographies and cooking conditions. The best products will feel authentic, taste memorable, and still meet modern expectations on health and transparency.
Traditional Indian cooking offers a cultural tailwind here. Recipes handed down through generations that use seasonal ingredients and cooking methods that instinctively minimise waste are already common in Indian households. The opportunity now is to scale these to the entire supply chain with modern systems such as better forecasting, energy efficiency, regenerative agriculture partnerships, and sourcing models that reward farmers fairly. Sustainability, done well, becomes a second kind of trust, giving consumers proof that the brand will do the right thing consistently, and not only when it is convenient.
Today, India is in the right place at the right time to become a global food innovation hub. Our staples and speciality crops along with our diverse food culture offers a living library of flavours, techniques, and regional identities, giving Indian food products an advantage that is hard to replicate anywhere else in the world. Innovation without losing authenticity is an advantage with traditional food practices providing endless starting points for food innovation.
The export opportunity reinforces this momentum. While the large Indian diaspora continues to seek the tastes of home, global consumers are also increasingly curious about Indian flavours. Demand is rising for spices, snacks, condiments, and ready to cook and ready to eat formats that deliver authenticity with convenience. The brands that win international consumers will be those that embrace regional nuance, rather than flattening them for mass appeal. At home, Indian consumers are also embracing global cuisines, but prefer them through a familiar lens. The future, therefore, belongs to brands that can translate new formats into Indian taste expectations without diluting either.
Sustainability and ethical sourcing are central to how consumers judge brands. People may not always pay a visible premium for a green label, but they do notice when companies are careless about packaging, water use, emissions, or farmer welfare. They expect packaging to use less material, be recyclable, and are open to credible alternatives where feasible.
The mandate for food brands is clear. Build trust through transparency and quality. Innovate with respect for regional authenticity, while embracing technology that improves convenience, nutrition, and consistency. And never forget the basics: if it does not taste great, nothing else matters. Getting this right will give India global influence to shape the next era of food, setting new benchmarks for responsible, modern food companies everywhere.
This article is authored by Sanjay Sharma, managing director and CEO, Orkla India.
