Urban Indians have a new lifestyle and an insatiable appetite for  ready-to-eat food and carbonated drinks. But a shift to healthier options is on the cards, says new research.A growing young, working population with more disposable income than time on their hands is fuelling the demand for ready-to-eat food and convenience products, particularly snacks and carbonated drinks. However, trends towards health will prevail, says Emerging Trends in Indian Food and Drinks, a new research report by RNCOS which is available as a free download from Report Buyer.

There are currently over 1,000 snack food products available in India, and potato-based snacks, particularly potato chips, occupy more than 80% of the salty snack market. But, the consumption of diet snacks is on the rise and organised retail chains are seeing a huge demand for diet snacks (bread sticks, soy nuts, popcorn and baked & roasted snacks.) Similarly, although the soft drink market is currently dominated by carbonated drinks, growing health concerns are set to bring about big changes in consumption patterns, shifting interest  to healthier options like juices, bottled water, and energy drinks.

Also on the rise is the consumption of organic food, visible from the fact that almost every supermarket has an organic outlet and every large city has several organic restaurants and stores.  Though 50% of organic food production in the country is targeted towards exports, many Indians look towards organic food for domestic consumption.

” The health and economic well-being of the urban Indian will drive the  domestic organic food market, and this is expected to grow between 25-30% annually over the next few years,” said an analyst at RNCOS.

The study finds that though organic food is  more expensive than conventional food by as much as 25%, many people are willing to pay this higher premium due to the perceived health benefits of organic food. This shows the vast potential for the organic food industry in India.

“Emerging Trends in Indian Food and Drinks – Rising incomes create opportunities” analyses the food and drinks market in India which is the fastest-growing Indian retail sector. The report is one of a series of industry short reports available as free downloads from Report Buyer.