What started as a battle with late-night snack-ing within the hostel shortly changed into a turning level for Mansi Kalyan. Realising how her meals decisions had been affecting her well being, the 23-year-old engineering pupil began to give attention to fibre-rich choices to keep up steady energy ranges, help digestion, and stop the sluggishness related to sugary or fried snacks. She swapped processed, low-nutrient snacks for fibre-rich options like beans, lentils and chia-based objects. Regularly, her relationship with meals improved.
Kalyan’s story displays a broader shift amongst younger shoppers who’re more and more prioritising fibre of their diets. Throughout India, this rising consciousness is reshaping meals decisions — signalling a transparent and decisive transformation within the nation’s snacking tradition. From millet chips and roasted makhanas to quinoa khakhras and seed mixes, manufacturers are reformulating merchandise round fibre-rich components to fulfill the rising demand for digestive well being, satiety and long-term wellness. This shift can be being amplified on-line.
Business our bodies see structural tailwinds supporting fibre growth. “The worldwide shift towards more healthy snacking is creating robust momentum for fibre-rich meals,” says Gunjan Vijay Jain, president of the Nuts and Dry Fruits Council (India). “Nuts and dry fruits provide a clear, plant-based supply of fibre together with important nutritional vitamins, minerals and wholesome fat,” provides Jain.
In response to Mintel’s World Meals and Drink Predictions 2026, fibre and protein are among the many most simply understood vitamins, making them highly effective drivers of selection. “At a time when there’s an abundance of immediately accessible well being recommendation, protein and fibre are reducing by way of the muddle in 2026 and going mainstream as accessible and important vitamins,” says Michelle Teodoro, affiliate director of meals science for Asia-Pacific at Mintel.
Fuelling the demand
The 2025 ITC Aashirvaad Comfortable Tummy survey discovered that just about 70% of Indians fall wanting their really useful day by day fibre consumption, with girls significantly affected. This hole is changing into a key driver of innovation for FMCG corporations to broaden fibre-rich choices throughout classes. “Fibremaxxing is a rising pattern amongst shoppers right this moment, the place they’re consciously taking steps to extend the fibre quotient of their eating regimen,” says Hemant Malik, govt director at ITC. “Shoppers have began to know the gut-brain connection and its position in psychological, bodily and general well-being.”
The corporate has been increasing its ‘better-for-you’ portfolio as a part of its ‘Assist India Eat Higher’ technique. “Sunfeast Farmlite provides fibre-rich cookies, Yoga Bar has oats, muesli and breakfast bars filled with fibre, whereas our Proper Shift vary is designed for shoppers above 40 with high-fibre cookies and millet mixes that help intestine well being,” provides Malik.
Throughout the October 2025 earnings name, PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta introduced that fibre would be the firm’s subsequent main dietary focus, termed ‘the subsequent protein,’ to align with client well being developments and GLP-1 treatment utilization. Globally, the corporate is aggressively updating its portfolio to take away synthetic components and enhance fibre/ protein content material.
PepsiCo India can be aligning innovation with this evolving client preferences.”As life develop into more and more busy, shoppers are on the lookout for smarter snacking choices that mix style, comfort and useful advantages. We’re seeing rising curiosity in fibre-rich decisions, significantly amongst city shoppers and youthful audiences,” says Saakshi Verma Menon, chief advertising officer — meals, PepsiCo India.
Whereas the model’s Quaker portfolio, which incorporates oats-based merchandise naturally wealthy in fibre, caters properly to this demand, Menon provides that the model can be exploring methods to carry conventional grains into fashionable codecs. “For example, Kurkure Jowar Puffs is impressed by jowar… reflecting how we’re evolving the portfolio to match altering client preferences,” says Menon.
With added comfort
Amongst quite a lot of rising manufacturers which can be constructing fibre into their core proposition, the nutrient isn’t just a declare, however foundational to product design. “Fibre-rich snacks are gaining momentum globally because the ‘fibermaxxing’ pattern grows,” says Pune-based Pranav Korke, co-founder and CEO of The Wholesome Binge, a model that has constructed its snack portfolio round indigenous grains corresponding to ragi, jowar, chickpeas and amaranth-ingredients that naturally include excessive ranges of fibre.
“After we began the model in 2021, our thought was easy: to return to components Indians have trusted for generations,” Korke explains. “Grains like ragi, jowar, amaranth and chickpeas are excessive in fibre, so once we construct snacks round them, fibre turns into an natural dietary benefit reasonably than one thing we artificially add later.”
Whereas fibre’s attraction extends past well being, it additionally aligns with fashionable consumption patterns. “Individuals are on the lookout for snacks which can be simple to hold, fast to eat and nonetheless nutritionally balanced,” he provides.
This intersection of comfort, satiety and diet is making fibre a powerful contender in city, on-the-go snacking. The pattern can be strengthened by the rise of clean-label and plant-based consuming.
Manufacturers corresponding to Wholesome Grasp are capitalising on this shift with baked and roasted snacks produced from millets, oats, nuts and seeds. Based in 2019, the Bengaluru-based model has constructed a portfolio of baked and roasted snacks produced from millets, oats, nuts and seeds.
Tarun Agrawal, co-founder of the model, says, “We primarily promote by way of direct-to-consumer channels and quick-commerce platforms together with Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy Instamart, Amazon Now, BigBasket and Flipkart Minutes. After increasing throughout India, we now course of round 75,000 orders monthly, with fast commerce already contributing 50% of its gross sales—a share anticipated to rise to 75% over the subsequent yr.”
Equally, Farmley is leveraging nuts, seeds and makhanas as fibre-rich codecs. “Shoppers are on the lookout for snacks that ship a number of advantages which embody fibre, protein and wholesome fat. By means of codecs like roasted makhanas, ready-to-eat path mixes and seed components, we make it simpler for shoppers to incorporate fibre of their day by day routines,” says Akash Sharma, co-founder of Farmley. The model’s fibre consumption — together with nuts, seeds, roasted snacks and path mixes — now account for round two-thirds of Farmley’s snack portfolio.
