FMCG product sales in the non-essential premium segment have grown at a rate of 25 per cent annually in the rural market during 2004-07, said a top official of a global consultancy company.

The FMCG industry in the country is presently worth about 80,000 crore (Rs 800 billion), according to an estimate.

"The non-essential premium-end products like skin creams, shampoos, have shown a rapid growth of 25 per cent annually in sales in the rural market. Demand of such products also saw an increase from the lower socio-economic classes," global consultancy major IMRB International President Thomas Puliyel told reporters on the sidelines of the 9th CII Marketing Summit in New Delhi.

However, very few companies were addressing issues related to this market at a time when rural customers were laying stress on brand value, he added.

He said the companies need to change their strategy by introducing not only lower-priced substitutes of these non-essential products like shampoo sachets but also need to undertake product innovation.

There is a lot of contribution from the substitutes of non-essential premium segment products, like sachets for shampoo bottles, in the rural market at a time when bigger packaged products witnessed a lower penetration level in the countryside, he said.

"Rural market comprise 50 per cent share of the total FMCG market in India and customers in the countryside are a major component of the increase in growth of sales volume," Puliyel added.

The companies need to focus on new product categories and marketing strategies to cope up with this demand, he added.