Heads didn't turn when Coca-Cola (KO) and Pepsi (PEP) hiked prices on some of their most popular beverages in India last fall. Even in the downturn, both companies have enjoyed double-digit volume growth. And despite projections that the world's second-fastest-growing economy will watch its 9% growth rate slow to 5.5% to 6% in 2009, India's makers of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) such as beverages, biscuits, and beauty aids historically have been somewhat insulated from economic slowdowns. Indeed, the FMCG industry in India is expected to register close to 15% growth in the financial year ended March 2009. But that doesn't mean FMCG companies in India—both multinational and domestic—can afford to be overconfident. The fact is, now is the time for them to keep their eyes on the ball.

For consumer-products companies in India, moving up in the downturn means focusing on selling only the right products, becoming more strategic about pricing, following consumers to where they shop, and investing ahead of the competition to strengthen a core market segment or help make the most of a new one.

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