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Contrary to common perception, it is the lower end of the population that is driving growth in the FMCG sector. Stating this at the Ninth CII Marketing Summit here today, IMRB International President Mr. Thomas Puliyel put the size of this section at around 110 million households. He was speaking in the session on 'Chasing the mirage, the great Indian marketplace: the promise and the potential.'

Illustrating his point further, Mr. Puliyel said that there is another myth to be shattered. Growth in sales of large packs, he said, is as much as that of the sachets of a product. Not only that, Mr Puliyel pointed out, premium products like hair oils and shampoos show a good growth rate among the lower social classes. "This," Mr Puliyel said, "shows that the Bottom of the pyramid market is the market for future growth."

Technopak Chairman Mr. Arvind K Singhal, however, shared a radically different perspective. "I take Rs 45,000 per annum figure as the base for defining bottom of the pyramid," Mr Singhal said. According to him, there were 35 million households that can be termed as the bottom of the pyramid.

He pointed out, "if we take out spending on basic needs, then we see that 75 per cent of the total rural retail consumption is on food products, tobacco and local intoxicants. The next chunk of 7 per cent on clothing."

Mr. Singhal, thus, concluded, "there is no gold mine at the bottom of pyramid." He further said, "We should not worry at this point of time about developing a business model for those at the bottom of the pyramid. That step is probably a decade away."

Mr. Anil Dua, Vice-President (Marketing & Sales), Hero Honda Motors Ltd, took the middle path by citing his company's experiences of selling bikes targeted at individuals earning Rs 5,000 per month. "A large number of this segment opts for our entry level bikes," he said.

To cater to this market, he said, we have to remember five key points - relevant product innovation, meaningful consumer connect, convenient physical access, affordable system delivery and empathetic relationship building.

He said, "we as marketers have a role in shaping, not only following, aspirations of the consumer at the bottom of the pyramid." He cited Hero Honda's example of apposite amalgamation of profits with corporate social responsibility (CSR) to make inroads into this market segment. "Injecting capital along with training and generating employment is the way forward," he said.

At the end of the session, on being asked by Mint Editor Raju Narisetti on what exactly comprised the bottom of the pyramid and how to reach it, Mr Puliyel and Mr. Dua agreed that top to bottom approach is the most applicable in this segment. Mr. Dua said, "we first have to target the creamy layer of the segment and then work our way downwards."