Why Global Brands are Thriving in India

Global consumer brands offer investors a unique dual opportunity: the stability and scale of mature markets, and the accelerated growth potential of emerging economies. Companies like Nestlé, McDonald’s, and Suzuki demonstrate this contrast vividly. 

While their global operations provide predictable cash flows and steady returns, their India-listed counterparts: Nestlé India, Westlife Foodworld (the McDonald’s franchisee for West and South India), and Maruti Suzuki, are positioned to capture structural growth driven by rising incomes, urbanisation, and a burgeoning middle class.

Investing in these India-listed subsidiaries allows investors to participate in the same trusted, globally recognised brands, but with the added advantage of accessing a market where growth is accelerating, consumer demand is multiplying, and the total addressable market is expanding.

McDonalds – Westlife Foodworld vs McDonalds Corp

McDonald’s Corporation continues to execute its well-established “Accelerating the Arches” strategy globally, focusing on loyalty, digital convenience, menu innovation, and steady restaurant expansion. However, its growth trajectory reflects the maturity of developed markets, with systemwide sales and profitability driven more by consistency than acceleration.

By contrast, Westlife Foodworld, which operates McDonald’s in West and South India, is positioned for far sharper expansion. The company’s Vision 2027 plan targets a near-doubling of its store base, alongside the scaling of McCafé, digital ordering, and delivery, all within a market defined by explosive population growth, rapid urbanisation, and rising disposable incomes. 

This structural backdrop provides McDonald’s in India with a significantly larger runway for revenue and earnings growth compared with the brand’s global operations. 

Nestle – Nestle India vs Nestle Global

Nestlé India has established itself as a high-momentum unit of the larger Nestlé group, benefiting from India’s rapidly growing middle class, rising disposable incomes, premiumisation of food & beverages, and deepening rural & modern trade penetration. 

Key strategies include innovation (new variants, reduced sugar, premium extensions in coffee, snacks, nutrition), expanding manufacturing capacity to meet demand, disciplined pricing to offset input cost inflation, and leveraging brand equity for iconic products like Maggi, Nescafé, and KitKat.

On the other hand, Nestlé Global is operating in a more mature, diverse environment. Its recent “Accelerating Nestlé” and Capital Markets Day guidance highlights the need to revive internal (volume/real) growth, accelerate innovation, and improve margin discipline while investing for future growth. Organic growth globally has been modest (2-3%) in recent periods, with real internal growth weaker, meaning much of growth has been coming from pricing. Much of the headwinds are from soft consumer demand in some regions and competition from local and health-oriented brands.

Suzuki – Maruti Suzuki vs Suzuki Motor Corp

Maruti Suzuki and its parent, Suzuki Motor Corporation, share the same brand but their growth trajectories are shaped by different dynamics. In India, Maruti Suzuki is positioned to capitalise on powerful structural tailwinds for consumption mentioned prior. Its strategy centres on portfolio premiumisation (particularly SUVs), capacity expansion, and export growth, while also investing in cleaner powertrain technologies to align with tightening regulations. 

This positions Maruti to deliver volume growth and margin improvement despite affordability pressures and intensifying competition.

By contrast, Suzuki Motor Corporation’s global strategy is more diversified, focused on achieving leaner operations and higher profitability under its FY2030 growth framework. While Suzuki expects moderate global expansion, its largest incremental growth engine remains India, where it plans substantial capital allocation to capture rising demand.

Best of both worlds – brand reliability and massive growth

For investors, these examples highlight the compelling case for active management and selective exposure: the same global brands that deliver stability elsewhere can offer outsized growth in India. Nestlé India, Westlife Foodworld, and Maruti Suzuki demonstrate how structural trends in India translate into superior revenue and market expansion compared with their global counterparts. 

Through active managed India-focused funds that invest in these India-listed entities, investors can combine the reliability of established brands with the dynamism of one of the world’s fastest-growing consumer markets.