Malaysia’s FMCG market faces more selective spending, report finds
Across six Southeast Asian markets, weak sales volumes offset price rises, leaving FMCG value growth largely flat from 2023 to the first half of 2026.
More selective household purchases are making growth harder to achieve for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) businesses in Malaysia and neighbouring markets, according to a new report by Bain & Company and NielsenIQ. The findings come despite continued economic expansion across Southeast Asia.
The study covers Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. It found that higher prices were largely cancelled out by weak sales volumes from 2023 to the first half of 2026, leaving little growth in FMCG sales value.
The report projects Southeast Asian economic growth of 5.1 per cent in 2026 and expects more than 50 million people to join the consuming class by 2030. However, it identifies slower growth in real wages and high household debt as pressures on household spending.
Consumers are balancing higher-priced purchases with savings elsewhere: seven in 10 who moved to a more expensive option in one category chose cheaper alternatives in another. Beauty and baby care showed greater demand for premium products, while household products remained more focused on value.
Overall, 58 per cent said they would pay more for reasons including quality they trusted or demonstrably better results. Loyalty also had limits: half of shoppers said they would immediately choose another brand if their regular one was unavailable. Praneeth Yendamuri, Bain’s partner and head of its Asia Pacific Consumer Products practice, said businesses needed to focus products on what consumers were genuinely prepared to pay for.
