Zomato vaults into India’s top 25 brands after sharp jump in value

Zomato posted the sharpest rise in brand value among India’s major companies, according to Kantar’s new BrandZ ranking, with its 69% jump pushing the platform to No. 21 in the Top 100 and far outpacing the 6% aggregate growth recorded across the list.

The rise underscores India’s growing appetite for digital-led leisure and services even as overall consumption remains uneven.

Kantar attributed the increase to Zomato’s expansion well beyond food delivery. Over the past year, the company has moved deeper into restaurant reservations, events and entertainment, while introducing features aimed at health-conscious users.

The report said these additions have helped Zomato capture a broader share of discretionary spending at a time when households are rebalancing their budgets.

The company has also extended its offline presence. Zomaland, described in the report as India’s largest food and music festival, has strengthened the brand’s cultural footprint, while Zomato’s efforts to link dining, sports and live events through unified experiences have widened its reach among younger consumers.

Kantar noted that the firm’s “going out” business nearly tripled revenue in the third quarter of FY25, a sign that shifts in consumer behavior are beginning to favor brands that bridge online discovery with offline engagement. The company has also pushed deeper into smaller towns and experimented with new value propositions in metros, moves that have lifted its performance on Kantar’s “Meaningful Difference” metric above the broader category.

The BrandZ list itself expanded this year to a full Top 100, reflecting what Kantar described as a maturing brand landscape. The new entrants and returning names brought the total valuation to $523.5 billion, or about 13% of India’s GDP. Yet only one-third of brands posted growth, highlighting how momentum remains uneven across sectors despite the headline numbers.

HDFC Bank Ltd took the top position from Tata Consultancy Services Ltd after an 18% rise in brand value pushed it to just under $45 billion. Kantar said the bank’s focus on digital access and recognisable brand assets from its 30-minute digital auto loan to its Banking Correspondent Centres and e-Mitra kiosks in semi-urban markets has reinforced its presence across customer segments.

Its Vigil Aunty cyber-safety persona has become one of the more familiar symbols in Indian finance. The bank’s brand value has nearly doubled since 2019, mirroring the tight link between its retail footprint and digital tools.

Financial services, telecom and technology companies continued to dominate the upper ranks of the table, with Bharti Airtel Ltd, Infosys Ltd, ICICI Bank Ltd, State Bank of India and Reliance Jio maintaining their long-standing positions.

UltraTech Cement Ltd’s jump to No. 7 stood out in a category where brand movements tend to be marginal. Kantar assigned it the highest Demand Power Index score in the list of 290, citing its ability to predispose consumers to choose it over rivals. Advisory tools, retail-format experiments and multilingual digital content have helped the brand differentiate itself in a largely commoditised sector.

Kantar’s economic framing offers context for the mixed performance across categories. India is expected by several agencies and analysts to grow around 6.5% in 2025, extending its run as one of the world’s faster-growing large economies. But the report notes that the underlying picture is uneven.

IT services firms are navigating a slower global cycle, conglomerates have been cautious about new investments and automakers have felt the effects of softer demand. Inflation has eased, yet several years of elevated prices continue to shape consumer choices.

Urban households have shifted towards unbranded staples and smaller pack sizes even as they continue to spend on smartphones, décor and travel. Kantar said urban FMCG growth has been flattered by a “sales bump for unbranded goods”, which is not the kind of growth brands seek.

The picture in rural markets is more layered. While wealthier rural households continue to buy cosmetics, beverages and household cleaners at a higher rate, three-quarters of rural consumers remain worried about their finances. Families expanded into multiple categories earlier in the decade, leaving less room for savings.

Even so, Kantar said rural markets remain a source of present-day opportunity rather than distant potential. Consumers in these regions often associate branded goods with reliability and value, and companies that invest in distribution continue to gain. Everest and Godrej were cited as examples of brands using last-mile innovations to reach remote retailers. Godrej’s vans, for instance, are able to serve four to five villages a day and offer instant fulfilment the moment a retailer places an order.

India’s middle class, long the center of gravity for brand-driven consumption, is also shifting. Smaller households now account for half of all homes, up from 37% in 2008. Their per-capita FMCG spending is double that of larger families, yet their media habits are more fragmented.

Television has lost influence and digital formats have gained across age groups. Kantar’s data showed that online video, social media and marketplaces now deliver higher advertising equity, with Gen Z showing the strongest tilt. A BCG projection cited in the report estimates that Gen Z’s consumption will reach $1.8 trillion by 2035.

Across these shifts, Kantar highlighted “Meaningful Difference” as the clearest indicator of long-term brand strength. Brands that improved either dimension delivered stronger shareholder returns, while those that improved both performed even better.

The report said differentiation remains weak in many FMCG categories, and brands that leaned too heavily on price-led growth over the past decade are losing ground to private labels and unbranded goods. The companies pulling ahead are those that have kept up steady innovation, sharpened their propositions and invested in regional nuances.