Wheat Flour Market in India: Growth & Forecast [2025]
Grinding wheat into flour produces a fine powder that can be used as a food ingredient. Different varieties of wheat flour can be identified by the gluten content, color, grain components, and kind of wheat used. Most baked items, including bread, cakes, and cookies, require wheat flour as an ingredient.
Endosperm is removed from the grain to produce wheat flour. Germ and bran are components of brown flour. All three components are present in whole-grain flour. Once the components have been isolated, they are reduced to a powder. Although white flour has a yellowish hue when unprocessed, it can be made white by bleaching or combining it with oxidizing chemicals.
Wheat can be categorized based on its growing season (spring or winter), color, hardness or softness, protein content, and the presence or absence of a specific protein called gluten. To begin, you need to know that hard wheat, which is typically a bronze color, has higher gluten content than soft wheat, which is a light golden hue.
Wheat Flour Market: Growth & Forecast 2025
Market Overview
IKON predicts that the market for bagged wheat flour in India would expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 21% between 2016 and 2027. In 2022, the worldwide wheat flour industry was worth US$ 241.0 billion. If the market continues to expand at its current rate, it might reach a new peak of Rs 25,000 Cr by the conclusion of the current fiscal year (2022-23).
A combination of positive micro and macroeconomic elements has created favorable conditions for market expansion. Despite this, more than 90% of the market for packaged wheat flour is concentrated in metropolitan areas. The demand for packaged wheat flour in India has been growing steadily, and this trend is expected to continue, especially as the top market players expand their reach into the country's rural market.
India's major shopping centers, supermarkets, and grocery/Kirana shops are the primary retail outlets for wheat flour packaging. On the other hand, the rise of E-Commerce, or online shopping, is having a major impact as a result of expanding internet access and improved computer technology.
Demand for pre-packaged wheat flour in India by wheat flour manufacturers is expected to rise in the future due to rising employment rates among women and their preference for time-saving food options. IKON predicts that the market for packaged wheat flour would more than double in size between FYs 2019–20 and 2024–25 if current trends continue.
Trends
Organic food has become increasingly popular since it is grown without the use of harmful chemicals like pesticides and synthetic fertilizers or genetically engineered ingredients (GMOs).
Increases in the rates of various chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cancer, and heart ailments, have a direct impact on the demand for organic wheat flour from consumers all over the world.
Wheat flour is used to make the bulk of staple foods in the Asia-Pacific Region, leading to a high consumption rate. The proliferation of restaurants, cafes, and other food service businesses in crucial nations like India and China has also contributed to the region's high demand for wheat flour.
Development
Organic whole wheat flour was introduced by Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Limited (GCMMF), in which wheat flour suppliers market their wares under the Amul brand, in May 2022. The new organic wheat flour from Amul will be sold in two different pack sizes and made accessible in Amul Parlors and other major retailers in Gujarat, India.
Ardent Mills, the industry leader in flour milling and ingredients, bought up Firebird Artisan Mills, a pioneer in milling gluten-free grains, specialty grains, and pulses, in December 2022.
Segment
When wheat grain is ground or milled, all of the flour's original ingredients remain intact. The examined market, the worldwide wheat market, is divided into submarkets based on product characteristics, buyer preferences, sales channels, and regional availability. The flour market can be broken down into several subsets, including whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, and others.
The Indian market is broken down into two primary sections: organic and conventional. The hospitality and food service sector, the retail sector, and the industrial production sector are the main end-user segments of the market. Supermarkets and hypermarkets, corner stores, web shops, and other outlets round out retail subdivisions.
By Type:
- Bread Flour
- Whole-Wheat Flour
- Fine Wheat Flour
- All-Purpose Flour
- Semolina Flour
- Others
Various types of wheat flour, such as all-purpose, whole-wheat, semolina, fine wheat, and bread, have led to the market within wheat flour being split up into sub-sectors.
By End Use:
- Bio-Fuel
- Food use
- Feed Use
- Others
Also Read: Top Selling Attar Manufacturers in India
The marketplace is segmented into three major groups based on their ultimate purpose: human consumption, animal feed, and alternative fuels. At present, the food industry makes extensive use of food used to produce a wide range of goods.
By Distribution Channel
- Online
- Supermarkets and Hypermarkets
- Convenience Stores
- Specialty Stores
- Independent Retailers
- Others
When it comes to wheat production in India, UP is a major player. Located in the Ganges River Valley, a prime agricultural area. Up to 300.010 lakh net tons of wheat can be harvested in the state.
Wheat is grown over more than 35,000 acres, or nearly 80%, of the cultivated land in Punjab.
A total of 76.271 million net metric tons of wheat were harvested. Shore, Hoshangabad, Vidisha, and several more regions of MP are crucial to the state's wheat production.
Annual wheat output in Rajasthan averages 72.145 lakh net tons. The state is responsible for 8% of the nation's wheat output.
Key Players
- Patanjali
- Fortune
- Pillsbury
- Aashirvaad
- Nature Fresh
- Annapurna
- Shakti Bhog
Growing levels of competition can be attributed to the proliferation of companies offering a wide variety of products under various brand names. In the case of bagged wheat flour, however, trying to please the Indian customer with a standard offering remains the toughest difficulty for marketers due to the wide range of regional preferences and beliefs in terms of food.
The only way for a business to stand out and maintain steady growth over the long run is if the marketer can come up with novel approaches to the product packaging and the value proposition they offer. In the case of packaged whole wheat flour, its accessibility and ease of use are likely to remain of high importance to Indian customers.
Market Analysis
Demand from the food business has been on the rise, and this has been a major factor in the industry's expansion. Wheat flour has a negligible amount of gluten, making it a popular choice among those who have sensitivities to the protein.
Celiac disease is a genetic autoimmune illness in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks a harmless protein found in wheat. This may be a significant factor for the demand for wheat flour to increase. Furthermore, wheat flour is abundantly rich in vitamins B and E, minerals, and enzymes, making it a highly nourishing food choice.
India has increased its wheat output tenfold in the last five years, making it the world's second-largest producer. It has been shown through a number of studies and analyses that wheat and wheat flour play an increasingly significant role in the administration of India's food economy.
Although local chakki mills in India control a sizable portion of the wheat flour business, branded bagged wheat flour has been quickly expanding in the country over the past five years, disrupting established norms. The national and regional players are leveraging hygiene and convenience by introducing new product varieties including multi-grain atta and fortified atta.
FAQs: Wheat Flour
Q. Is wheat flour good for health?
Ans. Vitamins, fibers, magnesium, zinc, and proteins are all abundant in whole wheat flour. The zinc concentration of whole wheat is quite high. You can find a lot of minerals like zinc, magnesium, iron, and manganese in it, and it has a lot of vitamin B in it as well.
Q. Is wheat flour the same as flour?
Ans. The fiber content is a significant difference between whole wheat flour and flour. Wheat's dietary fiber content is reflected in whole wheat flour. However, throughout the process of making white flour, all of the fiber is removed. Wheat naturally contains a high quantity of fiber, which is why whole wheat flour is healthier than refined white flour.
Q. Where is wheat flour produced in India?
Ans. The northern part of India is where wheat flour is grown the most. Punjab and Haryana Plains, two states in India's north, are major wheat growers. Durum Wheat has been examined extensively in the past, but it wasn't until recent years that India's top scientists were able to generate new, improved types.
Q. What are the types of wheat flour?
Ans. High gluten flour, stone ground, whole wheat flour, couscous, durum flour, semolina, pastry flour, cake flour, self-rising flour, bread flour, all-purpose flour, farina, rolled wheat, bran, bulgur, crushed wheat, cracked wheat, wheat germ are the types of wheat flour.
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