Home ／ Insights on entering the Indian market
2026.03.24
Market research in India will trip you up if approached the same way as in other countries. That is because viewing it as a single country leads to misjudgment. Dietary habits differ between north and south, regulations differ by state, and even for the same product, the acceptable price range changes.
This article organizes research methods by objective, covers rough estimates of cost and duration, and goes as far as connecting research results to action.
Before getting into research design, let's look at how Japanese companies currently view India. We pull out the numbers for India from the fiscal 2025 edition of JETRO's annual survey of Japanese companies operating overseas.
| Item | India | All-region average |
|---|---|---|
| Intention to expand business in the next 1-2 years | 81.5% (384 respondent companies) | 46.2% |
| Share citing "growing demand in the local market" as the reason for expansion | 88.1% (310 respondent companies; the highest among surveyed countries) | 67.3% |
| "Increased local demand" as the reason for an improved operating profit outlook | 78.7% (178 respondent companies) | — |
India's expansion intention exceeding 80% is the case for the second year in a row, the highest level among the surveyed countries. The next highest is 64.3%, and the all-region average is 46.2%, a gap that is far from small. What matters even more is that the reason for expansion is concentrated on "local market demand," showing that companies see India as a market to sell into rather than as an export production base.
At the same time, the same survey shows that the indicator for the outlook on the business environment is negative for India, Brazil, and Vietnam, all countries with high expansion intentions. The numbers reflect a pattern in which the markets with the greatest opportunity are also where companies face the greatest difficulty on the ground. That is precisely why the quality of research makes the difference in outcomes.
North and South India differ even in staple foods and taste preferences. Change the religious composition and the ingredients people can eat change; change the state and the treatment of alcohol changes. Designing research around a unit called "the Indian market" produces only averages that are useless for decision-making.
City character also varies. When deciding on your research targets, keep at least the following divisions in mind.
The premise for choosing a base is organized in Gurugram and Chennai and other city-by-city articles.
Even for the same product, urban affluent consumers and middle-class consumers in regional cities perceive it completely differently. Research that simply converts the Japanese price into rupees does not hold up. The order should be to first decide who you are selling to, then explore the price range that reaches that segment. Design the income bracket breakdown from the following perspectives.
If you ask in English, you will only collect answers from the segment that uses English. The language you prepare the questionnaire in depends on whose voice you want to capture.
There are roughly seven research methods, but rather than memorizing them side by side, it is more practical to choose based on "what you want to know." That said, the order of execution is a separate matter. Proceed in the following order.
Below is what each method is suited and unsuited for.
What you want to know Method Suitability Overall market picture and regulatory framework Desk research Cheap and fast. However, public information is skewed toward urban areas What is actually happening on the ground Field research Shelf placement, pricing, and competitors can be observed firsthand. Travel costs are involved Consumer acceptance and price sensitivity Survey research Can be captured quantitatively. Getting the language design wrong skews the respondent base Competitors' strengths and gaps Competitive analysis Requires on-site inspection of shelves and prices. Public information alone is not enough The Inner Workings of an Industry Expert interviews Deep information in a short time. Quality depends on who you choose Whether entry is possible Regulatory and legal research This determines the entry format. Tackle it first Whether it will actually sell Test sales The most reliable. Starting small keeps investment limited
One thing to watch for is that most secondary sources assume urban areas and organized retail. Distribution in India has a high proportion of independent shops, leaving parts that don't show up in statistics. Estimating market size from desk research alone will diverge from actual conditions.
At the stage of quantitative verification, the design of who you ask determines the results. Decide three things first: which cities, how to break down income brackets, and the method of implementation.
| Online survey | Offline survey | |
|---|---|---|
| Segment reached | Urban areas, younger generation, smartphone users | Regional cities, rural areas, seniors |
| Speed | A few days to about two weeks | About one month, accounting for travel and staffing |
| Cost | Easy to keep low | Involves surveyor labor and travel costs |
| Caveat | Respondents skew toward the urban middle class and above | Quality depends on incentive design and surveyor training |
Talking about "Indian consumers" based on urban areas alone leads to misjudgment. If your target segment lies in regional cities or rural areas, offline research needs to be included even if it costs more.
Information on competitors is not enough from public materials alone. In India, unlisted local companies are strong in many sectors and don't disclose financial results, so this gap needs to be filled on the ground.
This method can surface insider industry information in a short time, but what you learn depends entirely on who you ask. If you want to know about distribution practice, asking executives won't get you the on-the-ground story.
Introductions from JETRO, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in India, or expert networks are a good entry point. Fees per interview vary widely depending on the provider and the respondent's position, so check with multiple providers before setting a budget.
The most reliable form of research is actually selling the product. That said, there is no need to set up a local entity and hold large inventory from the start.
In terms of research order, don't leave regulations for later. Since the entry format and product specifications are determined by regulation, other research becomes wasted effort if this isn't settled first.
These are reference figures for planning. They vary with the number of target cities and the scale of research, so treat them as ranges. Costs move significantly depending on the research firm and number of respondents, so getting quotes from multiple firms to compare is the reliable approach.
| Phase | Timeline benchmark | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | 2-4 weeks | Desk research and regulatory check. Determine whether entry is possible |
| Phase 2 | 4-8 weeks | Field research and expert interviews. Narrow down cities and price range |
| Phase 3 | 4-8 weeks | Consumer research. Quantitatively verify acceptance and price |
| Phase 4 | 3-6 months | Test sales. Sell small and observe the response |
You don't need to go through every phase in order. If Phase 1 doesn't settle the entry format, it is cheaper to stop there and reconsider the design. Conversely, if you already have a prospective business partner, Phase 1 and Phase 4 alone may be enough.
Since abstract steps alone aren't actionable, let's make this concrete using processed food as an example.
| Item | Design element |
|---|---|
| What to settle first | FSSAI classification, labeling, and shelf-life remaining requirements. This determines the product specifications |
| Target cities | Delhi NCR and Chennai. Since preferences diverge between north and south, one city alone isn't enough to judge |
| Target respondents | Urban middle class and above, the segment responsible for food purchases |
| Language | English and Hindi for Delhi; add Tamil for Chennai |
| What to verify | Acceptance, acceptable price range, pack-size increments, and whether the product is chosen over competitors |
| Condition to proceed | A certain level of purchase intent at the target price range emerges in both cities. If only one city meets it, narrow down the cities again |
The number of responses collected is determined by budget and the precision required. Deciding in advance which questions are pivotal for the decision makes it easier to discuss the necessary sample size.
A common outcome in India market entry is ending up with an impressive research report but being unable to take the next step. The cause lies in how the research was designed.
A question like "I want to know the potential of the Indian market" won't produce an answer you can act on. Making it concrete, as below, naturally brings the research closer to a design for action.
| Questions you can't use to decide | Questions you can use to decide |
|---|---|
| Is there potential in the Indian market? | Will the middle class in Delhi NCR accept a price in the 200-rupee range? |
| Are competitors strong? | How much of a gap from the cheapest option on the same shelf would still get the product chosen? |
| Which city is best? | If choosing only one city for the first year, which one offers the easiest distribution to secure? |
SoJapan provides end-to-end support, from consumer research to strategy development, local partner development, and sales execution. It is designed so that research doesn't end as a report but connects to the next step. How to sell after researching is covered in Sales Channel Development in India, and who to partner with is covered in How to Find a Local Partner covers this.
Start by checking the regulations. Since foreign investment rules and product certification requirements determine the entry format itself, spending budget on consumer research before this is settled won't give you a basis for decisions. Allowing 2-4 weeks for desk research and regulatory research clarifies what to investigate next.
In JETRO's fiscal 2025 survey, 81.5% of 384 Japanese companies in India indicated an intention to expand their business over the next 1-2 years. This is the second year in a row exceeding 80%, far above the all-region average of 46.2%. Among companies citing growing local market demand as their reason for expansion, the share was 88.1%, the highest among the surveyed countries.
You can get a rough idea, but it will diverge from actual conditions. Distribution in India has a high proportion of independent shops, and public statistics are skewed toward urban areas and organized retail. If you're using market size for investment decisions, you need a process of correcting it by actually observing local shelves and prices.
No. Conducting surveys only in English skews responses toward the English-using segment. Use English together with Hindi as a baseline, and prepare questionnaires in Tamil or Telugu for South India and Bengali for the East. The languages you need depend on whose voice you want to capture.
As a rough guide: 2-4 weeks for regulatory checks and desk research, 4-8 weeks for field research and expert interviews, and a further 4-8 weeks for consumer research. Including test sales, it can exceed six months. However, you don't need to go through every phase, and the timeline can be compressed if the entry format is settled early.
In most cases, the cause is how the question was framed. A question like "I want to know the market's potential" won't produce an answer you can act on. If you frame it concretely, down to "which city, at what price range, through which channel," the research results directly become material for an execution plan.
Designing market research in India as a single country only produces averages. It is effective to start from the premise that the market is divided by region, income bracket, and language, first confirm whether regulatory entry is possible, and then narrow down the buyer segment and price range.
In JETRO's survey, 81.5% of Japanese companies in India indicated an intention to expand their business, even as the outlook for the business environment is assessed as harsh. Precisely because this is a market where opportunity and difficulty coexist, research needs to be designed to connect to action rather than end as a report.
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