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INDUSTRY FACT FILE · FMCG, FOOD & BEVERAGES

Market Landscape and the Drivers of Cybersecurity Demand in FMCG, Food and Beverages

The business, technology, regulatory, legal, statutory and retailer forces that create cybersecurity, audit and assurance work for consumer goods groups, food processors, beverage companies, dairies, cold-chain operators and distributors.

In this document

1. Market landscape

2. Business drivers

3. Technology drivers

4. Regulatory drivers: CERT-In, SEBI, DPDP, FSSAI, Legal Metrology and GST

5. Legal and statutory drivers

6. How the drivers differ by company type

7. What this means for buyers and for Codec Networks

1. Market landscape

India's FMCG, food and beverage sector is large, fragmented and digitising fast. Listed consumer goods groups and multinational subsidiaries dominate branded categories; regional food and beverage companies, PLI-backed processors and dairy cooperatives compete in staples, snacks, dairy and drinks; cold-chain and warehouse operators serve all of them; and tens of thousands of distributors, now on company-run apps and distributor management systems, carry products to millions of outlets. Quick commerce, e-commerce and D2C add integrated channels and first-party consumer data on top of general trade.

Cybersecurity demand follows that structure. Companies have seen ransomware stop order processing and empty shelves, scheme fraud leak through distributor portals, cold-chain and logistics partners go offline and consumer apps leak data; listed groups must disclose incidents; CERT-In expects independent audits that include OT; retailers and insurers ask for control evidence; and DPDP turns loyalty data into an obligation. Spending is shifting from basic IT security to plant OT assessments, distributor platform testing, partner assurance, consumer data protection and monitoring that covers plants, depots and channels.

₹10,900 cr

PLI outlay for food processing, 2021-22 to 2026-27

171

Companies approved under the food processing PLI by early 2025

₹5 crore

Turnover above which GST e-invoicing applies since August 2023

May 2027

Most DPDP obligations take effect

Market segment	Landscape and buying behaviour	Cybersecurity opportunity
Listed consumer goods groups and multinationals	Many plants and brands, group ERP, DMS at scale, SEBI disclosure, global security standards	Programme-level OT security, DMS and app testing, SOC, Board reporting, DPDP
Regional food and beverage companies	Growing plants and distribution, lean security teams, retailer and PLI scrutiny	IEC 62443 assessments, segmentation, DMS testing, managed SOC
Dairies and cooperatives	Milk collection and payments, cold chains, member and consumer data	IoT and plant assessment, payment controls, DPDP
Cold-chain and warehouse operators	Customer stock at risk, WMS and telematics, thin margins	Baseline assessment, backups, customer evidence, monitoring
Distributor networks and channel platforms	Thousands of small businesses on company platforms	Portal and app testing, onboarding controls, fraud analytics

2. Business drivers

Business driver	Buying trigger	Relevant services
Shelf availability and service levels	Order processing or dispatch stops and distributors run dry	Ransomware resilience, segmentation, dispatch recovery
Food safety and recalls	Tampered or unavailable batch and temperature records	Record integrity, OT assessments, recall system reviews
Trade scheme and claims integrity	Portals and apps abused to inflate claims	DMS and API testing, analytics, access controls
Consumer trust and brand reputation	App breaches, scams quoting consumer data, counterfeits	App and API testing, DPDP programme, brand monitoring
Partner dependence	Co-packers, 3PLs and cold storage can stop supply	Supply chain assurance programmes
Board accountability and disclosure	Listed companies disclose incidents; Boards own risk	Board advisory, incident records, audit programmes
Fraud and financial loss	BEC against supplier, farmer and distributor payments	Payment controls, BEC simulation, SOC

3. Technology drivers

Technology driver	Exposure created	Codec Networks opportunity
Plant PLCs, SCADA and packaging lines	Legacy controllers and flat networks connected to MES and ERP	IEC 62443 assessments, segmentation, OT monitoring
Distributor management systems and sales apps	Thousands of external users and scheme logic exposed through APIs	Portal, app and API testing, access and claims controls
Cold-chain IoT and telematics	Internet-connected gateways in cold rooms and trucks	IoT security assessment, DMZ design, tamper-evident logs
Cloud ERP, OMS and trade-promotion platforms	Business stops when the platform or identity fails	Cloud posture, identity review, backup validation
Retailer EDI, marketplace and quick-commerce APIs	Deep integration with partners' systems	Integration testing, access controls, monitoring
Loyalty apps, D2C and CRM	First-party consumer data built by agencies	Mobile and API testing, vendor reviews, DPDP

Title: Figure 3: The four groups of drivers behind cybersecurity spending in FMCG, food and beverages. - Description: Figure 3: The four groups of drivers behind cybersecurity spending in FMCG, food and beverages.

Figure 3: The four groups of drivers behind cybersecurity spending in FMCG, food and beverages.

4. Regulatory drivers: CERT-In, SEBI, DPDP, FSSAI, Legal Metrology and GST

Instrument	Key requirements
CERT-In Directions (2022)	Six-hour incident reporting; 180-day ICT logs in India; applies to bodies corporate including manufacturers, distributors and platforms
CERT-In audit policy guidelines (July 2025)	Risk-based, independent cyber audits covering IT, OT/ICS, cloud and applications, with closure of findings
SEBI LODR Regulations (listed companies)	Quarterly disclosure of cyber incidents in the corporate governance report; Board oversight of risk
DPDP Act 2023 and Rules 2025	Consumer, loyalty, distributor, farmer and worker data safeguards; most obligations from May 2027
Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 and FSSAI	Licensing through FoSCoS, records, traceability and recalls—systems holding this evidence must be available and trustworthy
Legal Metrology and GST	Packaged Commodities Rules 2011 declarations; e-invoicing above ₹5 crore since August 2023; e-way bills
Retailer, partner and payment requirements	Modern trade and e-commerce security questionnaires and integration standards; PCI DSS v4.0.1 for D2C card payments; insurer conditions

Confirm applicability

Obligations depend on listing status, licences, products, channels and contracts. Confirm against the official instruments and your retailer and partner agreements.

Title: Figure 4: Regulatory and policy timeline shaping FMCG, food and beverages cybersecurity, as of October 2026. - Description: Figure 4: Regulatory and policy timeline shaping FMCG, food and beverages cybersecurity, as of October 2026.

Figure 4: Regulatory and policy timeline shaping FMCG, food and beverages cybersecurity, as of October 2026.

5. Legal and statutory drivers

Law or obligation	Relevance	Demand created
IT Act, 2000 and CERT-In Directions	Incident reporting and logging	SOC, logging, audits and incident response
Companies Act, 2013	Board responsibility for risk management and internal controls	Board risk reporting, audit programmes
SEBI LODR Regulations	Quarterly cyber incident disclosure for listed entities	Incident records and disclosure support
DPDP Act, 2023 and Rules, 2025	Personal data of consumers, distributors, farmers and workers	Privacy programmes and breach workflows
Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006	Licences, records, traceability and recalls	Integrity of plant, lab and distribution records
Legal Metrology Act, 2009 and GST law	Pack declarations, e-invoicing and e-way bills	Compliance system integrity and availability
Retailer, partner and insurer contracts	Security clauses, questionnaires, PCI DSS, warranties	Independent testing, certifications, evidence packs

6. How the drivers differ by company type

Company type	Dominant business drivers	Dominant technology drivers	Principal regulatory drivers
Consumer goods groups	Shelf availability, disclosure, brand trust	Group ERP, MES, DMS, loyalty	CERT-In, SEBI LODR, DPDP, FSSAI
Food processors	Food safety, PLI growth, retailer programmes	Process control, LIMS, co-packer links	CERT-In, FSSAI, retailer requirements
Beverage companies	Route-to-market efficiency, scheme integrity	Filling lines, bottler systems, DMS	CERT-In, FSSAI, SEBI LODR (listed)
Dairies and cooperatives	Member payments, cold chain, trust	Collection systems, pasteurisers, IoT	CERT-In, FSSAI, DPDP
Cold chain and distributors	Customer service, cost control	WMS, telematics, DMS, billing	CERT-In, GST, principal contracts

7. What this means for buyers and for Codec Networks

Customer buying need	Recommended offering	Natural recurring engagement
“Would ransomware stop our dispatch to distributors?”	Ransomware resilience review: dependency mapping, segmentation, backups, playbooks	Annual resilience testing and exercises
“Could someone game our trade schemes through the portal?”	DMS, app and API testing with claims analytics	Per-release testing and continuous analytics
“Who can reach our plant lines and cold rooms from outside?”	Plant OT and IoT assessment, remote access and segmentation review	Vendor access recertification
“Which co-packer or 3PL could stop our supply?”	Supply chain assurance programme	Per-partner assessments and renewals
“Our loyalty app holds millions of consumers' data.”	Mobile and API testing, DPDP programme	Per-release testing and privacy reviews
“We need 24x7 monitoring across plants and depots.”	IT/OT SOC with fraud analytics	Continuous monitoring
“We need an independent cyber audit including OT.”	CERT-In-aligned IT/OT audit	Annual audits

Talk to Codec Networks

Contact

Codec Networks Pvt. Ltd.

New Delhi: 507, 5th Floor, New Delhi House, Barakhamba Road, Connaught Place, New Delhi – 110001

Gurugram: 707, 7th Floor, Silverton Tower, Golf Course Extension Road, Sector 50, Gurugram – 122018, Haryana

Landline: 011 430 496 96 | 011 437 522 99 Mobile: +91 99716 76124 | +91 88007 88220 | +91 88003 31124

Email: mktg@codecnetworks.com Web: www.codecnetworks.com

Note: This document is general industry guidance based on public information available as of October 2026. It is not legal, food safety or regulatory advice. Obligations differ by company size, listing status, products, licences, channels and markets; confirm them against the official CERT-In, MeitY, SEBI, FSSAI, Consumer Affairs and CBIC instruments and your retailer and partner contracts.