The slump in consumption has been hurting packaged goods makers over the last few quarters. Earlier this week, Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), India’s largest household goods maker, said it has not seen an uptick in demand. For the September quarter, HUL’s revenue rose 6.7% to ₹9,852 crore from a year earlier. Sales volume rose just 5% during the period as demand cooled, especially in rural India. “On an overall market basis, the slowdown has happened more in rural areas than in urban. During good times, rural growth used to be 1-1.5 times that of urban in the last four-five years. Now, it has come down to half of urban growth," Sanjiv Mehta, chairman and managing director of Hindustan Unilever, the local unit of the Anglo-Dutch firm, said after announcing the September quarter earnings.