Connect with us

Brands

FMCG firms boost ad spend as demand returns

Published

on

MUMBAI: Major household names such as Hindustan Unilever, Dabur, Godrej Consumer Products, and Marico are preparing to loosen their purse strings, with advertising budgets set to surge by between ten and fifteen per cent through the June quarter. This aggressive marketing push comes as a relief to the industry, fuelled by a perfect storm of widening profit margins and a long-awaited recovery in consumer demand.

After several quarters of tightening belts due to volatile commodity prices, the giants of the supermarket shelves are finally seeing some breathing room. Lower input costs for raw materials like palm oil and packaging have allowed firms to pad their gross margins significantly. Rather than simply banking these profits, companies are ploughing the cash back into brand building to drive volume growth and fend off smaller rivals.

The timing is no coincidence. As the summer heat begins to bite, categories ranging from soft drinks and ice creams to soaps and cooling powders are entering their peak selling season. Companies are desperate to ensure their brands stay front of mind. This seasonal rush is being amplified by a packed sporting calendar, including the Indian Premier League and the upcoming T20 World Cup, which offer a massive platform for expensive television and digital campaigns.

Perhaps most encouraging for the industry is the shift in rural markets. After a prolonged slump where high inflation forced families to downsize their shopping baskets, demand in the countryside is showing genuine signs of life. Executives from leading firms like Dabur and Marico note that the rural consumer is returning to the fold, prompting a wave of hyper-local marketing designed to win back market share from smaller, regional competitors who had previously undercut the national brands on price.

The strategy is not just about volume, however. There is a distinct move towards premiumisation. Large manufacturers like Hindustan Unilever and Godrej are using their increased budgets to convince urban shoppers to trade up to more expensive, specialised versions of everyday essentials. Whether it is luxury skincare, liquid detergents, or health-focused food products, the message is being delivered through a heavy digital presence aimed at the affluent middle class.

Advertisement

Market analysts suggest this spending spree marks a transition for the sector. For the past two years, growth was largely driven by price hikes to offset costs. Now, with inflation cooling, the focus has shifted back to selling more units. If the upcoming monsoon proves favourable and the festive season delivers as expected, this double-digit increase in advertising could be the opening salvo in a sustained period of growth for the consumer goods industry.

Brands

Ahmad Muneeb elevated to VP – HR centre of excellence at Zepto

Published

on

MUMBAI: Zepto has elevated Ahmad Muneeb to vice president – HR centre of excellence, placing him at the helm of the company’s total rewards, executive compensation and organisational effectiveness as the quick-commerce firm powers through a high-growth phase.

The move follows his stint as senior director of the HR COE, where he played a central role in preparing the company for IPO readiness while scaling its people analytics capabilities. During this period, Muneeb helped align complex performance management structures with more streamlined and scalable employee experience frameworks.

In his new role, he will steer the design of total rewards strategies, executive compensation planning and organisational design, while also overseeing performance management, employee experience initiatives and people analytics programmes.

Before joining Zepto, Muneeb spent nearly three years at Meesho, where he held multiple rewards and HR business partner roles. Earlier in his career, he worked as a senior rewards consultant at Mercer, advising high-tech clients on compensation benchmarking, pay structures and talent-focused reward frameworks.

He began his hr journey at Cognizant, where he supported compensation programmes for nearly two lakh employees across India and worked on m&a compensation alignment and skill-based pay initiatives. Prior to moving into HR, Muneeb started his career as a software engineer at Netcracker, bringing a technical grounding to his people strategy work.

Advertisement

With a mix of consulting rigour, start-up agility and enterprise-scale experience, Muneeb’s elevation signals Zepto’s continued focus on building robust people systems as it races towards its next phase of growth.

Continue Reading

Brands

Dell names Aishwarya Sudhakar director of marketing intelligence

Published

on

INDIA: Dell Technologies is doubling down on artificial intelligence in marketing. The company has elevated Aishwarya Sudhakar to director of marketing measures and intelligence engineering, tasking her with building an enterprise-wide framework for AI-led measurement and customer intelligence.

In the role, Sudhakar will oversee unified data strategy, advanced modelling and context engineering: areas increasingly central to how large technology firms link marketing performance to business outcomes. Her remit includes shaping scalable systems that support Dell’s next phase of AI deployment across marketing functions.

Sudhakar steps into the position after holding a series of senior roles at Dell, including AI lead for marketing orchestration, senior manager, and senior data scientist in customer insights. Across these roles, she led global teams working on large-scale machine learning models, data pipelines and customer analytics.

Before joining Dell, she began her career at Tata Consultancy Services as a systems engineer and later founded Oclor, a shopping discovery start-up, where she built end-to-end technology platforms. The combination of enterprise-scale data work and entrepreneurial experience has shaped her focus on product-led, engineering-first innovation.

As technology companies seek sharper attribution and intelligence in an AI-saturated market, Dell’s move underscores the growing importance of marketing measurement as an engineering discipline rather than a reporting function.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Brands

Gaurav Pathak returns to Adidas in key accounts leadership role

Published

on

GURUGRAM: Adidas has appointed Gaurav Pathak as director of key and field accounts, bringing back an executive who began his leadership career at the company.

In the role, Pathak will be responsible for deepening strategic partnerships and expanding key, field and export accounts, with a mandate to accelerate growth across the Indian market. The appointment marks a return to Adidas after nearly a decade across premium retail and footwear brands.

Pathak most recently served as head of retail and business development at Ecco, where he focused on partner-led growth, market risk mitigation and operational scale. Before that, he spent eight years at House of Anita Dongre Limited, rising to general manager and leading regional operations across western and southern India.

His earlier career includes a stint as regional sales manager for Karnataka at United Colors of Benetton India and a six-year run at Adidas, where he held sales leadership roles.

With competition intensifying in India’s lifestyle and footwear market, Pathak’s brief will centre on strengthening field execution while aligning large accounts with Adidas’s broader commercial priorities.

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement CNN News18
Advertisement whatsapp
Advertisement ALL 3 Media
Advertisement Year Enders

Trending

Copyright © 2026 Indian Television Dot Com PVT LTD