Brands
Guwahati Comic Con debuts with colour, cosplay and crowds
MUMBAI: The inaugural Guwahati Comic Con closed on a high after pulling more than 15000 fans into a lively celebration of comics, anime, gaming and all things pop culture. Held on 22 and 23 November at the Arjun Bhogeswar Baruah Sports Complex, the event turned the venue into a buzzing playground for readers, creators, illustrators and costumed superfans from across the Northeast.
Presented by Maruti Suzuki Arena and powered by Crunchyroll, the festival kept the energy steady across both days. Day two brought a nostalgic highlight as Amar Chitra Katha marked 45 years of storytelling, celebrating its enduring cultural footprint. The day also featured the launch of World of Butterfingers Vol. 2 by Khyrunnisa A and Abhijeet Kini, along with the debut of Where We Left Off, an indie comic about climate reality by Nikhil Kamath and Kini. An interactive Wingstar session from Tinkle gave younger visitors a cheerful break.
Legendary Archie Comics artist Bill Golliher joined fans for an artists’ session filled with live sketches, behind the scenes stories and charming anecdotes from the world of Riverdale.
Beyond the books and art, the festival doubled as a youth centric stage for music and performance. Once Fly Rock delivered a heartfelt tribute to Zubeen Garg that struck a chord with the crowd. Stand up comedian Anirban Dasgupta kept fans laughing while rapper EPR Iyer fired up the arena with his blend of poetry, protest and pop culture references. His tribute to Chester Bennington added an emotional punch to the high voltage set.
The curtain dropped with Guwahati’s biggest cosplay face off, the Indian Championship of Cosplay 2026 Guwahati Qualifier. Fans arrived dressed as characters from every corner of fandom including Red Hood, Deadpool, Zenitsu from Demon Slayer, Amane Misa from Death Note, Mao Mao from The Apothecary Diaries, Anya from Spy Family and gaming favourites such as Aglaea from Honkai Star Rail and Capitano from Genshin Impact. Arshy Deori, dressed as Nikke, won the top prize of Rs 50000 along with the coveted qualifying spot.
Across the weekend, the grounds of the sports complex transformed into a carnival of experiences featuring creator sessions, interactive zones and photo friendly setups. Visitors explored the Crunchyroll booth with its recreated Spy x Family room and Demon Slayer themed zone, raced simulators at Logitech’s Race for Real corner, tried classic PSP games and tested their reflexes at the Maruti Suzuki Arena activation. The RedBull Gaming Ground and Nodwin Gaming Challenger Arena kept gamers busy, and a tattoo stall even offered fans the chance to ink a memory from the event.
The final day delighted gaming followers with a meet and greet by Sc0ut, the popular gaming YouTuber, at the Royal Challenge packaged drinking water booth. Fans also tried an immersive VR cricket experience at the same zone.
As the Guwahati edition wrapped up, the excitement rolled forward to the next stop: Delhi Comic Con from 5 to 7 December.
Comic Con India CEO Shefali Johnson said the Guwahati debut was filled with warmth and wonder, noting how fans, artists and families shaped a memorable first chapter for the city.
Nodwin Gaming co-founder and MD Akshat Rathee called the edition a milestone for the region, adding that the enthusiasm from fans of all ages showed how deeply pop culture already runs through the Northeast.
Brands
Delhivery chairman Deepak Kapoor, independent director Saugata Gupta quit board
Gurugram: Delhivery’s boardroom is being reset. Deepak Kapoor, chairman and independent director, has resigned with effect from April 1 as part of a planned board reconstitution, the logistics company said in an exchange filing. Saugata Gupta, managing director and chief executive of FMCG major Marico and an independent director on Delhivery’s board, has also stepped down.
Kapoor exits after an eight-year stint that included steering the company through its 2022 stock-market debut, a period that saw Delhivery transform from a venture-backed upstart into one of India’s most visible logistics platforms. Gupta, who joined the board in 2021, departs alongside him, marking a simultaneous clearing of two senior independent seats.
“Deepak and Saugata have been instrumental in our process of recognising the need for and enabling the reconstitution of the board of directors in line with our ambitious next phase of growth,” said Sahil Barua, managing director and chief executive, Delhivery. The statement frames the exits less as departures and more as deliberate succession, a boardroom shuffle timed to the company’s evolving scale and strategy.
The resignations arrive amid broader governance recalibration. In 2025, Delhivery appointed Emcure Pharmaceuticals whole-time director Namita Thapar, PB Fintech founder and chairman Yashish Dahiya, and IIM Bangalore faculty member Padmini Srinivasan as independent directors, signalling a tilt towards consumer, fintech and academic expertise at the board level.
Kapoor’s tenure spanned Delhivery’s most defining years, rapid network expansion, public listing and the push towards profitability in a bruising logistics market. Gupta’s presence brought FMCG and brand-scale perspective during a period when ecommerce volumes and last-mile delivery economics were being rewritten.
The twin exits, effective from the new financial year, underscore a familiar corporate rhythm: founders consolidate, veterans rotate out, and fresh voices are ushered in to script the next chapter. In India’s hyper-competitive logistics race, even the boardroom does not stand still.
Brands
Brnd.me enters Europe as haircare brands power global expansion
Bengaluru: Brnd.me, the global consumer brands company formerly known as Mensa Brands, has entered the European market following strong momentum across the Middle East, the United States and Canada.
The company has launched across the UK, Germany, France and Spain, with plans to expand into Italy, the Netherlands and Poland over the next year. The push is being led by its haircare and aromatherapy brands, Botanic Hearth and Majestic Pure, marking Brnd.me’s first structured expansion into Europe.
The European beauty market represents a total addressable opportunity of over $4 billion across haircare and aromatherapy, supported by high digital adoption and demand for accessible, performance-led products.
Brnd.me’s hair care and aromatherapy business currently operates at an annual run rate of around $6 million, with Botanic Hearth and Majestic Pure delivering roughly 10 per cent month-on-month growth, driven by expansion and rising repeat demand.
To support regional growth, the company has appointed a general manager based in Germany and is evaluating investments in warehousing and local team expansion.
Early traction has been strong. Within weeks of launch, Botanic Hearth’s rosemary hair oil ranked among the top five hair oils in Germany, signalling strong consumer pull in a competitive market.
Brnd.me founder and chief executive officer Ananth Narayanan, said Europe represents the next phase of the company’s international strategy. He added that the European business is expected to scale to a $10 million annual run rate by the end of 2026, with long-term ambitions to reach $60 million over the next six years.
The company’s Europe strategy centres on digital-first distribution, repeat demand and TikTok-led discovery, alongside direct-to-consumer expansion to strengthen brand equity and margins.
The move also aligns with growing EU–India trade engagement, supporting long-term sourcing and cross-border supply chains.
Brands
TechnoSport taps quick commerce with launch on Slikk’s 60-minute platform
NATIONAL: TechnoSport has launched on Slikk, the ultra-fast fashion app offering 60-minute delivery, as the activewear brand accelerates its push into quick commerce to capture Gen Z and young millennial shoppers.
The debut brings more than 150 high-performance styles to Slikk’s platform, with an average selling price of Rs 450, expanding TechnoSport’s reach across over 80 pin codes.
The partnership follows strong momentum for TechnoSport across Q-commerce channels, where the brand has recorded around 60 per cent volume growth over the past six months. The company expects quick commerce to contribute nearly 20 per cent of its revenue in the coming years as hyperlocal delivery gains scale.
Slikk, which recently raised $3.2 million in seed funding led by Lightspeed, has rapidly gained popularity among youth consumers seeking speed, trend relevance and impulse-led shopping experiences.
Activewear remains one of Slikk’s fastest-growing categories, driven by shoppers increasingly treating fitness-led fashion as an everyday essential. The platform has reported a 30-fold year-on-year increase in items sold, reflecting rising demand for performance wear that blends comfort with style.
TechnoSport chief executive officer Puspen Maity, said the collaboration would help the brand engage more closely with young consumers whose fashion choices are shaped by instant needs and lifestyle aspirations. He added that rapid delivery bridges the gap between intent and purchase, allowing shoppers to access activewear exactly when they want it.
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