Brands
HDFC Bank storms to No 1 as India’s brand elite crest $523.5bn valuation
MUMBAI: India’s brand engine has slipped into overdrive. The 2025 Kantar BrandZ Top 100 — the ranking’s first full-century roll-out — reveals a market that’s bigger, bolder and far more complex than the neat growth story the GDP lines suggest. Together, the country’s 100 most valuable brands are worth a muscular $523.5bn, or 13 per cent of national GDP — the highest share of any BrandZ-ranked economy.
HDFC Bank has muscled its way to the summit, unseating TCS with a brand value of $44.99bn, up 18 per cent. Its transformation since the HDFC Ltd. merger — from buttoned-down lender to brand-savvy digital powerhouse — has given it swagger that India’s financial sector has rarely shown. Vigil Aunty, digital auto loans in 30 minutes, and a relentless push for ‘Meaningful Difference’ have paid off: HDFC’s brand value has soared 98 per cent since 2019.
But the real rocket booster this year is Zomato, which sizzles as India’s top riser with a 69 per cent leap in brand value. Once just a food delivery app, it is now a cultural staple, a lifestyle layer, and a behavioural default for India’s urban under-40s. Zomato jumps 10 places to No. 21 — a rise fuelled by its habit of turning everyday chaos into brand-building gold.
Further down the table, India’s experience economy is flexing. Taj, IndiGo, MakeMyTrip, Mahindra, and Bajaj Auto all notch robust climbs, signalling a consumer base that may be trading down in groceries but happily trading up in travel, mobility, and leisure. Cement players — UltraTech, Ambuja, JK Cement, Bangur — also roar ahead as India’s infrastructure build-out hits its heaviest stride in decades.
The list welcomes 18 newcomers — from Zepto to Zudio, Pine Labs to Meesho — and eight re-entrants. Quick commerce, fintech, real estate and premium FMCG are no longer disruptors; they’re establishment.
Yet beneath the glitter lies a harder truth: Indian brands are growing slower than their global peers. While global BrandZ leaders surged 29 per cent, India’s top players inched ahead by just 6 per cent. In a $4.2 trillion economy growing faster than almost any major market, that lag rings alarm bells.

The culprit? A persistent weakness on brand Difference. Too many Indian brands jostle in the middle, competing on volume, distribution and discounts — not on distinctive ideas or premium power. Kantar’s long-running analyses show that brands moving the needle on both Meaningfulness and Difference deliver dramatically higher shareholder returns. But few Indian names are taking big creative or product bets.
The report urges a reset: Stop copying global playbooks. Start building “Make for India” brands. Hyperlocal nuance, not broad brushstrokes. Innovation anchored in Indian behaviours, not borrowed from Shanghai or San Francisco. More risk, more creativity, more cultural fluency.
With a swelling middle class, a tech-savvy population, a booming rural opportunity, and one of the most brand-conscious youth cohorts on the planet, India is primed for breakout stories. But the window won’t stay open forever.
For now, India’s Top 100 look impressive. But the global stage is getting louder, fiercer, and faster — and India’s best-known brands must decide whether they want to stay comfortable at home or step out and swing harder abroad.
For a country that prides itself on speed, this is the moment to hit the throttle. The race is wide open — and the finish line is moving further away.
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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