Brands
India packs a punch at Smarties APAC 2025
MUMBAI: India did not just show up at the MMA Smarties APAC 2025 Awards. It showed off. In a year when creative firepower met tech muscle, Indian marketers turned the regional stage into their own victory ring, sweeping four major industry titles and pocketing an impressive spread of gold, silver and bronze wins.
Announced globally by the Marketing and Media Alliance, this year’s results underline India’s growing clout in consumer insight, digital innovation and business impact across the Asia Pacific region. The performance signals a market that is not only confident but shaping the future of marketing in the region.
Leading the charge were four coveted industry honours. Wavemaker India was named media agency of the year, Amazon Ads took home enabling technology company of the Year, Ethinos claimed independent agency of the Year and Colgate Palmolive’s Oral Health Movement secured the best in show title. Together, these wins place India at the forefront of strategic and creative excellence.
MMA CEO APAC and global head Smarties Worldwide Rohit Dadwal said India remains one of the most influential markets in the programme. He noted that Indian work stands out for combining creativity, technology and cultural intelligence while still driving business outcomes at scale. He added that this year’s industry wins reflect the country’s leadership across media, technology and independent agency craft.
India also delivered one of its strongest metal runs yet. Gold winners included campaigns from Hindustan Unilever’s Knorr with Mindshare India, UltraTech Cement, Hyundai Motor India with Havas Play, Mondelez India’s Oreo and Celebrations with Wavemaker India, Bajaj Auto’s Chetak with Amazon Ads and Colgate Palmolive with Wavemaker India.
Silver metals were awarded to Dove, Cadbury Oreo, Maybelline New York, JioCinema and the Oral Health Movement. Bronze honours went to Dove and a cluster of work from Rin, Wheel and Surf.
MMA Global India country head and board member Moneka Khurana said the results reflect the depth and evolution of India’s marketing landscape. She highlighted how work across CPG, auto, beauty and entertainment shows what future ready marketing looks like and praised the consistency and conviction of Indian agencies and brands.
Across the region, Smarties APAC recognised 107 winning entries including 25 gold, 36 silver, 32 bronze and 14 industry awards. India’s standout performance reinforces its status as a trailblazer shaping consumer behaviour and digital innovation in the Asia Pacific market.
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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