Connect with us

Brands

Man of the Moment shifts as India rewrites the rules of masculinity

Published

on

MUMBAI: If the modern man had a mirror, it would look very different from the one his father stood before. Masculinity in India and across Asia is in the midst of its biggest makeover in decades, with new research from Virtue Asia revealing a seismic shift in how men define strength, success and selfhood. Nearly half of Indian men now say emotional maturity not dominance is what truly makes a man strong.

According to The Virtue Guide To Modern Masculinity, created with Milieu Insight and Canvas8, today’s masculinity is less a monolith and more a mosaic. Men are finding new ways to blend ambition with vulnerability, tradition with experimentation, and identity with self-expression. Rather than rejecting the past wholesale, this generation is remixing it keeping what resonates and rewriting what doesn’t.

Virtue Asia strategy director Zoe Chen puts it simply, “Masculinity in Asia is no longer a single story.” Instead, men are navigating a spectrum where empathy sits comfortably beside ambition, and being emotionally present matters as much as performing.

One of the study’s most striking findings is the fragmentation of masculine identity. In India, 66 per cent of men fall into the ‘Remixers’ category those who honour tradition while tailoring it to their modern lives. 18 per cent are ‘Experimenters’, unafraid to step beyond convention. 14 per cent remain ‘Traditionalists’, while 3 per cent identify as ‘Outliers’, rejecting gender labels entirely.

For brands accustomed to selling one archetype of manhood, the message is clear: men are plural. Campaigns must now reflect multiple identities, not just the familiar hero figure. Culture is no longer offering a single script, it’s handing men an entire universe of possible selves.

Power, too, is being redefined. The research shows the old trophies being the primary breadwinner (39 per cent) or owning wealth (44 per cent) are losing their grip. In their place rise softer, more human markers such as emotional maturity (49 per cent) and open-mindedness (43 per cent).

The scoreboard, in other words, has changed. Performance is no longer the measure of a man, presence is. Men aren’t looking for brands to glorify “balance” they want brands to acknowledge the chaos and offer support that feels real, attainable and empathetic.

Generations of men were raised to love through duty, provide, protect, perform. Now, love is being reimagined as presence, care and shared responsibility. The study shows that action-led care remains the strongest love language for Indian men, with an increasing emphasis on building futures as a team.

This shift marks a cultural milestone for India: masculinity is finally making room for shared emotional labour. Brands can help turn this moment into a movement by framing care as a partnership, not a burden, and helping men express empathy in tangible, consistent ways.

Virtue India, EVP strategy Saumya Baijal calls the moment “critical and tectonic,” adding that brands have a pivotal role in nudging audiences toward more progressive stances. And perhaps that’s the quiet revolution underway, a generation of men learning to be strong and soft, ambitious and emotionally aware, not one at the cost of the other.

The modern Indian man is no longer defined by a template. He is written in versions evolving, expressive and entirely his own.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Brands

Delhivery chairman Deepak Kapoor, independent director Saugata Gupta quit board

Published

on

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.

Continue Reading

Brands

Brnd.me enters Europe as haircare brands power global expansion

Published

on

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.

Continue Reading

Brands

TechnoSport taps quick commerce with launch on Slikk’s 60-minute platform

Published

on

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.

 

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2026 Indian Television Dot Com PVT LTD