Brands

Shilpa Shetty is Yakult Danone brand ambassador

Published

9 years ago

March 29, 2017

MUMBAI: Yakult Danone India Pvt. Ltd., a 50:50 joint venture between Yakult Honsha, Japan and Groupe Danone, France, both global leaders in probiotics announced Bollywood celebrity Shilpa Shetty Kundra as their new Brand Ambassador. This comes in wake of the company’s concerted plans to spread the health benefits of Probiotics and Yakult among Indian consumers which was the main highlight of the press conference today. Present on the occasion were Yakult Danone India MD Minoru Shimada, Bollywood celebrity Shilpa Shetty Kundra and Yakult Danone India GM — Science and Regulatory Affairs Neerja Hajela.

In light of the fact that India is grappling with lifestyle disorders and health issues due to factors like unbalanced diet, stress, lack of sleep, inadequate physical activity, irregular working hours and improper nutrition, there is an urgent need to find solutions that can counter the growing threat. Fascinating insight shave shown that the largest immune organ of our body or the intestine is vital in determining our state of health because it contains more than 70% of the immune cells of the human body which improve our overall immunity and keep us protected.

Shimada remarked, “With growing consumer interest in holistic health, the concept of Functional Foods that provide a health benefit besides basic nutrition is becoming increasingly important. Interestingly the concept was introduced in Japan in the early 1900’s, when Japan was an economically weak county, people were dying due to disease and heath care costs were very high. The Functional Food concept focuses on prevention of disease through foods rather than treatment with medicine.”

Shirota, a Microbiologist from the Kyoto University in Japan, firmly believed that a healthy intestine was key to a long disease free life. Intrigued by the fact that 100 trillion bacteria are present in the intestine which play a very important role in determining health, he successfully isolated a probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota (LcS) that significantly improved intestinal health and immunity. He introduced it in a fermented milk drink called Yakult which was launched in Japan in 1935. The introduction of Yakult was very useful in improving the health of people in Japan who were suffering from diarrhoea, dysentery and other infectious diseases. Yakult is being consumed by more than 35 million people in 33 countries and regions across the world.

In India, Yakult is being manufactured in a state of the art production facility in Sonepat Haryana. While Yakult is the most iconic brand in Japan, China and Indonesia, India is a challenging market for us because of limited awareness about the benefits of probiotics.

Shimada said, “We are proud to have Shilpa Shetty as our brand ambassador as she is synonymous with good health, fitness and an active lifestyle. Having carved a niche for herself in the health and fitness space, Shilpa is completely in sync with “Shirota-ism” our core ideology which focuses on the idea of “prevention being better than cure” and “a healthy intestine leads to a long life”.

Kundra remarked that “I was over-awed by the scientific revelation about probiotics and intrigued to know that a healthy intestine is the key to good health not only because it is responsible for absorption of nutrients but also for the fact that more than 70% of the immune cells are found there. I am very careful about my association with brands and therefore it was important for me to visit the Yakult factory to learn more about the little bottle that contains 6.5 billion Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota.”

According to Hajela, “The intestine is being recognized as a very important organ for determining your state of health because it harbours 100 trillion organisms (intestinal flora) which weigh almost 2 kg and are referred to as the “Forgotten Organ”. These organisms play a very important role in ensuring proper digestion of food, absorption of nutrients, building immunity and producing essential vitamins like Vitamin B and K and keeping you protected”.

Unbalanced diet, Stress, unhygienic conditions, antibiotics, lack of sleep and pollution can disturb the balance of the intestinal flora which negatively influences our immunity making us prone to infection. Scientific evidence has shown that “Probiotics” which act by favorably modulating the intestinal florahelp in restoring the balance and thereby improve health and prevent disease.

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Brands

Delhivery chairman Deepak Kapoor, independent director Saugata Gupta quit board

Published

1 week ago

January 31, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

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

Published

1 week ago

January 31, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

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

Published

1 week ago

January 31, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

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.