Mumbai: Bachpan Play School and its formal extension Academic Heights Public School (AHPS), the nation’s leading educational chains, are excited to announce the launch of the “I AM AT SCHOOL” TVC campaign. The campaign is a gentle reminder of the school’s invaluable role in everyone’s life. Moreover, it is about cherishing memories acknowledging the teachers’ efforts, and reinstating the respect schools truly deserve.
The campaign video features Saina Nehwal training students in sports, symbolizing the comprehensive development fostered by AHPS. Students share their visions for the perfect school environment, culminating in the proud declaration, “I AM AT SCHOOL,” highlighting their sense of pride and connection with the school.
Moreover, it highlights a heartfelt journey to one’s roots, where the educational journey started. The campaign designed to rekindle long-left connections encourages and appreciates early years and acknowledges school education’s significant impact.
Elated on the occasion, Bachpan Play School and AHPS founder & CEO Ajay Gupta said,” We are excited to launch the new TVC in collaboration with Saina Nehwal, our brand ambassador. Aligned with our educational values, the TVC campaign showcases our unique educational approach and loyalty towards our students. It’s not just a marketing initiative but a strategic approach to providing the best education to students across cities.”
Let’s relive our memories with “I AM AT SCHOOL” and thank the place where the future is shaped.
Mumbai – Netskope has appointed Vishal Bhadani as channel sales director for India. He joins Netskope to manage the company’s existing network of channel partners and distributors in the country, as well as to expand and deepen Netskope’s partnerships, as the company continues to fully rely on channel and alliances to grow its Indian footprint.
Based in Bangalore, Bhadani is an experienced sales and channel leader with 23 years of experience in enterprise tech, both in India and the Middle-East. He started his career at Sify, before joining Wipro for twelve years, where he held the roles of National Manager of the Enterprise Security business, Regional Head of ITS Business and Operations, and finally Regional Head for System Integration & Maintenance Services sales for the Gulf region. Before joining Netskope, Bhadani spent seven years at Lenovo, most recently as Cyber Security & Software Lead for India, managing sales, and channel and alliances for the practice.
Working for both major Global System Integrators and OEMs has equipped Bhadani with a holistic view of the industry, and knowledge on establishing and leveraging relationships with diverse stakeholders. Combined with his cybersecurity expertise, his experience and network will help strengthen Netskope’s channel and alliances ecosystem in India, including supporting, training and growing key partners to ultimately improve services to customers and end users.
“After more than 20 years working with the channel community, I understand the challenges and opportunities that this market presents, and wanted to put this experience to use and continue to contribute to the cybersecurity industry at the same time,” said Bhadani about his choice to join Netskope. “I was looking for a visionary company really shaping the industry, which I believe Netskope is doing as a leader in Security Service Edge and Secure Access Service Edge. This role is the opportunity for me to build and maintain long-term partnerships with players who, like us, believe SSE and SASE are relevant answers to the challenges posed by the transformation of workplaces and the evolution of the cyber threat landscape.”
“Our success in India is entirely due to our channel partners and distributors, and it was important for us to have a highly experienced leader like Vishal to refine our existing partnerships, and continue to expand our local footprint,” said Netskope Country Manager for India and SAARC Ajay Gupta. “His knowledge of the cybersecurity market in India, and experience setting up and growing practices will be a great advantage for us, and I’m glad to be welcoming his high profile to our team.”
Mumbai: Tata Consumer Products has announced that it has signed definitive agreements to acquire 100 per cent equity shares of Capital Foods, owner of the brands ‘Ching’s Secret’ and ‘Smith & Jones’, in a phased manner. 75 per cent of the equity shareholding will be acquired upfront and the balance 25 per cent shareholding will be acquired within the next three years. This move is consistent with Tata Consumer’s strategic intent to expand its product portfolio and its target addressable market in fast-growing/high-margin categories.
Capital Foods has strong umbrella platform brands with a portfolio of unique products for in-home consumption in fast-growing categories. Ching’s Secret is a market leader in desi Chinese across its product categories – chutneys, blended masalas, sauces and soups. Smith & Jones is a fast-growing brand catering to in-home cooking of Italian and other western cuisines. Overall, Capital Foods has first or second positions in five large categories.
This acquisition will enable Tata Consumer Products to expand its product portfolio and further strengthen its pantry platform. There are significant synergy benefits with the existing businesses of Tata Consumer Products in areas spanning distribution, logistics, exports and overheads. The overall size of the categories in which Capital Foods operates in is estimated at Rs 21,400 crores. Structural growth drivers for the category include continued growth in income levels, evolving consumer preferences leading to increased salience of global cuisines in in-home cooking, and increasing need for convenience.
Tata Consumer Products MD & CEO Sunil D’Souza said, “We are excited to welcome Capital Foods into Tata Consumer Products. We believe this is a good strategic and financial fit. It will open up significant market opportunities in the fast-growing non-Indian cuisines segment, leveraging the sales and distribution platform that we have built. The strong brand recall of Ching’s Secret and Smith & Jones coupled with our operational strength across channels makes us extremely confident of driving topline growth and realising cost synergies. This transaction will accelerate momentum in our business and is margin accretive to our business.”
Capital Foods founder Ajay Gupta said, “Today is a historic day for Capital Foods. To be associated with the iconic Tata Group is a dream come true for me. Just the name, ‘Tata’, instils a sense of trust and pride in every Indian. Like Capital Foods, Tata is a home-grown brand that is globally recognised. Tata Consumer Products is a multi
conglomerate that spans the globe with quality food ingredients and products. In 28 years, from 3 bottles of sauces, to an entire ‘Desi Chinese’ cuisine block, Ching’s Secret has become a brand to be reckoned with. Smith & Jones covers another food block with tremendous potential. Together, Tata and Capital Foods can create a multi-national culinary brand that includes multiple food categories. The journey ahead is going to be a giant leap for us, full of endless possibilities and definitely exhilarating!”
Invus, the global advisor of Artal (a European evergreen family investor) MD Francis Cukierman said, “We are thrilled to have worked closely with Ajay Gupta and contributed to the journey of Capital Foods since 2013. Artal Asia, the Singapore subsidiary of Artal Group, has decided to continue for the compelling next chapter of growth of Capital Foods with Tata Consumer for the next few years.”
General Atlantic managing director and head-India Shantanu Rastogi said: “We have had a great partnership with Ajay Gupta in scaling Chings and Smith & Jones into the most adored brands in their categories. We wish Ajay and Tata Consumer Products the best in the next phase of development of Capital Foods.”
Kotak Investment Banking and Khaitan & Co have been TCPL’s exclusive financial and legal advisors on this transaction respectively.
Mumbai: Bachpan Play School, a leading name in early childhood education, is thrilled to announce its latest digital ad campaign ‘Bachpan Wali Diwali’ on online platforms like Meta, YouTube and OTT platforms such as MX Player, Jio Cinema and Zee 5, as a tribute to shed light on the path to empowerment and celebrate women in the business. This campaign focuses on all the mothers and wives who play an important role in the early education of their children.
Bachpan Play School believes in spreading happiness and fostering a positive outlook in any celebration. ‘Bachpan Wali Diwali’ honors franchises that particularly encourage women who are making a substantial contribution to the growth of their network. This campaign encompasses the values of thoughtfulness and the art of giving. For women who believe in gifting books rather than sweets and chocolates to children this festive season, Bachpan Play School highly appreciates and acknowledges them.
Commenting on the same belief, Bachpan Play Schools and AHPS CEO & founder Ajay Gupta said, “May your loved ones’ story of fresh beginnings during Diwali also be one of renewal. Give them a Bachpan Preschool Franchise now, and let’s celebrate their amazing potential to use franchise business to realize huge ambitions.” He also added, “Our goal at Bachpan Play School is to provide early childhood education in a caring and encouraging atmosphere. We encourage you to join us in uplifting the cause of education and empowerment, as we have a track record of success in the preschool sector.”
This Diwali, join hands with Bachpan Play School to empower women and encourage women entrepreneurs. Illuminate the lives of youngsters, by adding to the franchise which comes with an ample number of benefits, like nationwide recognition while remaining in the city, which saves time and expenditure along with high-quality staff, and more. Give the young brains the gift of knowledge, and together pave the way for a prosperous future.
NEW DELHI: Capital Foods, the parent company of Ching's Secret and Smith & Jones brands, has named Navin Tewari as its new MD and CEO.
Tewari succeeds Ajay Gupta, who will now be non-executive chairman of the company.
The changes are effective 1 January, 2021.
Tewari has been associated with the company for over two years. He entered the organisation in 2019 in the role of chief executive officer. Prior to joining Capital Food, Tewari was executive president at Ultratech Cement for over five years. He has also served as ICICI Prudential AMC and Birla Sun Life Asset Management in key roles.
The Covid2019 has impacted the packaged food industry as the in-house consumption has increased.
Ching’s Secret from the house of Capital Foods has grown massively. The brand advertises regularly across mass media and has been able to catch the pulse of the audiences on the back of its strong marketing and distribution.
The product portfolio of Capital Foods includes cooking pastes, masala, ketchups, instant snacks, packaged Chinese foods, soups, noodles, and others.
MUMBAI: With a mission to bind the world together with its taste, Ching’s Secret and Yash Raj Films have undertaken a unique challenge to fight hunger amongst school children, with its brand ambassador Ranveer Singh.
The campaign, titled ‘India Ke Hunger Ki Bajao,’ is a global fund-raising drive initiated by Ching’s Secret and Yash Raj Films with not-for-profit organisation Akshaya Patra, to appeal to people to donate a small amount of Rs 750 to feed a child for an entire year and to ensure that hunger does not stop children from getting an education.
Conceptualised and created by Yash Raj Films, in association with Bad Clown Productions, the campaign has been digitally integrated and amplified by Fluence India’s leading digital celebrity influencer network.
The initiative will be supported by a high decibel television and digital campaign driven by Singh. Through the ‘India Ke Hunger Ki Bajao’ drive, Ching’s Secret and Singh aim to raise funds to feed at least one million children in India. The actor, who has been personally involved in all stages of development of this initiative over the last six months, plans to go all out and appeal people to donate and support the cause. Known for his effervescence and ‘dare-to-do’ attitude, the actor will kick-start the drive by personally sponsoring mid-day meals for 10,000 children for a year.
Capital Foods managing director Ajay Gupta said, “As a company, we’re in a good place. So it is now time for us to give back to the community that supports our brands and the ‘India Ke Hunger Ki Bajao’ campaign is a step towards this direction. We strongly believe that by educating our children, we are ensuring a better future for our country.”
Singh added, “It gives me the most amount of joy to spread love, to spread happiness. There’s nothing better than to feed a child, to educate a child. I love kids! I especially feel for underprivileged kids tremendously.”
“It's rare for a Bollywood star to support the kind of work we do and for someone as young as Ranveer, it's truly outstanding. We cherish this association and hope he can help us reach out far and wide. Having Ranveer Singh with us feels like we have the country's youth in our fold,” said Akshaya Patra CEO Shridhar Venkat.
The Ching’s Secret ‘India Ke Hunger Ki Bajao’ campaign will launch on 27 May, 2015 with television, radio and digital push and will be aired on all major channels and promoted across the digital medium.
To participate in this drive, one can choose to contribute as little as Rs 3, the cost of one mid-day meal, to Rs 21 the cost of feeding a child for a week, or choose to pay Rs 90 and feed a child for a month.
As per statistics, hunger kills around 6000 children daily in India and 43 per cent of kids under five, are underweight. The goal of the campaign is to partner with Akshaya Patra, the not-for-profit Mid-day Meal Scheme, in association with the Central and State Governments. The Mid-day Meal programme ensures that children attend school instead of working to earn enough for a meal a day. With 243 kitchens situated in 10 states of India, the Foundation serves freshly cooked, nutritious meals to over 1.4 million children every school working day.
The campaign is also supported by Yash Raj Films, Reliance Fresh, Choitrams, Patel Bros., Fluence, India TV, Red FM and Paytm.
Click here to make your contribution: http://www.hungerkibajao.com/donate.php
MUMBAI: Video streaming accounts for the fastest growing service on mobile data, followed by social networking.
According to a report titled ‘The Changing Mobile Broadband Landscape’ released by Ericsson ConsumerLab, 70 per cent of mobile broadband smartphone users regularly stream videos on their smartphones, and 61 per cent use social networking. Indian smartphone users are also seeing greater potential in mobile broadband when it comes to facilitating the way they handle their money and personal finances. The convenience and improved experience makes m-commerce services attractive to Indian smartphone users.
Of those users not using e-commerce services currently, 58 per cent stated that they would begin to do so in the next six months, while 52 per cent will use the Internet to pay bill online. Services like location navigation while travelling and cloud storage are also seeing an upswing in usage.
The report highlights the evolving mobile broadband adoption and usage in urban India. The report reveals diverse behavior and needs of different mobile broadband users and the need for service providers to offer personalization. Users’ needs are evolving as usage of services and applications on smartphones is becoming a way of life.
With the decrease in smartphone prices, the adoption of mobile internet within the lower socio-economic segment has increased over the last two years: from 38 per cent in 2013 to 45 per cent in 2015. Three in five smartphone users use mobile broadband in urban India. Mid-size and small cities are showing higher smartphone penetration levels at 33 per cent, as opposed to the smartphone penetration levels of 27 per cent in big non metros and large cities.
At the same time, the proportion of smartphone users above the age of 50 has quadrupled, from one per cent in 2013 to four per cent in 2015. The primary motivation for this increase is the desire to be connected with loved ones in different parts of the country and the world, particularly through emails, chat applications and instant messaging.
Ericsson India vice president and head of strategy and marketing Ajay Gupta says, “The Internet is finally coming of age and is empowering cross sections of Indian society. Though the most used smartphone services in India are for social networking and instant messaging, the usage of banking, e-commerce, navigation and cloud storage apps and services is increasing. It is for this reason we are seeing uptake and digital transformation of many industries like retail, transportation, and banking.”
Users face differing mobile data issues depending upon location. Connection quality and reliability problems have a higher tendency to occur indoors, while session failures and poor app accessibility are problems faced by outdoor smartphone users. Sixty-three per cent of users report that they face quality and reliability issues, such as lost connections and inconsistent network speeds, when using mobile networks indoors. App-related issues while outdoors or commuting, such lengthy lag times, apps taking a long time to refresh, maps failing to load, and session failures affect 68 per cent of consumers. Such problems are more common in mid-size and small towns compared to large cities.
For those consumers in India who do not use mobile broadband, affordability and digital literacy are the prime obstacles to adoption. While 88 per cent of Indian consumers on 2G feel that mobile broadband is too expensive, 53 per cent feel that mobile broadband adds no value and as many as 48 per cent believe there is no difference between 2G and 3G speeds.
Mobile Internet usage is expected to grow with the consumers’ better understanding of the data plans on offer. As per the study, only 10 per cent of mobile Internet users feel they understand their plan perfectly, and are able to make an accurate judgment when deciding on a plan.
Gupta says, “When consumers are confident in their understanding of what is offered, they tend to perceive better value from it. In fact, they consume twice as much data compared to users who find it difficult to understand their plan.”
“Understanding the main aspects that are valued by customers can help service providers differentiate their offerings and improve consumer experience which would help increase consumer loyalty. Personalization is being positively viewed and increasingly demanded by consumers,” he adds.
