MUMBAI: When you’ve built India’s top audio wearables brand from scratch, knowing when to step aside takes nerve. Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta, co-founders of boAt, are doing just that.
Imagine Marketing Ltd owner of the boAt brand, announced on Monday that Gaurav Nayyar will take over as chief executive, marking a shift from founder-led management to professional leadership. Nayyar, who has served as chief operating officer for three years, brings two decades of strategic nous, including an eight-year stint as partner at Bain & Co.
The reshuffle sees Mehta move to executive director, where he’ll focus on long-term strategy whilst supporting Nayyar’s transition. Gupta, who built boAt’s marketing firepower and brand swagger as chief marketing officer, will remain a non-executive director, keeping a hand on the tiller without running the ship.
“This transition reflects the natural evolution of boAt as we further professionalise and position ourselves for the opportunities ahead,” said Mehta, who led the company as chief executive through recent years of expansion into manufacturing and adjacent product categories.
Nayyar, inheriting a company that dominates India’s audio wearables market (number one by shipments, according to IDC data), struck a modest note: “I am honoured to be entrusted with the responsibility of leading boAt into its next chapter. Sameer has done an exceptional job strengthening our core, building product adjacencies and setting up our India manufacturing footprint.”
Gupta, whose marketing chops helped boAt disrupt India’s audio industry with boldly designed, affordably priced gear aimed at young consumers, said: “I’m proud of what we have accomplished together and equally excited to see Gaurav take the helm.”
boAt’s portfolio spans audio gear, smartwatches, grooming gadgets and mobile accessories. Backed by Warburg Pincus, Malabar Investments and Fireside Ventures, the company partners with Qualcomm and Dolby on product innovation and operates offices in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.
The move signals boAt’s bet on professional management to capitalise on India’s booming consumer technology market—a multi-decade opportunity that requires institutional muscle, not just founder flair.
MUMBAI: No more baggage blues Safari’s latest launch ensures your luggage never goes off-track, even if your flight does. In a first-of-its-kind travel tech collaboration, luggage major Safari has teamed up with Boat to launch Safari Trackr, a Bluetooth-enabled, smart luggage range designed to take the anxiety out of airport chaos. Debuting during Amazon Prime Day, the collection blends boAt’s tracking tech with Safari’s trusted build, offering stylish peace of mind starting at just Rs 4,499.
Whether your suitcase has taken a detour to a different carousel or vanished into a hotel lobby’s backroom, Safari Trackr ensures you’re not left wondering where your life-in-a-bag has gone. Equipped with Boat Tag, powered by Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), the luggage range works seamlessly with both iOS and Android devices, letting users track their bags in real time no matter where they are in the world.
The campaign’s tagline, “Your Safari Got Safer,” captures the pitch-perfect blend of reliability and innovation. Told through two witty digital films, the campaign spotlights those all-too-familiar travel fiascos swapped bags, forgotten check-ins, and suitcase slip-ups juxtaposed with the smooth, in-control experience of a tech-savvy traveller.
The range comes in three sizes Cabin, Medium, and Large and three colours: Signature Black, Blue, and Green. Crafted from 100 per cent polycarbonate and strength-tested, the bags are built to last and be found.
“People don’t just carry luggage, they carry their life,” said Safari Industries MD Sudhir Jatia. “Safari Trackr is our answer to the very real fear of losing that life in transit. With Boat as a tech partner, we’ve created a solution that’s smart, stylish, and simple.”
Boat CEO Sameer Mehta added, “We’re bringing Boat Tag tech to something deeply practical keeping your belongings safe, visible, and connected. This partnership solves a real-world problem at scale.”
The product will be available across India through Amazon, with the e-commerce giant promising fast delivery to 100 per cent serviceable pin codes. Amazon director of fashion & beauty, Siddharth Bhagat noted, “This collaboration is all about innovation and everyday utility. It’s a fresh take on what luggage can be.”
With 330 plus service touchpoints and free installation in metros (plus virtual support for remote areas), GRIPIT’s servicing model adds another layer of ease to an already impressive offering.
Safari Trackr doesn’t just hold your belongings, it holds your trust. In a world where travel is unpredictable, at least now your luggage won’t be.
MUMBAI: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is the leading investor in the $44 million Series A and A1 fundraising round by New York-based Major League Cricket (MLC), a T20 competition featuring six franchises that have been sanctioned by USA Cricket. The league is targeted to launch next year.
With an additional commitment of $76 million in further fundraising over the next 12 months in place, MLC plans to deploy more than $120 million to launch the country’s first-ever professional Twenty20 cricket league and herald a new era for the world’s second most popular sport in the US, according to a press statement issued by MLC on Wednesday.
“The significant funding committed by an outstanding group of investors will allow Major League Cricket to build first-class facilities and accelerate the sport’s development across the country, bringing world-class professional cricket to the world’s largest sports market,” MLC co-founders Sameer Mehta and Vijay Srinivasan said in a joint statement.
“This investor group comprises leading business executives and successful tech entrepreneurs who have led some of the world’s most prominent companies. They bring tremendous experience and expertise in support of MLC’s plans to launch a transformative Twenty20 league and establish America as one of the world’s leading homes for international cricket events,” it further added.
The other investors for MLC include the likes of Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, Madrona Venture Group managing director Soma Somasegar, founding partners at Milliways Ventures and Rocketship VC Anand Rajaraman and Venky Harinarayan, chairman of Infinite Computer Solutions Zyter Sanjay Govi and Perot Jain managing partner Anurag Jain, among others.
NEW DELHI: Homegrown consumer electronics brand boAt has raised approximately $100 million from an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, a leading global private equity fund focused on growth investing. This investment is a landmark deal for the direct-to-consumer (D2C) industry in India as it endorses the sector’s coming of age with consumers trusting and gravitating towards brands launched online.
The investment by Warburg Pincus will enable the company to further fortify its leading market position, widen its R&D capabilities and product portfolio, and build on boAt’s efforts to create and support a manufacturing ecosystem under the Make-in-India initiative, enabling the manufacture of products in India.
boAt co-founder Aman Gupta said, “We welcome Warburg Pincus as a new investor into the company. This is a vote of confidence for our business model and growth prospects. The investment is great news for not only the company but for the entire D2C sector. The investment has come at the right time as we make efforts to ramp up our manufacturing and global supply chain.”
boAt co-founder Sameer Mehta commented, “As boAt enters the next phase of growth and innovation, we look forward to benefitting from Warburg’s pedigree, collective experience and resources in helping us scale. Going forward, with the government’s support, we will focus on building capabilities in domestic R&D and undertake vertical integration across both the hearable and wearable space to establish India as a global supplier.”
Warburg Pincus India MD & head Vishal Mahadevia said, “We see a compelling growth story in boAt and believe the company is well-poised to build upon the strong leadership position it has carved out within the industry and stands to benefit from the secular tailwinds of e-commerce growth in India. Warburg Pincus is excited to partner with the management team of boAt led by Aman and Sameer in this journey and we look forward to supporting them through the next phase of the company’s growth.”
Avendus Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor to boAt and its shareholders on the transaction.
MUMBAI: Started just three years ago by Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta, boAt is a consumer audio brand that has attracted scores of the millennial populace to its range of products including headphones, earphones, stereos, and premium rugged cables, amongst others. In a very short span of time, the brand has created quite a buzz in the growing audio market with its affordable premium quality products.
Another factor that has led to the appreciable performance of the brand is its marketing. boAt relies heavily on its digital presence on platforms like Instagram and YouTube to communicate with its community of ‘boAtheads’. The brand introduces a fresh face with a fresh campaign every four months and boasts of 12 brand ambassadors including cricketing sensations Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Bollywood stars, Kartik Aaryan Kiara Advani, Jacqueline Fernandez, and singer Neha Kakkar, amongst others.
And the reason behind such efficient marketing campaigns is a team of young marketers with an average age of 23. They don’t come with any prior experience in the marketing world and have been functioning with their keen understanding of the behaviours, likes, and dislikes of people around them.
boAt marketing pirate Saurabh Goswami tells Indiantelevision.com, “It’s not that we come from a lot of experience in the audio industry or even marketing but we know what our target audience wants and what they need in a product. We know how the youth today talk. We have never thought that there is some strategy or a particular formula to it. We don’t have dedicated projects per se but we spend depending on sales.”
He adds, “Aman (Gupta) has a very different approach to marketing and branding. Our budgets are very tactical. It’s all about the need of the hour. Aman says if the product is selling, it means we are doing something good and we are getting money to spend on marketing. But if there are no sales and we are spending on marketing, we are just loading off like other giants. We don’t have that sort of life. We have frugality. So, we actually pay a lot of attention to where we are spending.”
boAt quartermaster Aman Sadana adds that the team doesn’t have a yearly or monthly planner and goes with the flow of the market dynamics. “It’s really picking up trends that are happening.”
Elaborating on how trends are converted into content, boAt marketing mate Bhuvan Singh Rana shares, “Different content works for distinct platforms. Instagram is more meme-centric while YouTube is more ad-centric. We usually leverage on topicality. We even do brand shoots on topical content. Our brand ambassadors also play a key role (in driving traffic).”
On being asked what parameters they keep in mind while picking platforms or trends, Sadana reveals that it is a hit-and-trial approach. However, he added that engagement is the one metric boAt really cares about and has its content strategy centered on that.
He adds, “The metric for this is based on the fact that we, as a brand, look not just at reach but engagement as well. I don’t want people to just see my content and scroll past it. I want them to actually open it, read it, probably comment, and interact with the brand.”
The team reckons that there is stiff competition these days in the audio space and a subsequent clutter of brands trying to attract the consumers on the social media space. They, therefore, have worked hard to personify the brand and give it a distinct identity. They are also quite alert about the dynamic shifts in the audience interest and platforms they are on.
Sadana says, “Phones are a very important part of our lives. With Jio in the picture, content consumption is increasing drastically. The audience keeps shifting from one platform to another. So, as a brand, we always have to adapt and be where the millennial is and give them good content to consume. That’s the key to survive.”
Apart from digital, the brand is doing integrations with movies, music videos, and web channels like TVF and Filter Copy. It is also planning to work on its own YouTube videos like unboxing.
Sadana quips, “In India, there are three things that sell: movies, cricket, and music. These are the key pillars around which marketing revolves. We, too, are backing these three because we know people will interact with it. We have done collaborations with movies, one will be releasing in a few months. We are investing heavily in cricket and music videos.”
The brand has seen exponential growth in these years. As shared by Sadana, boAt had started with around 20 SKUs on Amazon, which now stands at 120-122 SKUs. The product portfolio is expanding and so is the team.
MUMBAI: DDB Mudra Group has elevated Sameer Mehta to the post of TracyLocke India president. In his new role, Mehta will report to DDB Mudra Group CEO and MD Madhukar Kamath.
TracyLocke is DDB Mudra Group’s shopper marketing, field marketing and retail solutions agency.
Mehta has been a part of the DDB Mudra Group since 2005 and has been instrumental in setting up and growing the field marketing, retail solutions and shopper marketing services for the group. With 17 years of experience in this field, Mehta is helping businesses grow through interventions at the point of purchase and this has been utilized extensively for many brands.
Post the Mudra Groups acquisition by Omnicom, Mehta has been a part of the team that has been entrusted to build the TracyLocke brand in India.
Mehta said, “I look forward to this opportunity as we imbibe the TracyLocke philosophy of ‘Buy Design’ in our day to day work. We believe in putting intent and purpose behind every activity that leads a customer to buy a brand. This principle helps us design experiences that turn shoppers into believers. We are seeing this being practiced by TracyLocke in the US with Pepsico, where they deliver cutting edged brand experiences. The global win of the SC Johnson business will also give us an opportunity in India to collaborate with other markets. Truly a lot to look forward to for us in TracyLocke India.”
Kamath added, “This has reaffirmed the belief that I always had in TracyLocke India’s capabilities to become one of the flagship businesses of the DDB Mudra Group. I am excited about the potential that we have to deliver technology led solutions in this space with Sameer at the forefront. He has a core team that has helped him grow this business and I am sure will continue to do so. I congratulate him on this well-deserved elevation within the group and look forward to working closely with him.”
