Afaqs!

For a brand that says it reaches millions of Indians every day, Cremica has spent an unusually long time being recognised without necessarily being noticed. Since its founding in 1978, the brand's ketchup and mayonnaise have been familiar accompaniments across quick-service restaurants, cafés and other food-service outlets, yet the name on the sachet has historically had a smaller presence on the retail shelf.

The entries for the fourth edition of the afaqs! Brand Storyz Awards, set to be held in New Delhi in December 2026, are now open. Created in 2023, the afaqs! Brand Storyz Awards is committed to rewarding the most creative attempts to create and disseminate content. Since its inception, past participants have included boAt, Disney, Domino’s, Dainik Bhaskar, Center Fresh and Cipla.

A couple of days ago, ITC completed the acquisition of Sproutlife Foods, the parent company of health and nutrition brand Yoga Bar, for around Rs 900 crore. The FMCG major acquired the remaining 52.5% stake in Sproutlife for Rs 645 crore, taking its shareholding to 100%. ITC first announced plans to buy the Yoga Bar maker in 2023 and invested Rs 175 crore for a 39.4% stake, followed by an Rs 80 crore investment, taking its shareholding in Yoga Bar to 47.5%.

From ‘Definitely Male’ to ‘Definitely Daring’, Pulsar has evolved its communication while retaining its focus on performance and attitude. When Bajaj Pulsar entered the Indian motorcycle market in 2001, motorcycles were largely viewed through the lens of mileage, reliability and affordability. Pulsar challenged that equation by bringing performance, aggressive design and technology into a more accessible price range.

AI is making India's festive-season marketing more adaptive, measurable and relevant, shortening the distance between a signal and a decision. The biggest shift is that festive campaigns no longer behave like fixed plans. They used to be built, launched and reviewed in a linear manner.

Parent Company: ITC Limited Taglines Over the Years: No confusion, great combination! Bingo! Mad Angles ? It's Different Apna Asli Flavour By afaqs! Research Team Market Context at Launch Indian Snacks Market (mid-2000s): Dominated by Lay's (PepsiCo) in potato chips. Unorganised segment (namkeens, bhujia) was large but fragmented. Consumers craved more variety in flavours and formats. Urban youth were increasingly drawn to quirky, bold brands.

A LinkedIn ‘complaint’ from a user pointed out that he is ready to buy another trimmer. His current one, however, isn't giving him a reason to. Most brands spend their time trying to convince customers that their products last longer. Bombay Shaving Company appears to have found itself on the other side of that conversation. The "complaint" A recent LinkedIn post by GTM strategist NavYug Kumar addressed Bombay Shaving Company founder Shantanu Deshpande with what he called a "small complaint".

Immediate Past President, Srinivasan K. Swamy will be the ex-officio member of the AAAI Board for 2026-27. Rediffusion MD and chairman Dr Sandeep Goyal was elected President of the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) for 2026-27 at its Annual General Body Meeting held on September 30, 2026, in Mumbai. Immediate Past President Srinivasan K. Swamy will serve as an ex officio member of the AAAI Board for 2026-27.

Amazon Ads has renamed its unified advertising platform Amazon Ads Agent and introduced DVA+, a new solution that brings programmatic buying into the platform. The announcements were made at unBoxed 2026. Amazon Ads Agent brings sponsored ads, Display, Video and Audio into a single platform, with advertisers able to build campaigns manually, use Amazon’s AI tools or combine both approaches.

Technology’s role in sports is increasingly moving beyond simply enabling scale to make the viewing experience more inclusive, personalised and seamless, according to Akash Saxena, Chief Technology Officer, JioStar, who spoke at the FICCI FRAMES 2026 panel discussion, “Lighting Up a Billion Screens”.