Brands
McDowell’s, DriveU tie up; launch service app
MUMBAI: McDowell’s No.1 Soda has joined hands with DriveU, an app-based start-up, which offers on-demand driver service, to launch a feature within the app called Share, through which friends can commute together. A strong mainstream and digital campaign will be rolled out with celebrity drivers.
The partnership creates first of its kind benchmarks where a consumer brand and a startup come together to provide a need-based consumer offering based on a long-term revenue sharing model. Through this partnership, McDowell’s will provide marketing support and generate demand for DriveU with an ambition of generating half a million downloads and completing one million rides in the first year of association.
United Spirits senior VP marketing Subroto Geed said that the unique association was based on USL’s next generation marketing thinking where there were engaging with the right partners to create a personalised experience. This partnership was a true marketing innovation and that they very excited to be working with a young and edgy start-up, he said.
This innovation was a big move that was expected to dramatically increase DriveU’s user base to meet its revenue targets. DriveU business was expected to grow tenfold over the next year, while operating across India’s top 10 metros, said DriveU CEO Ramprasad Shastry.
Brands
Never Grow Up launches The Monday Bar energy snack
New nutraceutical bar with ashwagandha and zero added sugar targets daily work stress.
MUMBAI: The Monday Bar just turned the most dreaded day of the week into something almost bearable because when your energy comes without the crash, even Mondays start feeling like a plot twist. Never Grow Up has introduced The Monday Bar, a nutraceutical energy bar formulated specifically for the sustained mental and physical demands of modern working life rather than short bursts of intensity. Unlike conventional energy snacks loaded with sugar, the bar uses zero added sugar or preservatives and relies on stress-conscious botanicals Jatamansi, Valerian Root and Ashwagandha to support steady energy while respecting the body’s need for balance.
Never Grow Up sssociate director Abhishek Hawal said, “Fatigue isn’t just physical, it’s deeply mental. The pressure to stay switched on, make constant decisions, and perform 100 per cent adds up over time. The Monday Bar supports the part of the workday that often gets ignored: mental steadiness. Not with a sugary quick fix, but with something people can rely on, day after day.”
The launch reflects years of observing how work culture has evolved rising mental load, constant stimulation, shrinking recovery time and responds with a product designed as an everyday staple rather than an occasional boost. By choosing ingredients that promote calm focus over temporary highs, the bar aligns with growing consumer awareness around long-term health, ingredient transparency, and work-life sustainability.
In a world that still wears exhaustion like a badge, The Monday Bar quietly asks a smarter question, what if the real productivity hack isn’t pushing harder, but staying steadier? One bite at a time, it’s proving that sometimes the best way to conquer Monday is to outlast it without the crash landing.
