Brands
Skybags appoints Varun Dhawan as brand ambassador
MUMBAI: Skybags – the youth centric stylish luggage and backpacks brand from V.I.P Industries’ – has appointed actor Varun Dhawan as its new brand ambassador.
Launched as an independent brand in 2011, Skybags makes trendy and contemporary bags for the youth.
V.I.P Industries managing director Radhika Piramal said, “Skybags is the brand for today’s youth who are always on the go. The brand is full of energy and style hence Varun Dhawan’s association is perfect for the brand as he brings out the above promise perfectly. We are happy to be associating with Varun and look forward to a fruitful relationship with him.”
V.I.P Industries vice president – marketing Sudip Ghose added, “With more young customers travelling at an early age, styling in the bags has become a necessity. And hence, newer categories like Polycarbonate luggage, backpacks and rucksacks are increasingly gaining popularity. From ‘Travel gear’ bags are moving to become ‘Travel wear’ today. Varun Dhawan, with his ‘real’ and ‘reel’ life image perfectly fits the brand. The idea is to make it brand appeal right from a 15 year old student for backpack to a 25 year old first time luggage buyer.”
Dhawan, who will be the new face of the brand across all their communication, said, “I am thrilled to be associated with Skybags as the new face for the brand. The bag you carry is like an accessory; the style and the brand both are important to stay in vogue today! I am confident that this new association, I’ll help the brand go younger and more relevant for youth.”
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
