MAM
AXN evolves marketing strategy for a bigger audience connect
MUMBAI: As the English GEC space grows with new players coming in, AXN is evolving its marketing efforts.
The focus is to expand the consumer connect with AXN‘s most popular international shows. “We have changed our media mix to interesting one-on-one interactions with our key stakeholders. We have linked all such activities with our key properties and targeted them differently with each programme,” AXN business head Sunil Punjabi said.
The first initiative was the Supernatural Tweet-up event. “We launched season eight with a tweet-up event in four key metros and followed up a sustenance activity after two months with another six cities activation. This activation has had good response and we received queries from smaller cities like Chandigarh, Nashik, Nagpur, Indore, Jaipur among others to reach them,” Punjabi averred.
As ‘Top Chef’ has a larger appeal beyond the six metros, AXN decided to market the property not only in the four metros but also towns like Pune and Hyderabad, among others.
Another property is ‘The Voice’ and the fourth season has Shakira and Usher as judges. “We decided to use this as a peg for our next promotion activity. We launched the ‘Find yourself in LA’ on the sets of Voice where Shakira would be judging the battle rounds. Through this activation, we have connected to approximately 700 contestants across advertising agencies, clients and distribution,” Punjabi averred.
The Thrillionaire campaign that AXN kicked off in October is being run across the year. As AXN is celebrating its 15th year in India, the channel launched the ‘15 years of Thrill Campaign’ in October. This campaign will culminate this year. “So far the response to this activity across the year has been great and we hope to keep engaging with our viewers consistently,” Punjabi stated.
What is interesting is that AXN has partnered with Hindi films. The thinking, Punjabi said, was to Indianise the look of the channel. “We associated with relevant on-brand movie tie-ups like Special 26 with the launch of ‘Leverage’. ‘Leverage’ is all about the ‘Dons of the Cons’ and so was ‘Special 26’. With the right character fit, we have launched ‘Leverage’ on the channel with Akshay Kumar in Special 26.”
AXN will air two original productions, ‘Apprentice Asia’ and ‘Hannibal’, this year. “Our first set of activation for ‘Apprentice Asia’ happened during the call for entry phase. Statistically, India had a strong response. Two of the 10 contestant for ‘Apprentice Asia’ are Indians. Also, the host Tony Fernandes made news in the form of the Tata-Air Asia JV being formed for a low cost airline. Tony has successfully turned around the airline in Asia and has interest in multiple business including a soccer and F1 team,” said Punjabi.
Brands
Sapphire Foods FY26 revenue rises to Rs 3,125 crore, posts loss
Q4 revenue at Rs 792 crore, FY26 loss at Rs 32 crore amid cost pressures.
MUMBAI: If growth is on the menu, profitability seems to have taken a brief detour. Sapphire Foods India reported a steady rise in topline for FY26, even as rising costs weighed on profitability. Revenue from operations grew to Rs 3,125 crore for the year ended March 31, 2026, up from Rs 2,882 crore in FY25. However, the company swung to a loss, reporting a net loss of Rs 32 crore for FY26, compared to a profit of Rs 17 crore in the previous year. Total income for the year stood at Rs 3,153 crore, while total expenses climbed to Rs 3,167 crore, reflecting pressure across key cost heads.
In the March quarter, revenue came in at Rs 792 crore, compared to Rs 711 crore in the same period last year. The company reported a quarterly net loss of Rs 13 crore, against a profit of Rs 2 crore a year earlier.
Cost pressures remained visible across operations. Material costs rose to Rs 995 crore for FY26, while employee expenses increased to Rs 428 crore. Other expenses, the largest component, stood at Rs 1,229 crore, underscoring the impact of store operations and expansion-related spends.
Depreciation and amortisation expenses also climbed to Rs 392 crore for the year, reflecting continued investments in store infrastructure and growth.
At the operating level, the company reported a loss before tax of Rs 37 crore for FY26, compared to a profit of Rs 23 crore in FY25. Exceptional items added Rs 24 crore to the cost burden during the year.
On the balance sheet, total assets rose to Rs 3,256 crore as of March 31, 2026, up from Rs 3,041 crore a year earlier, indicating ongoing expansion. Net worth stood at Rs 1,389 crore.
Despite profitability pressures, operating cash flow remained resilient at Rs 507 crore, highlighting underlying business strength and demand stability.
The numbers paint a familiar picture in the quick-service restaurant space, growth continues to be served hot, but margins are still finding their footing.
