MAM
Armed with new logo, Kinetic kickstarts Italiano Series
BANGALORE: Two wheeler company Kinetic is revving up to take on scooter segment leader Bajaj Auto with its new Italiano series range. In its efforts to distance itself from the Kinetic Honda image that has long been associated with the company, it has also changed its logo.
The new logo is a metallic gray and silver unit that appears to be chiseled out carefully, indicating high precision engineering and a stately, elegant presence reflects a premium and aspirational brand image, say Kinetic officials. The new logo will appear on all Kinetic two wheelers, dealership insignia, advertising and other brand related initiatives.
The Italiano series comprises seven new scooter designs that have previously been bestsellers abroad and will now come to India for the first time. They offer a complete range from classic, futuristic, sporty, radical to vintage retro designs and engine specifications will range from 50cc Velocifero to 250cc Jupiter.
The Euro brand
Other models that Kinetic has in its kitty are Dragster, Torpedo a big wheel scooter, Euro, Millennium (also called the Blade) and Formula.
The scooters will be launched phase wise over the next couple of years, with the first launch – the 165 cc Millennium (Blade) coming in a month’s time and the 135 cc Euro slated for a Diwali launch. Kinetic plans aggressive pricing with the lower powered offerings targeting a price range of Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 and approximately Rs 40,000 to Rs. 50,000 for the mid powered range. The Jupiter is likely to cost Rs 150,000 to Rs 200,000.
Millennium
In an industry where the scooter format has not changed since 1984 when Kinetic brought in India’s first gearless scooter, the Italiano series is supposed to bring in a breath of freshness, the company claims.
The machines in the new series have been provided with new features —- the Dragster which the company plans to export and not offer to the Indian scooterist at present has a unique trellis frame, independent steering system with a single hydro-pneumatic shock absorber with an adjustable spring; while the large sized 250cc scooter Jupiter could create its own new segment.
At a special preview of the scooters in Bangalore, Jt MD of Kinetic Sulajja Firodia Motwani said, “This time the vehicles say it all. We are very excited about this range, it’s sure to bring back fun and glamour in two wheelers. After all, a two wheeler doesn’t only have to be about basic transportation, it should be able to provide utility, performance and excitement to the owner.”
Kinetic spends around Rs 400 million to Rs 500 million on advertising and promotions. For the two new products, as per Sulajja, the company intends to spend around Rs 150 million to Rs 200 million. Gray Worldwide and Contract handle its creatives while Madison handles the media business.
Kinetic has also acquired global distribution rights for the scooters and is chalking out an aggressive exports plan for these scooters which already have worldwide acceptance.
It has appointed Incubus – a showroom design agency out of Delhi – to offer standardized showroom ambience. All new dealers will have to adopt these designs for their show rooms. They also plan to revamp distributorships by appointing 40-50 new dealers in 30-35 cities. The new offerings are targeted at the urban rider and not the rural. Kinetic says that rural riders prefer the large wheeled fuel efficient mopeds or motorcycles.
MAM
How beverage brands are rethinking marketing strategies for weather-led demand
SLMG Beverages Private Limited joint managing director Paritosh Ladhani.
MUMBAI: As Sun climbs up the hemisphere, summer has clearly arrived in India. On 7th March 2026 Delhi registered a maximum temperature of 35.7 degrees Celsius which is the highest reading logged for the first week of March in the last 50 years. Climate Change has been prolonging summers by causing earlier spring warming, delayed autumn cooling, and more frequent, intense heatwaves that persist for much longer periods.
In an endeavor to stay ahead of the curve, Beverage Brands are shifting from fixed seasonal marketing tactics to weather responsive strategies backed by data-driven insights, flexible campaigns, and diversified portfolios to capitalize on unruly temperature spike. In 2025, India’s beverage market experienced a massive, heat-triggered surge with carbonated drinks and ice cream volumes spiking 20–25 per cent in the March quarter itself on the back of hottest February in 125 years.
Clearly campaign timelines are being advanced to reap the seasonal shift in line with the jumping mercury. In the Indian context where Cricket is nothing short of religion, big ticket tournaments like T20 World Cup, Indian Premier League, ICC Champions Trophy provide plethora of opportunities to calibrate marketing campaign designs and associated business strategies to associate refreshment with community viewing both outdoor and indoors. A new trend that has taken the world by storm is that of booking the theatres for bonhomie viewing. It has also opened avenues for joint marketing initiatives by the Multiplex and Beverage Brands.
Price disrupting small potions and value packs tend to drive significantly higher volumes owing to volumetric flexibility and affordability to the consumers. Ramping up of cold supply chains for transit and at point of sales (POS) are strategic business imperatives that again define success of beverage brands.
In the era of AI and Big Data it is easy to track and calibrate messaging based on daily or weekly weather changes. Geo-targeted digital advertisement campaigns are also being run during heatwaves to make the business and marketing imperative very contextual. These pre-emptive strategies fueled by real time data and technology immensely help beverage brands to adjust supplies to the areas that are likely to generate more demand.
Novelty brings premium to the FMCG Sector and Beverage Brands are no exception. Newer SKUs build up excitement in consumers besides imparting the scope of frequent revitalization of brand marketing campaigns. Ensuring continuum of supply chain across material suppliers, logistics providers, distributors/wholesalers, and retailers become a strategic business strategy imperative for beverage brands during peak season.
Carbonated drinks among other beverages including packaged mineral water sell like hotcakes in summers, a period where holiday season gives big impetus to sales volumes. Tying up with air carriers railways, amusement parks, malls, convention centers for inclusion in the onboard beverage deck also holds a big window of opportunity for brands.
Limited period diversification into special summer categories entailing juices and functional beverages to capture the broader hydration market is also a business cum marketing imperative that beverage brands eye on. This also brings to fore the responsible side of the brand placing the compass on wellness of consumers.
Seasons are cyclic, hence summers are inevitable. Further, due to anthropogenic climate change, summers surely have been staging prolonged appearance that keep bringing beverage brands on to their drawing boards frequently for strategizing business and marketing campaigns that are agile, refreshment-focused, visually dominant in retail, affordable, and optimally promoted through seasonal campaigns in above and below the line media.
