Brands
Rajiv Singh joins Haldiram’s as Vice President – Head of Marketing & Growth for its QSR Business.
Noida: Haldiram’s has tapped a seasoned brand builder to sharpen its quick-service ambitions. Rajiv Singh has joined the snacks-to-sweets giant as vice president and head of marketing and growth for its QSR business, signalling a sharper, more aggressive play in organised food retail at home and overseas.
Singh announced the move on LinkedIn, calling Haldiram’s “an extraordinary legacy in Indian food and hospitality” and adding that he looks forward to “driving brand-led growth, accelerating the QSR business, and building scalable, consumer-first marketing engines in partnership with the leadership team.” He described himself as “grateful for the trust” and “excited about the journey ahead.”
The appointment places a 15-year marketing veteran at the helm of one of India’s most recognisable food brands as it seeks to deepen its presence in quick-service restaurants, digital commerce and international markets. Singh’s mandate covers brand strategy, growth marketing and expansion of the QSR footprint across India and overseas.
Before Haldiram’s, Singh spent nearly four years at ITC Limited as head of growth and marketing for ITC Food Tech, where he worked on building cloud-kitchen domains and digital-first food ventures. His tenure saw influencer-led campaigns, café launches and celebrity-backed digital promotions for ITC Sunfeast Baked Creations, including collaborations with cricketer Shreyanka Patil and brand integrations with RCB players on delivery platforms such as Swiggy.
Earlier, Singh served as head of brand marketing and strategic alliances at Happilo International, steering D2C expansion, portfolio management, new product launches, ecommerce growth and high-visibility sports partnerships, notably the brand’s title sponsorship association with Rajasthan Royals. Campaigns during this period leaned heavily on influencer marketing, digital content and cross-platform brand collaborations.
His longest corporate stretch came at Blackberrys Menswear, where he rose from brand manager to manager retail marketing over three and a half years. There, Singh worked on brand identity changeovers, seasonal launches and trade shows, and helped grow the company from Rs 443 crore to Rs 1,000 crore within 30 months, according to his profile. He launched Knitalia Khaki, billed as India’s first 100 per cent cotton knitted trousers, and created the intellectual property “India Khaki Week,” a campaign credited with boosting khaki sales by 339 per cent and increasing footfall by 173 per cent. Key partnerships included the film *Race 3* as style partner featuring Salman Khan, the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride and multiple regional campaigns. He also oversaw the creation of sub-brands such as Blackberrys HOB, Blackberrys Casuale and Urban Blackberrys.
Singh’s earlier career spans agency and retail heavyweights. At Cheil Worldwide, he worked as associate account director handling retail visual merchandising for Samsung India Electronics across north India, managing operations in more than 18,000 stores including over 300 Samsung cafés and 250 Samsung digital plazas, and supervising teams of 350-plus associates during flagship device launches from the Galaxy S and Note series to the Z line. Before that, at Spencer’s Retail, he served as assistant manager marketing overseeing eastern Uttar Pradesh operations, managing in-store communication across nearly 3.93 lakh square feet and conducting the retailer’s first third-party funded “Shopping Carnival” campaign. The region, his profile notes, was EBITDA positive during his tenure.
Across roles, Singh’s experience cuts across FMCG, retail, fashion, consumer durables, digital, ecommerce and D2C, with competencies ranging from brand building and media buying to influencer management, visual merchandising, store design, capacity planning and intellectual-property creation.
For Haldiram’s, the hire is less a routine executive shuffle and more a statement of intent. With organised QSR competition intensifying and consumer attention fragmenting across screens and storefronts, the company is betting on marketing muscle and digital fluency to stay ahead. Singh arrives with a résumé built on scale, speed and spectacle. The brief is clear: grow fast, grow wide and make the brand impossible to ignore.
Brands
Maharashtra panel orders Lodha to refund Rs 5 crore to homebuyers
Consumer court flags unfair practices in long-running property dispute case
MUMBAI: In a sharp rebuke to one of India’s biggest real estate players, the Maharashtra State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed Macrotech Developers to refund nearly Rs 5 crore to a senior citizen couple, Uttam and Anindita Chatterjee. The ruling, delivered on March 13, 2026, calls out the developer for “deficiency in service” and “unfair trade practices”, bringing closure to a dispute that has stretched over a decade.
The case traces back to 2015, when the couple booked a 3-BHK flat at World Towers in Lower Parel for Rs 12.22 crore, with possession promised within a year. What followed was a series of changes that complicated matters. After deciding to exit the project, they were persuaded to shift to a 4-BHK in another development priced at Rs 8 crore, with delivery scheduled for 2018. However, within months, the price was allegedly increased to Rs 10 crore. After demonetisation reshaped the market, similar flats were reportedly being offered at lower prices, but the couple were not given the benefit.
Despite paying over Rs 2.83 crore, the couple neither received possession nor clarity. Instead, in 2018, the developer unilaterally cancelled the booking, retained part of the amount as earnest money, and argued that the buyers were investors rather than consumers. The commission rejected this claim, observing that casual references to “investment” do not take away consumer rights when the purchase intent is residential.
The bench also held that the developer could not penalise buyers for payment delays while failing to meet its own delivery commitments. It noted the lack of formal documentation for revised terms and termed the prolonged retention of funds without delivering a home as exploitative.
As part of its order, the commission directed the developer to refund Rs 2.83 crore paid by the couple, along with interest at 10 per cent per annum, amounting to around Rs 2.12 crore. In addition, Rs 1 lakh has been awarded for mental agony and Rs 50,000 towards litigation costs, taking the total payout to over Rs 5 crore. The developer has been asked to comply within two months.
For now, the ruling serves as a reminder that in real estate, shifting terms and delayed promises can carry a significant cost.
