Brands
Loud and clear Ottoman Plates Up a bold new food brand
MUMBAI: Some brands whisper their way into the market. Others arrive with a megaphone and a manifesto. Fifteen years after launching The Table, Food Matters Group is back with a very different appetite. Its new delivery-first lifestyle food brand, Loud Mouth, is less about what is on the plate and more about who is holding it. And to shape that personality-led play, the group has brought in Ottoman, the branding and creative design studio within the Black Cab Agency Network, as its branding partner.
Founded by Jay Yousuf and Gauri Devidayal, and conceived and creatively led by Alya Vachani, Loud Mouth was built around a mindset rather than a menu. Instead of beginning with cuisine formats or kitchen logistics, the team focused on defining the brand’s voice and its audience: confident, expressive and distinctly uninterested in being told how to behave.
Ottoman’s role was to translate that attitude into a cohesive brand system that could stretch across screens, packaging and physical spaces. Its mandate spans brand strategy and positioning, visual identity, packaging, creative direction, kiosk design, lifestyle merchandising and the Loud Mouth website. The aim was clarity and character over decoration, building a scalable identity that works as fluently on delivery apps as it does in real-world touchpoints.
“Loud Mouth was never a food-first brief. It was about identity, attitude, and community,” said Ottoman co-founder and creative director Imran Udaipurwala. “The food works because the people behind it know what they’re doing. Our job was to build a brand that could carry that confidence without overexplaining itself.”
For Vachani, the brand’s DNA is rooted in everyday utility with personality. “I lived on bowls and wraps in New York. They were quick, filling, and flavour-packed, the kind of food that fit seamlessly into a busy day. I wanted to be able to do the same here,” she said. “Loud Mouth isn’t just something you order, it’s something that fits into your day. It’s the lunch you eat between work calls, the post-workout meal when you don’t want to think, and the comfort food you eat in bed while watching your favourite show.”
Black Cab co-founder Aayush Bansal framed the collaboration as emblematic of how contemporary brands are built. “You start with a point of view, a personality, and a community. Everything else follows. Ottoman’s work helped ground that thinking into a clear, scalable brand foundation,” he said.
Positioned as unapologetically personality-led, Loud Mouth enters a crowded delivery market by attempting to speak before it serves. Early responses to the identity suggest that the bet on voice over volume may be paying off. Across delivery platforms, digital spaces and emerging physical touchpoints, the brand is drawing in consumers who feel seen rather than sold to.
For Ottoman, the project reinforces its focus on culture-first branding, where personality is not an afterthought but the starting point. For Loud Mouth, it marks the beginning of a venture that does not need to shout to be heard.
Brands
Hemlata Sharma joins ONEOTT Broadband as chief business officer
Former Zee Media distribution head to steer growth, partnerships and strategy
MUMBAI: Hemlata Sharma has joined ONEOTT Broadband as chief business officer, bringing with her more than three decades of experience across television, telecom and media distribution.
Sharma most recently served as head distribution, research & CRM at Zee Media Corporation Limited, where she worked closely with editorial and senior management while overseeing distribution, consumer research and customer relationships for 14 news channels including Zee News, WION, Zee Hindustan and Zee Business, along with ten regional state channels.
In that role, she led nationwide distribution across platforms such as DTH, Hits, IPTV, cable networks and DD Free Dish. She also drove consumer research and strategic insights on a pan India scale, analysing content performance, anchor impact, programme slots and audience behaviour to guide editorial decisions and programming strategy.
Her portfolio also included managing one of the largest alliances with Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited and overseeing the global distribution monitoring of Wion across North America, Mena, Europe, Africa, APAC and Australia.
Earlier, Sharma briefly served as head sales and distribution at Triplecom Media Pvt Ltd, an engagement driven OTT platform bringing together content, gaming, music and advertising for the entertainment distribution ecosystem.
Her earlier career includes a senior vice president stint at Ten Sports Network, where she played a key role in relaunching the sports broadcaster as an independent bouquet comprising Ten Sports, Ten Cricket, Ten Action and Ten Golf following the Zee takeover. During this period, she moved from vp west to head strategy for cable and dth and later national head retail distribution, helping build the network’s retail distribution vertical across India and launching dedicated golf and football channels.
Before that, Sharma spent over six years at Bharti Airtel as general manager operations for Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. She initially led marketing and corporate communications before moving into sales leadership, where voice sales grew by 86 per cent and revenues by 96 per cent. She later headed business operations, expanding annual business volumes to Rs 100 crore while significantly reducing operational costs.
Sharma began her long association with the media distribution ecosystem at Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited as regional head sales and distribution for central India. During that period, she played a role in the early rollout of pay television channels including Zee Cinema, HBO, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, while also contributing to the launch of Siti Cable in key central Indian cities.
With her new role at ONEOTT Broadband, Sharma is expected to focus on strengthening business strategy, expanding partnerships and driving growth across the company’s broadband and digital distribution ecosystem.
