Brands
Lara Dutta launches ARIAS Kids in partnership with FirstCry
Mumbai: Miss Universe 2000 pageant winner, Indian actress, and entrepreneur Lara Dutta Bhupathi announced on Saturday her entry into the kids’ fashion space on the Indian e-tail baby and kids megastore FirstCry.com.
Bhupati has partnered with FirstCry to launch ARIAS – an eco-fashion label of clothing and accessories which is an endeavour to design responsible fashion while translating current trends into comfortable, chic and premium quality products.
ARIAS Kids, will be made available only on FirstCry.com and is set to challenge the existing market of conscious parents of independent kids who know exactly what they want to wear.
ARIAS caters to 2–14-year old kids with the aim of creating clothing and accessories that reduce the negative impact of the fashion industry on the environment.
The brand name is her daughter’s name, ‘Saira’, spelled in reverse. It seems fitting that ARIAS has naturally forayed into the kids’ clothing space too.
Speaking about this new initiative, Lara Dutta said, “FirstCry was the first brand that immediately came to mind when I thought of ‘kids fashion’. With this partnership, I believe we can advance environmental education and youth environmental awareness while also achieving my goal of making ARIAS kids an eco-fashion brand.”
A company spokesperson at FirstCry said, “The association with Lara’s brand is one that we are very positive about – we are witnessing the rise of the conscious consumer on FirstCry, and given ARIAS Kids’ core values of eco-consciousness, it is a great offering for parents who have come to expect more from the FirstCry brand.”
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.
