MAM
Roposo unveils new men’s grooming brand with actor Rana Daggubati
Mumbai: Creator-led live entertainment commerce platform Roposo and actor Rana Daggubati on Thursday announced the launch of their co-created men’s grooming brand DCRAF.
DCRAF is derived from ‘D’ for Daggubati, and ‘Craf’ – a colloquial short form of the English expression ‘Hair Craft’ – popularly associated with men’s grooming in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. It will cater to millennial and gen-Z men in tier-1 and 2 markets. The brand has grooming products for face, beard, and skincare categories.
“DCRAF was created with the belief that grooming and taking care of oneself should not be tedious. By overly complicating grooming rituals, most brands tend to alienate consumers and deter men from experiencing the joy that comes with looking and feeling good. DCRAF aims to simplify grooming through the tagline ‘It’s that simple’ and well-designed products,” Roposo said in a statement.
DCRAF uses fun, creative adaptations of Indian faces from across the country and various regional scripts in its branding as a celebration of India’s diversity. The brand also plans to launch a reality show, live and exclusive on Roposo and Glance, to find a user who will be the next face of DCRAF. The winner will feature on DCRAF packaging and will join Daggubati in representing the brand.
The men’s grooming market has been growing rapidly in India and is one of the major focus areas for live commerce on Glance and Roposo. According to market estimates, the industry is expected to reach $1.2 billion by 2024, growing at a CAGR of 11 per cent. Fashion and beauty, which includes men’s grooming, is the top-performing category on Roposo. 50 per cent of its total live commerce creators belong to it. The platform expects the launch of DCRAF to further accelerate growth in this segment.
This launch is the latest in the line of celebrity-led original labels to be launched by Roposo through Glance Collective – a joint venture between Roposo’s parent company Glance and talent management firm Collective Artists Network. In November 2021, they had jointly launched their first co-created brand ‘EK’ with Ekta Kapoor, in the home and wellness category. Roposo is looking at co-creating around 100 such celebrity and creator-led brands across multiple segments, with an aim of fueling the creator economy through multiple entrepreneurial opportunities.
“Our intention has been to partner with celebrities and creators to launch brands that reflect their unique persona and become an extension of who they are,” stated Roposo GM and VP Mansi Jain. “Rana is one of the most fashionable contemporary male celebrities and is followed by many for his sense of style and grooming. We are delighted to be partnering with him to launch DCRAF. With the live commerce technology and the scale of our platforms, we expect DCRAF to be discovered by millions of users across India.”
MAM
JBCN Education appoints The Other Circle for PR mandate
Mumbai agency to lead communications for progressive K–12 group.
MUMBAI: JBCN Education just circled in a fresh voice because when your classrooms already think outside the box, the next logical step is to get the story out of the classroom. JBCN Education has appointed Mumbai-based communications agency The Other Circle (TOC) to handle its public relations and strategic communications mandate. The partnership aims to amplify the institution’s distinctive Educreative philosophy, which blends rigorous academics with experiential learning, creativity and values-led development.
TOC will shape JBCN’s narrative through educator-led thought leadership, media engagement and strategic storytelling, fostering deeper conversations with parents, educators and the academic community on modern, meaningful learning.
JBCN Education, senior vice president for marketing Nikhil Sharma said, “Every institution has a unique narrative, one filled with innovative learning, passionate faculty, and the next generation of Changemakers. The Other Circle’s strategic approach and deep familiarity with the education sector make them the right partner to strengthen our brand presence and forge meaningful connections.”
The Other Circle Group of Companies co-founder & CEO Aakanksha Gupta added, “The best communications work happens when the story is already true—you just have to find the right way to tell it. JBCN Education represents a powerful shift in how learning is imagined and delivered in India, and that story is rich: a philosophy that’s lived in the classroom, educators who believe in it, and outcomes that speak for themselves.”
The appointment marks a new phase for JBCN as it seeks to lead national conversations around progressive education, inquiry-based learning and preparing students for an interconnected world.
In an education landscape where the real competition isn’t marks but mindset, JBCN isn’t just teaching kids, it’s teaching the country what forward-thinking learning can look like, and now it’s got a voice loud enough to make sure everyone hears it.
