Brands
Loyalty’s no longer blind: India’s marketers say it’s earned, not bought
MUMBAI: In a world of swipe-right consumption and split-second brand switches, loyalty is less about freebies and more about frictionless delivery. This was the consensus at Indiantelevision.com’s Media Investment Summit 2025 during panel six, ‘Decoding the Evolving Indian Consumer: What Drives Loyalty in 2025?’ Moderated by Omnicom Media Group India CGO Anand Chakravarthy, the session dissected how Indian consumers are thinking, buying and staying (or straying) from brands today.
Featuring voices from pharma, beauty, wellness, QSR, BFSI, and heavy industry, the session proved that while brand allegiance may be waning, there’s a silver lining for those who can predict—and personalise—customer moments with precision.
Mahuya Chaturvedi of Century Paper framed loyalty as a “contract between buyer and brand”, akin to dating in a pre-app era. “It used to be purer”, she quipped, “fewer choices, fewer distractions. Now the moment that contract’s terms aren’t met—customers walk”.
She argued that brands must over-index on at least one pillar—price, performance, trust, or experience—to sustain recall. “In commoditised sectors like paper, scientific selling and product knowledge—not the product itself—drives repeat”, she noted.
Sayantani Das of Jumboking Burgers traced loyalty’s new anatomy, “It used to be about NFM (Net Frequency and Monitored value); now it’s about emotional bandwidth and physical availability”. She shared that metro station outlets triggered repeat behaviour simply by being the default option. “Loyalty is no longer a campaign, it’s a commuter habit”, she said.
For the healthcare crowd, loyalty isn’t convenience—it’s consequence. Pulak Sarmah of Sun Pharma stressed, “Consumers don’t obsess over brands like we do. They want reliable solutions. If Saridon says pain goes in five minutes, it better work in five”.
Ritu Mittal of Bayer Consumer Health added, “People in pain don’t want to experiment. Trust runs through families. That’s loyalty you can’t buy—it’s earned over generations”.
When discussing pharmacists’ roles in the ecosystem, she revealed how new launches like Saridon GO were backed by frontline chemist education. “Pharmacists aren’t just retailers—they’re trust brokers”, she said.
Krithika Sriram of PLIX noted that loyalty no longer depends on product quality alone. “Those are hygiene factors now. If you’re not helping customers in their wider journey—through diet plans, coaching, or credible education—you’re just another supplement on a shelf”, she said.
By offering custom meal plans alongside apple cider vinegar tablets, Plix increased stickiness without a discount in sight. “Transparency works”, she added. “We told consumers: nothing will change in seven days. Stick with us for 12 weeks—and it worked”.
For Nishant Nayyar of Kaya, loyalty is about staying relevant—physically and emotionally. “We realised if you close a retail outlet, loyalty drops. We’ve learned to stay at a customer’s moment of truth for as long as possible”, he said.
Kaya’s strategy involves using doctors as “influencers”, not celebrities. “Their authority on FDA-approved treatments becomes our marketing currency”, Nayyar explained. Kaya now releases digestible, science-backed video content to explain results without overwhelming jargon.
Drawing from her past life in banking and insurance, panelist Anjali (ex-BFSI, currently at D2C firm Dana) recalled, “Customers hated that we only called them once a year—to sell a renewal”. Her team countered by building content-based engagement models to create consistent touchpoints throughout the year. “Loyalty in BFSI isn’t about points. It’s about not ghosting your customer”, she said.
As the session closed, Chakravarthy prompted each panelist to finish the sentence: “In 2025, the future of loyalty lies with brands who…”
Their answers said it all:
. “…stand for something and do more than transactional strategies” — Krithika Sriram
. “…solve real-life consumer problems and create moments of delight” — Nishant Nayyar
. “…humanise science”— Ritu Mittal
. “…are radically transparent” — Sayantani Das
. “…are agile enough to evolve with each customer’s heartbeat” — Mahuya Chaturvedi
. “…offer extreme personalisation through AI” — Pulak Sarmah
In short, loyalty isn’t dying—it’s diversifying. And in 2025, it seems you don’t own your customer. You earn them, repeatedly.
Brands
Kwality Wall’s reports standalone losses following strategic HUL demerger
Ice cream major faces Rs 64 crore Ebitda loss amid commodity inflation and muted Q3 sales
MUMBAI: Kwality Wall’s (India) Limited (KWIL) has released its first set of financial results as a standalone entity, revealing a challenging start to its independent journey. Following its successful demerger from Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) on 1st December 2025 and its subsequent listing on 16th February 2026, the company is navigating a transition period marked by structural changes and high input costs.
For the quarter ended 31st December 2025, the company reported revenue of Rs 222 crores. Despite the revenue base, the bottom line was impacted by several factors, resulting in an Ebitda loss of Rs 64.2 crores. When calculated on a Pre-IND AS 116 basis, the Ebitda loss stood at Rs 83.8 crores.
Organic Sales Growth (OSG) declined by 6.5 per cent year-on-year during the quarter. Volume growth, however, saw a marginal increase of 1.2 per cent. The company reported a gross margin of 41.5 per cent. Additionally, exceptional expenses amounting to Rs 94 crores were recorded, primarily linked to non-recurring costs during the transition phase.
Performance across portfolios and channels was mixed. Within the impulse portfolio, brands such as Magnum and Cornetto recorded mid-single digit volume growth, indicating steady demand in on-the-go consumption. However, the in-home portfolio, which includes take-home packs, experienced muted consumption. The company is planning a relaunch of this category with improved offerings ahead of the 2026 season.
Quick commerce (Q-Com) continued to emerge as a strong growth driver, delivering robust double-digit growth during the quarter. Meanwhile, the company also expanded its physical distribution network by increasing the number of company-owned cabinets across markets.
Margin pressure during the quarter was driven by a combination of one-off factors and broader cost inflation. Gross margins were impacted by around 600 basis points due to trade investments made for stock liquidation. Additionally, cocoa price inflation contributed to another 400 basis points of pressure on margins.
Deputy managing director Chitrank Goel attributed the muted performance partly to prolonged monsoons and transitional challenges linked to the GST framework. Operating expenses also increased as the company invested in establishing its standalone supply chain, operational systems and corporate infrastructure following the demerger.
Looking ahead, the management remains focused on a volume-driven growth strategy. To restore profitability, the company has initiated a cost productivity programme aimed at reducing non-consumer-facing costs. It is also working on building regional manufacturing networks to optimise logistics expenses and improve operational efficiency.
The commodity outlook for the near term remains mixed. Dairy prices are expected to remain firm due to tight supply conditions and rising fodder costs. Sugar prices may also move higher following increases in the Minimum Selling Price (MSP). While cocoa prices have moderated recently, currency depreciation has offset some of the potential cost relief for the company.
