Brands
Pawtrait mode on as tattoos go furry and feel-good
MUMBAI: A tattoo might fade a little over time, but a paw print on the soul? That one’s permanent. In a bold blend of ink and emotion, Aliens Tattoo has launched Part of You, India’s first national tattoo movement celebrating the bond between people and their pets, and quietly channelling it into purpose.
The initiative offers more than just body art. It’s a full-blown movement turning wagging tails and whiskered memories into legacy pieces, paw prints, pet portraits, or soulful abstract strokes that carry stories of companionship, loss, healing, and joy. And with 1 per cent of campaign revenues pledged to animal welfare groups across India, the tattoos are doing more than just sitting pretty on skin.
“This isn’t just a tattoo. It’s a legacy,” said Aliens Tattoo founder and chief visionary artist Sunny Bhanushali. “When someone loses a pet, or even wants to celebrate the little joys of companionship, we believe that story deserves more than a memory. It deserves permanence. And with ‘Part of You’, we’re making sure that permanence helps more lives not just honours one.”
The numbers already speak in barks and tail wags. The campaign has notched over 7 million organic impressions online, with pet-themed tattoo bookings surging by 43 per cent across Aliens studios in Mumbai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad. The stories are heartbreakingly beautiful like the woman in Pune who inked her late dog’s paw to mark 15 years of unconditional love, or the man from Assam who flew to Mumbai to get his cat’s eyes immortalised in ink.
But Part of You goes beyond the studio chair. A video storytelling series captures the raw emotions behind each tattoo, why people choose permanence, and how the ink becomes therapy, tribute, and identity all at once. There’s also a microsite that guides pet parents through their own tribute journey, with curated design options and artist collaborations that simplify translating feelings into form.
What makes this more than a marketing masterstroke is its structure: Part of You is stitched together like a cultural movement. Aliens Tattoo has looped in animal welfare partners like People for Animals, Pedigree, and Heads Up For Tail alongside tattoo artists and pet parents, making this the first large-scale, brand-led initiative in India to formalise emotional tattooing in a thoughtful, scalable way.
Globally, emotional ink is growing from ashes-infused tattoos in the West to soundwave tributes and pet noseprints. But in India, Part of You is a pioneering howl, giving grieving pet parents not only a safe space but a meaningful ritual.
In an age where tattoos are no longer rebellion but reflection, Part of You reminds us that sometimes, the deepest connections don’t speak, they purr, they nuzzle, and when they’re gone, they leave behind more than memories. They leave a story worth etching forever.
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.
