Brands
Blinkit launches 10 minute ambulance service in Gurugram
MUMBAI: Blinkit is taking this quick commerce thing a bit too far. It has promised to get an ambulance anywhere in Gurugram in 10 minutes. 10 Minutes? An ambulance anywhere in Gurugram in 10 minutes? Are you kidding, when to travel a km in Gurugram can take thrice that much time.
But Blinkit founder Albinder Dindsa has taken the risk to make the commitment to provide succour and reach an ambulance to anyone injured or seriously unwell in Gurugram in 10 minutes. Five ambulances fitted with gizmos were commissioned in Gurugram on 2 January 2025 to be able to offer this service.
Dhindsa says that the ambulances are equipped with essential life-saving equipment, including oxygen cylinders, AED (automated external defibrillator), stretcher, monitor, suction machine, and essential emergency medicines and injections. Additionally, a para medic, an assistant and a trained driver will be on hand to push on the pedal and get there on time.
In the next phase, as the ambulances and the services are extended into newer areas, customers will be in a position to book an ambulance through the basic life support option in the Blinkit app.
“Profit is not a goal here. We will operate this service at an affordable cost for customers and invest in really solving this critical problem for the long term,” he reveals. “We are carefully scaling this service up, as it is both important and new to us. Our aim is to expand to all major cities over the next two years. Let’s do our bit and make way for an ambulance always. You never know when you may save a life.”
Hopefully, the road rage drivers and kids of the nouveau riche who drive around like crazy in Gurugram are listening to his plea.
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.
