MAM
Alpenliebe celebrates 25 years of Sweet Indulgence in India
New Delhi: Alpenliebe – the iconic candy brand from the house of the global confectionary group Perfetti Van Melle marks 25 glorious years in India. One of India’s most-loved candy brands, Alpenliebe has been helping consumers create sweet memories with its delectable portfolio of deposited candies, filled candies and lollipops.
Introduced in 1995, Alpenliebe made way into the hearts of consumers with its unique deposited candy technology and innovative pillow-pack packaging. Its rich and smooth taste established a strong emotional bond with consumers, true to the brand essence of ‘bringing hearts closer’. Apart from the core offering of caramel candy, Alpenliebe has been extended into multiple formats across the years – Deposited lollipop (2003), Filled caramel candy (Creamfills, 2006), Liquid filled fruit candy (Mangofillz, 2009) and into deposited Jellies in 2012.
To mark this milestone Alpenliebe packs will carry a special commemorative logo throughout the year. Alpenliebe has also planned a consumer engagement contest to help Alpenliebe families create sweet memories. The campaign would be supported by a special TVC aired on TV and digital mediums. As part of the contest, 25 lucky winners stand a chance to win Holiday vouchers worth Rs 1 lakh. Participants can also win Zoop by Titan watches every 25 minutes during the contest period.
Link to the TVC – Alpenliebe 25yrs TVC
Speaking on the occasion, Rajesh Ramakrishnan, Managing Director, Perfetti Van Melle India said, “It has been a great innings for Alpenliebe in India especially on the back of product innovations and memorable campaigns over the years. We have created a strong, innovative product and marketing playbook which caters to the ever evolving consumer needs under the brand portfolio. 25 years later, we can take pride in saying that Alpenliebe has been successful in delighting consumers with its variants and flavours, and the core essence has remained relevant and engaging.”
Commenting on the milestone and the launch, Rohit Kapoor, Director – Marketing, Perfetti Van Melle India said, “It has been an amazing journey for the Alpenliebe where the brand played the role of creating the category. Alpenliebe’s superior indulgent experience, category first innovations and heart-warming communication done over the years managed to win consumer preference. We would like to thank our consumers for trusting us with their love. This milestone besides celebrating Alpenliebe’s 25 years of Indian journey in India also celebrates the journey of the brand going beyond just being a candy but being a connector – for families and relationships. The current campaign is another attempt to engage with our consumers and provide them an opportunity to deepen the family bond”
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
