Brands
Amazon India’s cardboard beds: Comfort delivered at Maha Kumbh 2025
MUMBAI: Can cardboard bring comfort? Amazon thinks so!
When it comes to thinking outside the box, Amazon has taken it to a whole new level—by transforming the box itself. At the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025, where millions will converge for one of India’s grandest spiritual gatherings, Amazon India is delivering more than just packages. They’re delivering comfort.
Imagine attending a 45-day festival and finding a sturdy, comfortable bed crafted from Amazon’s signature cardboard packaging. Sounds crazy? Maybe. But it’s also ingenious.
With a quirky campaign tagline—“Aapki Suvidha Ke Liye, Aaram Ki Delivery”—Amazon promises to turn sleepless nights into restful ones, ensuring that attendees can recharge and fully embrace the Maha Kumbh experience.
Here’s the deal: Amazon has upcycled its iconic cardboard boxes into portable beds that will be freely available across the sprawling festival grounds in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. These beds aren’t just makeshift solutions—they’ve been designed to handle the festival’s unique challenges, from chilly nights to wear and tear.
Why beds? Because after a day of spiritual reflection, rituals, and massive crowds, everyone deserves a good rest—even on cardboard.
Amazon isn’t just handing out beds willy-nilly. They’ve partnered with Maha Kumbh authorities to strategically place these upcycled innovations:
. Lost and found centres: Helping those in distress rest while they await reunions.
. Kumbh police karmacharis: Providing relief to the hard-working officers keeping the event safe.
. Festival hospitals: Supporting caregivers and patients.
. General public: Attendees can grab some shut-eye in select areas.
It’s a thoughtful plan designed to cater to diverse needs. Would you ever have guessed a cardboard box could have this much potential?
Amazon teamed up with Ogilvy India, their creative partner, to bring this innovative idea to life. According to Ogilvy India chief creative officer Sukesh Nayak, “Nights at the Maha Kumbh can get extremely cold, and we wanted to tackle this challenge with something unique. By reengineering Amazon’s cardboard boxes, we created sturdy, comfortable beds that deliver warmth and ease to attendees.”
Safety and durability were top priorities. A team of specialised fabricators and local environment testers ensured these beds were ready for the rigours of the festival.
Amazon has a plan for life after the festival, too. Unusable beds will be responsibly disposed of, while usable ones will be donated to local NGOs, extending their lifecycle and impact.
As Amazon India director of marketing, Pragya Sharma puts it, “It’s not just about thinking outside the box—it’s about transforming the box itself to make a tangible difference.”
Let’s face it: 45 days in a crowded spiritual hub can be exhausting. Amazon’s thoughtful initiative brings not just comfort but innovation to an event that embodies India’s cultural richness. It’s a testament to how brands can blend creativity, practicality, and sustainability to serve the community.
Could this be the start of a trend where brands take responsibility for enhancing community events?
This Maha Kumbh Mela, Amazon is proving that even a humble cardboard box can be a game-changer. It’s not just about delivering packages anymore—it’s about delivering solutions, one bed at a time.
Brands
Rakesh Menon joins Paytm as avp – lending
Fintech product leader takes on new role after building digital lending, payments and credit products across fintech ecosystem
MUMBAI: Rakesh Menon has joined Paytm as assistant vice president – lending, taking on a new role focused on strengthening the company’s lending and credit products.
Prior to this, Menon worked at Profectus Capital Pvt Ltd as chief manager – payments based financing and digital lending.
At Profectus, he designed and launched digital credit products for merchants with variable cash flows, including overdraft-linked and revenue-share lending models. He led end-to-end LOS–LMS API integrations with payment partners and aggregators, enabling real-time underwriting, disbursal and repayment workflows.
He also worked on funnel optimisation initiatives using journey analytics, improving onboarding, KYC and disbursal conversion by 35 per cent. He developed ecosystem partnerships for transaction-data-based credit assessment and automated settlement systems, and collaborated with credit and data science teams to strengthen risk models and early delinquency detection.
Menon standardised partner onboarding and API frameworks, reducing go-live timelines by 40 per cent and improving digital scalability.
Before Profectus Capital, he worked at PayU as senior manager – presales lead – enterprise business from August 2022 to August 2023. He set up a national presales function for fintech and digital commerce clients, aligning solutions such as EMI, BNPL, BBPS and offer engines to merchant requirements.
He also helped improve conversion rates by around 15 per cent through merchant persona mapping, demo frameworks and structured sales playbooks, working closely with product and go-to-market teams.
From April 2019 to July 2022, Menon served as business unit head – SMB – direct acquisitions at Worldline, where he built the SMB online payments vertical from scratch. The business scaled to Rs 2,500 crore in annual transaction volume, growing at 45 per cent year-on-year.
During this period, he introduced paperless onboarding processes including eKYC and eSign, developed partner dashboards and CRM automation systems, and integrated platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce and Tally to expand merchant adoption.
Across roles, Menon has worked across digital lending, payments and merchant financing, with experience in product development, ecosystem partnerships, API integrations and fintech-led growth strategies.
At Paytm, he will focus on scaling lending products and strengthening digital credit infrastructure within the company’s financial services ecosystem.
His appointment comes as fintech firms continue to expand their lending and embedded finance offerings in a competitive market.
