Brands
BARC week 36: Patanjali tops individually, HUL brands top in overall in ad insertions
BENGALURU: Personal care, confectionary, food and beverage, oral-care, automobile brands were among the top ten advertisers during BARC week 36 in terms of ad insertions. Though Patanjali Ayurved Limited brand Patanjali led in terms of the maximum number of ad insertions, six of Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) brands were also a part of the top ten brands list – and the combined ad insertions of 79,767 by the six HUL brands was a little more than triple of Patanjali’s insertions
Patanjali led the top ten brands across genres all India (U+R): 4+ individuals in terms of ad insertions with 26,579 insertions in BARC week 36. Far behind at second place was HUL’s Fair & Lovely (personal care) brand with 15,640 insertions, followed by another HUL brand Lakme (personal care) at number three with 14,765 insertions.
Mondelez International’s confectionary brand Cadbury was at fourth place with 13,532 insertions, while Colgate-Palmolive Company oral care brand Colgate was at fifth with 13,189 insertions. Three of HUL’s brands – Surf (home care), Dove (personal care) and Pond’s (personal care) were at sixth, seventh and eighth places with 12,982, 12,711 and 12,479 insertions each respectively. Automobile brand Honda followed at ninth place with 11,199 closely followed at tenth place by HUL’s beverage or food and drink brand Brooke Bond with 11,190 ad insertions.
Brands
Reliance Retail acquires Priyanka Chopra Jonas’s haircare brand Anomaly
India’s biggest retailer bets on clean, vegan haircare as it muscles into the country’s fast-growing beauty market
MUMBAI: Reliance Retail has acquired Anomaly, the global haircare brand founded by actor and entrepreneur Priyanka Chopra Jonas, in a move that hands India’s largest retailer full ownership of one of the more internationally recognised homegrown beauty labels. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The deal covers Anomaly’s trademarks, brand assets and digital properties, giving Reliance Retail complete ownership of the brand’s intellectual property and digital ecosystem. Chopra Jonas, who launched Anomaly in 2021, will stay on as creative director, overseeing innovation, product development and brand vision.
Built on a clean, vegan and high-performance positioning at accessible price points, Anomaly has established an international presence across multiple global markets since its launch. Reliance Retail now plans to scale the brand aggressively through its expansive offline retail network and omnichannel platforms, including Tira, its beauty retail arm. India will be a priority market, with a focus on developing products tailored to Indian hair and scalp needs. The company also has its eye on North America, the United Kingdom and the Middle East.
Isha Ambani, who oversees Reliance Retail’s consumer businesses, was forthright about the strategic logic. “Bringing Anomaly into our portfolio marks a strategic step in expanding our basket of new-age, high-growth beauty brands,” she said. “Anomaly’s strong global positioning, clean formulation philosophy, and accessible pricing make it a compelling addition to our ecosystem.” She added that Reliance saw “immense potential in collaborating with Priyanka to scale the brand in India by leveraging our omnichannel capabilities and deep consumer insights, while continuing to grow its international presence.”
Chopra Jonas framed the acquisition as a milestone rather than an exit. “This is a defining moment for Anomaly,” she said. “What began as a deeply personal journey has grown into a brand with real purpose and global ambition, and Reliance Retail’s acquisition marks an exciting new chapter.” She added that Reliance’s “scale, retail expertise, and commitment to innovation will allow us to bring Anomaly to far more consumers in India and around the world.”
The acquisition slots neatly into Reliance Retail’s broader push into premium and digital-first consumer brands across fashion, beauty and personal care. In a beauty market growing at pace and increasingly receptive to clean, ingredient-conscious formulations, Anomaly gives Reliance a brand with genuine international credibility and a founder whose global profile does the marketing almost by itself. For Chopra Jonas, it means her haircare label gets the retail muscle of India’s most powerful consumer conglomerate behind it. Not a bad chapter two.
