MAM
boAt forays into personal grooming with MISFIT
Mumbai: In a world turned upside down, who’d have guessed that DIY personal grooming products would become a necessity and an instrument for the well-being of so many. The pandemic and subsequent restrictions on movement have led to a change in consumer behaviour where people want to experiment with their looks and invest in self-grooming accessories such as razors, trimmers, grooming kits, and epilators.
Sensing the opportunity, boAt – a lifestyle consumer tech brand in the earwear & wearable segment has announced its entry into the personal grooming category with its sub-brand- MISFIT. As part of its category expansion strategy, the homegrown Indian audio player brand will launch innovative grooming appliances such as beard trimmers, shavers, groomers, and many more under ‘MISFIT’. Geared towards millennials, MISFIT will offer aspirational lifestyle products to give that salon-style finish at home. With this, boAt is looking at breaking the clutter by introducing a range of grooming and personal care products that are innovative and value-driven.
According to Research and Markets, the Indian male grooming market stood at $643 million in 2018 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 11 per cent to cross $1.2 billion by 2024. Buoyed by this growing interest in the personal care segment, boAt has already launched the T200 grooming kit and is expanding its portfolio. The brand will also launch a range of women’s personal care products in the Indian market soon.
boAt co-founder Aman Gupta said, “After having established our leadership in the earwear and wearable category, we are all set to strengthen our lifestyle portfolio under the ‘MISFIT’ brand. With MISFIT, we want to bring in a fresh approach to the personal care category by designing products specifically for the Millennials.”
With an influential motto of Never Fit In, Misfit believes in the importance of self-care and heralds a future free from gender stigma through a colourful brand vision and bold conversations.
Brands
Uidai partners with Google to help users locate Aadhaar centres
Verified Aadhaar centres to appear on Maps with services and access info
MUMBAI: Finding an Aadhaar centre may soon be as easy as finding your favourite café. In a move aimed at making public services more accessible, the Unique Identification Authority of India has partnered with Google to display authorised Aadhaar centres on Google Maps. The feature, expected to roll out in the coming months, will allow residents to locate verified centres quickly and confidently.
More than 60,000 Aadhaar centres, including state of the art Aadhaar Seva Kendras, will be mapped. When users search on Google Maps, they will be directed to authorised facilities rather than unverified listings, helping curb misinformation and confusion.
The listings will do more than drop a pin. Users will be able to see the nature of services offered at each centre, whether it is adult enrolment, child enrolment, or limited to address and mobile number updates. Details such as operating hours, parking availability and divyang friendly infrastructure will also be shown wherever applicable.
Uidai CEO Bhuvnesh Kumar, said the collaboration is part of the authority’s continued effort to improve ease of living for Aadhaar holders by making authorised centres simpler and faster to navigate.
The partnership will deepen in its next phase, with Uidai using Google Business Profile to manage information and respond directly to public feedback. Looking ahead, the two organisations are also exploring the option of enabling appointment bookings through the Google Maps interface, potentially allowing residents to plan their visits with greater efficiency.
Google India country head, strategic partnerships Roli Agarwal, said integrating verified Aadhaar centres would help millions access trusted services with confidence, bringing essential government infrastructure closer to the people who need it most.
If all goes to plan, a routine Aadhaar update may soon begin not with a queue, but with a search bar.
