Brands
Candyman gets smart with sass as Soury Not Sorry returns with an AI twist
ITC’s Candyman Sourzzz debuts AI influencer Rysa in a bolder Season 3 outing.
MUMBAI: Sometimes, the sharpest clapbacks don’t come from people at all. ITC’s Candyman Sourzzz is back with Soury Not Sorry – Season 3, and this time it has added a distinctly futuristic edge by introducing an AI influencer as the face of its disruptive youth franchise.
After two high-impact seasons, the confectionery brand has doubled down on attitude and innovation, rolling out a four-week digital campaign led by Ramya Sathish, better known as Rysa, a category-first AI influencer in the Indian confectionery space. The move signals a clear shift towards internet-native storytelling aimed squarely at teenagers and young adults who live, speak and spar online.
Season 3 stays loyal to the franchise’s core idea: bold, clean “soury” roasts delivered to misplaced authority figures who poke without provocation. Only now, the sass comes from a digitally created voice designed to mirror the confidence, humour and unfiltered honesty of today’s youth.
Rysa has been carefully crafted as a culturally fluid persona. A 23-year-old Delhi-born graduate with Malayali roots, she is positioned as a self-aware “corporate baddie” witty, chaotically honest and driven by experience-led comedy that thrives on internet humour. The intent is clear: make the brand feel less like it is talking to young consumers and more like it is talking with them.
“Soury Not Sorry has grown into a powerful youth-culture platform for Candyman Sourzzz,” said ITC Foods vice president and business head for confectionery Subash Balar. “Season 3 is our boldest leap yet. With Rysa, our first-ever AI influencer, we’re stepping into the future of culturally relevant storytelling while staying true to what the Intellectual Property stands for wit, confidence and unapologetic self-expression.”
The insight driving the franchise remains unchanged. Young people are often nudged to tone themselves down, sugarcoat opinions or conform to avoid judgement. Yet, what they crave is the freedom to be quirky, outspoken and real. By turning everyday irritants into moments of fearless humour, Soury Not Sorry positions Candyman Sourzzz as the candy of choice for those who refuse to hold back.
That approach has already paid off. Season 1 clocked a reach of 35 million with 1.7 million engagements, while Season 2 scaled higher with 36 million reach and 2.7 million engagements. Over time, the series has evolved into a genre-defining digital youth property, flipping moments of judgement into celebrations of unapologetic individuality.
With Season 3, Candyman Sourzzz pushes the envelope further blending clean roasts, cultural insight and now an AI-powered voice. The message is unmistakable: the future of youth culture is bold, sharp and just a little bit sour and proudly not sorry.
Brands
Boeing appoints Barun as head of FP&A for global engineering function
Seasoned finance leader to steer budgets and strategy across global centres
BENGALURU: Boeing’s finance cockpit has a new pilot, and he is no stranger to turbulence or transformation. Boeing has appointed Barun as head of FP&A for global engineering, placing him at the centre of financial strategy for its worldwide engineering and technology operations.
Based in Bengaluru, Barun steps into a role that is as expansive as it is critical. He will serve as the primary finance lead for Boeing’s Engineering and Technology Centers globally, working closely with executive leadership to shape financial decisions, manage complex budgets, and design scalable finance processes that support the company’s growing engineering footprint.
In a note announcing his move Barun said, “I’m excited to share that I’ve joined Boeing Global Engineering. This opportunity is incredibly meaningful to me not just from a professional standpoint, but also for what Boeing represents globally.” He added that he looks forward to contributing to an organisation that continues to shape the future of aerospace and innovation.
Barun’s mandate spans strategic financial leadership, operational oversight, and stakeholder engagement. From directing large-scale budgets and schedules to influencing long-term organisational goals, the role blends financial discipline with business foresight. He will also lead cross-functional teams and partner with finance colleagues worldwide to support engineering programmes across geographies, including India.
The appointment caps a long stint at Juniper Networks, where Barun spent over a decade, most recently as finance senior manager. There, he led FP&A for global product business units and G&A functions, driving budgeting, forecasting, and long-range planning. He also played a key role in enterprise-wide transformation, including spearheading an Oracle to SAP ERP migration and building advanced analytics capabilities using tools such as Tableau and SAP Analytics Cloud.
His earlier career includes finance leadership roles at Sony India Software Centre, Cognizant Technology Solutions, and Mphasis, where he focused on financial planning, governance frameworks, and operational efficiency across global delivery centres.
A chartered accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Barun brings nearly two decades of experience across financial planning, digital transformation, and analytics-led decision making.
His appointment comes at a time when global engineering operations are becoming increasingly complex and distributed, requiring sharper financial oversight and agile planning. With Barun at the helm of FP&A for engineering, Boeing appears to be tightening its financial playbook as it looks to scale innovation with discipline.
