Brands
Future Consumer introduces braille friendly products on World Braille Day
MUMBAI: Future Consumer Ltd (FCL) launched braille friendly packaging for its body wash brand, ThinkSkin with Ajay Kumar Reddy, Captain of Indian Men’s Blind Cricket Team on World Braille Day.
Priced at the rate of a soap, ThinkSkin is a contemporary body wash brand that aims to upgrade customers from using soap to body wash. The launch of braille packaging is in line with the company’s vision of representing FMCG 2.0 industry and empowering the consumer experience.
Future Consumer managing director Ashni Biyani said, “As a FMCG 2.0 company, we offer innovative products that make life easier for our consumers. Braille packaging is a small step towards assisting the visual impaired in their daily routine. As a brand ThinkSkin empowers consumers to upgrade to body wash at the price of the soap. We will soon introduce never seen before innovation in product and packaging that will take consumer experience to the next level.”
Future Consumer head – home and personal care Keshav Biyani said, “Advancements in technology gives us an opportunity to experiment not only with the core product but also with the packaging. Braille friendly products is just the tip of the iceberg. In the months to come consumers will experience products that will have a unique differentiation from what is currently available in the market.”
Staying in line with its inclusive approach, FCL will soon be launching more braille friendly products in various other categories like spices, sauces, and multiple home care products. Crafted for the visually impaired, Braille Packaged body washes will be available at Big Bazaar, Big Bazaar GenNXT, Nilgiris, Heritage and Easyday stores in the country.
Brands
Uber launches hotel bookings feature in partnership with Expedia
From hotel bookings to room service at your door, the ride-hailing giant is making its boldest push yet into everyday life
CALIFORNIA: Uber is done being just a taxi app. At its annual GO-GET product event, the world’s leading mobility and delivery platform unveiled a sweeping set of new features designed to plant itself at the centre of how people travel, eat and shop, hotel bookings included.
The headline move is a partnership with Expedia Group that lets Uber users in the United States book hotels directly within the Uber app, with access to a catalogue that will eventually grow to more than 700,000 properties worldwide. Uber One members get 10 per cent back in Uber One credits on all hotel bookings and savings of at least 20 per cent on a rolling list of more than 10,000 hotels globally. Vacation rentals from Vrbo, Expedia Group’s home-rental brand, will be added later this year. The partnership is expected to expand beyond the United States. From June, Uber rides will also be integrated directly into the Expedia app, with push notifications sent to travellers ahead of hotel check-in to book discounted Uber rides for the duration of their stay.
Dara Khosrowshahi, chief executive of Uber, framed the expansion in terms of the modern condition. “Uber is becoming an app for everything, helping people go, get, and now travel all in one place,” he said. “We’re all living through a moment of real cognitive overload: too many apps, too many decisions, too much noise. At the end of the day, our job is to help people reclaim their time, spending less of it managing the logistics of life and more of it actually living.”
Ariane Gorin, chief executive of Expedia Group, struck a similarly ambitious note. “Travel should feel effortless, and this partnership gets us one step closer to offering a seamless traveller experience,” she said. “By connecting our two-sided marketplace with Uber, we’re bringing Uber rides directly into the Expedia app and Expedia Group’s lodging inventory into the Uber app through our Rapid API technology. Together, we’re helping travellers spend less time planning and more time enjoying the journey.”
Beyond hotels, the product announcements come thick and fast. Travel Mode, available within both the Uber and Uber Eats apps, offers curated recommendations on local favourites, tourist destinations, OpenTable restaurant reservations and on-demand delivery to hotel rooms. Uber One International means the membership programme now works globally, allowing members to earn credits on rides abroad that can be redeemed once back home. A new Shop for Me feature lets users request items from any store, even those not listed on the app. Eats for the Way allows riders in select cities booking an Uber Black or Uber Black SUV to have a drink or snack waiting for them in the car. Voice Bookings, powered by artificial intelligence, lets users book a ride conversationally, without touching their phone. And a redesigned One Search bar consolidates results for places, food and items across the entire Uber platform in a single query.
Uber has now logged more than 72 billion trips since it launched in 2010. The question it is now answering is what comes after the ride. The answer, apparently, is everything else. Whether users want a hotel in Paris, a coffee in the back of a car or a snake plant from the local garden centre, Uber would very much like to be the one to provide it. The app economy’s land grab has a new front-runner.
NOTE: The image used is AI generated and only for representational purposes.
