Brands
Home truths IKEA bets on Indian dreams with a new brand chapter
From kitchens to classrooms, IKEA reframes how Indian homes shape ambition.
MUMBAI: If India is dreaming bigger than ever, IKEA is pulling up a chair at the starting point. The Swedish home furnishings major has unveiled a new brand position for the country, It All Starts at Home signalling a shift from retail introduction to long-term emotional relevance in one of its most important growth markets.
The idea taps into a simple but powerful insight, Indian homes are no longer static spaces. Kitchens double up as studios, balconies become classrooms, bedrooms host businesses, workouts and late-night ambitions. Tradition and modernity now share the same square footage. IKEA’s new positioning celebrates homes as living, evolving foundations where everyday routines quietly shape bigger aspirations.
Since entering India in 2018, IKEA’s journey has mirrored this transformation. What began as an effort to familiarise shoppers with its stores, prices and life-at-home philosophy has grown into something more embedded. According to the company, top-of-mind recall has climbed sharply from four per cent at launch to 43 per cent today reflecting IKEA’s move from novelty to everyday relevance.
IKEA India CEO Patrik Antoni said the shift comes from listening closely to how Indians live today. Expectations from home have expanded, and the brand now sees its role as removing physical, financial and psychological barriers between people and their dream spaces. The ambition is clear, reach twice as many consumers while staying present across homes of every size, budget and aspiration.
The strategy also lays out IKEA’s next phase of growth. The focus will be on accessibility through multiple formats, deeper online penetration and service-led touchpoints across more cities. Small spaces, multifunctional living and everyday family needs areas where Indian homes are changing fastest will take centre stage.
The new brand direction will roll out through a 360-degree approach, spanning films, digital and social content, creator collaborations and in-store experiences, reinforced across IKEA’s website and app. Rather than shouting about products, the storytelling places them quietly in the background of real lives and real ambitions.
Earlier today, IKEA India released its brand manifesto, followed by the first of three films. The opening story features Kabita Singh, the Youtube creator behind Kabita’s Kitchen, who built a following of 15 million subscribers starting from a modest home kitchen, a fitting illustration of the brand’s core message.
In a market crowded with bold claims, IKEA’s latest move is deliberately understated. By rooting its growth story in the everyday realities of Indian homes, the brand is betting that the most powerful journeys still begin exactly where people live.
Brands
Coca-Cola logs $102m India bottling gain as Q4 revenue edges up
Global revenue up 2 per cent to $11.8bn as India refranchising shapes bottling volumes
ATLANTA: If the year had a flavour, Coca-Cola’s 2025 would be classic cola with a splash of India. The beverage giant ended the year with steady global growth, a jump in profits and a tidy nine-figure gain from refranchising parts of its bottling business in the Indian market.
For the fourth quarter, Coca-Cola reported net revenues of $11.8 billion, up 2 per cent year on year, while organic revenues grew 5 per cent, powered by a 4 per cent rise in concentrate sales and a modest 1 per cent increase in price and mix.
For the full year, net revenues reached $47.9 billion, also up 2 per cent, with organic revenues climbing 5 per cent on the back of a 4 per cent improvement in price and mix and a 1 per cent increase in concentrate sales.
Profitability told a more dramatic story. Full-year operating income rose 38 per cent to $13.8 billion, while net income attributable to shareowners jumped 23 per cent to $13.1 billion. Diluted earnings per share for the year came in at $3.04, up 23 per cent.
The December quarter was more uneven. Operating income fell 32 per cent to $1.84 billion, largely due to one-off items including a $960 million non-cash impairment linked to the BODYARMOR trademark. Even so, comparable earnings per share for the quarter rose 6 per cent to $0.58.
Cash generation remained strong. The company reported $7.4 billion in operating cash flow for the year and $5.3 billion in free cash flow, or $11.4 billion excluding a one-time fairlife payment.
India adds a financial fizz
India figured not just in the growth narrative but also in the transaction line. During the year, Coca-Cola recorded a $102 million gain from the refranchising of bottling operations in certain Indian territories.
The company had already been reshaping its bottling footprint across markets, including multiple refranchising moves in India across 2024 and 2025 as part of a broader asset-light strategy.
The impact of those structural shifts showed up in the bottling investments segment, where unit case volume declined 6 per cent in the fourth quarter, largely due to a fall in India and the effect of refranchising activity.
Asia Pacific holds steady
Across the Asia Pacific region, unit case volume was flat in the quarter. Growth in water, sports drinks, coffee, tea and the core Coca-Cola trademark was offset by declines in sparkling flavours.
Operating income in the region dropped 36 per cent for the quarter, reflecting higher input costs and currency headwinds, even as the company said it gained value share in several markets during the year.
Dividend discipline and a cautious outlook
Coca-Cola continued to lean on its dependable dividend story, paying $8.8 billion in dividends during 2025 and extending its streak of annual increases to 63 years. Capital expenditure for the year stood at $2.1 billion, up 2 per cent.
For 2026, the company expects organic revenue growth of 4 to 5 per cent and comparable earnings per share growth of 7 to 8 per cent, suggesting another year of steady, if unspectacular, expansion.
For now, though, the takeaway from 2025 is simple: global growth may have been modest, but with profits up sharply and India contributing a $102 million refranchising gain, Coca-Cola’s financial year still had plenty of fizz.
