Brands
HUL’s Axe takes a ticket to the IPL
MUMBAI: Sachet pricing. That’s a tack that’s worked like wildfire amongst India’s masses who lie at the lower end of the customer pyramid. Shampoos, soft drinks, detergents – almost every category and brand has tried it – with much success. They have scaled their offerings to mini sizes to make products affordable and usable by those in the hinterlands and those short on money.
India’s savviest marketing company, the giant HUL, has been using the IPL to promote Axe Ticket, a miniaturisation of the famed Axe perfume which it launched in February 2018.
The 2018 version came in a 17 ml size and was priced at Rs 65. A concentrated perfume, it could be used for 250 sprays, but required three or four pumps to give the wearer odour protection and make them attractive to the opposite sex. The Axe mini-ticket followed in late 2019 in a 10 ml size priced at Rs 35, but promotion was suspended on account of the Covid2019 pandemic.
For the past two months, the mini-version has been back, but with the sobriquet Axe Ticket. A humorous campaign which is airing during the IPL telecast shows folks in an ATM queue all masked up and keeping socially distanced from each other. One of them brings out his Axe ticket and sprays himself. Presto, the perfume gets to a pretty young thing who is immediately drawn towards him and turns around and parks herself in a demarcated space just before him. Pop comes the message: “Smell ready. Axe Ticket at Rs 35 only. “
The TVC ends with an older bald man, bringing out his Axe Ticket, hinting that he will spray himself with it, in the hope of luring the lady behind him in the queue.
Why does HUL need to promote a smaller pack under the Ticket brand and at a lower price? The reasons are obvious: the pandemic has resulted in incomes getting clipped, jobs being lost, and the mood getting pretty sombre amongst the target audience for the perfume: the young Indians.
Hence, HUL is attempting to induce purchases of an item considered a luxury by most – at a time of cash paucity. At Rs 35 for 10 ml, it comes within the reach of many who buy adulterated duplicate perfumes from the roadside at prices double that. And with the promise of longer lasting fragrances such as wood and chocolate, Axe Ticket thus looks attractive.
Brands
Dabur buys minority stake in Ras Beauty for Rs 60 crore
Dabur Ventures deal backs fast-growing luxury skincare brand
MUMBAI: Dabur India Limited has dipped into the world of luxury skincare, signing a definitive agreement to acquire a minority stake in Ras Beauty Private Limited for Rs 60 crore. The investment marks the first bet from Dabur Ventures, the FMCG major’s Rs 500 crore platform set up in October 2025 to back high-potential, new-age direct-to-consumer brands.
Founded in Raipur by Shubhika Jain, her sister Suramya Jain and their mother Sangeeta Jain, Ras Beauty has grown from a family-led passion project into a fast-scaling “Farm-to-Face” skincare label. Its range of face elixirs, serums and moisturisers blends essential oils with nature-derived actives, striking a balance between botanical purity and laboratory precision.
The numbers tell their own story. Ras has clocked a three-year Cagr of around 75 per cent and an annual run rate of approximately Rs 100 crore, all while maintaining strong gross margins. That growth has been fuelled by a digital-first approach, in-house R&D and manufacturing, and a sharp focus on clean, sustainable sourcing.
Dabur India executive director and group head corporate strategy Abhinav Dhall, said the company was drawn to Ras’s distinct positioning at the intersection of nature, science and luxury. He added that the premium beauty segment is poised for robust expansion over the coming decade, and that Ras is well placed to capture that opportunity.
For Ras, the partnership is as much about scale as it is about shared philosophy. Co-founder and CEO Shubhika Jain said Dabur’s 141-year legacy of building trusted, purpose-led brands makes it a natural ally. The capital infusion, she noted, will help accelerate the brand’s omnichannel footprint, deepen research capabilities and invest in team and brand building, with an eye on establishing Ras as a leading Indian luxury skincare name both domestically and overseas.
With this move, Dabur is not just investing in a skincare label. It is placing an early wager on India’s growing appetite for premium, conscious beauty, and signalling that heritage FMCG players are ready to play in the new-age D2C arena.
