MAM
ITC Sunfeast unveils first 100 per cent paper based packaging
Mumbai: ITC Sunfeast Farmlite, a range of wholesome biscuits from ITC Foods, has launched its new offering Sunfeast Farmlite digestive biscuit family pack in 100 per cent outer paper bag packaging. An industry innovation in packaging, this move establishes the brand as a trendsetter in the biscuit category.
Sunfeast Farmlite, is the brand to embrace 100 per cent outer paper packaging in the industry. The ergonomics of design aspects have been carefully curated, making the paper packaging consumer-friendly, visually appealing and convenient. This latest innovation aligns with the brand’s effort towards reducing plastic and encouraging consumers to make sustainable choices in their everyday purchases.
Today, consumers are increasingly prioritising not just wellness and nutrition in their purchasing decisions but environmentally responsible brands are also increasingly being sought after. Sunfeast Farmlite acknowledges this requirement, and the new packaging caters to their enlightened preferences.
Commenting on the initiative, Ali Harris Shere, chief operating officer, Biscuits & Cakes Cluster, ITC Foods Division said, “We believe that we have to be not only agile, consumer focused and innovative, but also purpose driven. The launch of the first-ever outer bag made from 100 per cent paper is a significant step towards the brand’s commitment to promote sustainable packaging. Consumers too are increasingly becoming more conscious of responsible choices, and we are committed to providing them with products in packaging that are sustainable. This is an industry-first initiative and plans are underway to adopt this packaging for other biscuit products in due course of time.”
This initiative is in line with ITC’s Sustainability 2.0 vision which strives to strengthen the company’s multi-dimensional efforts in sustainability, which includes creation of an effective circular economy for post-consumer packaging waste.
Sunfeast Farmlite digestive family pack with the new 100 per cent outer paper bag packaging will be available with the 800 g SKU on Flipkart. Will soon be available on other e-commerce/quick commerce platforms and supermarkets as well.
MAM
ASCI study uncovers how Gen Alpha navigates ads in endless digital feeds
‘What the Sigma?’ ethnographic report maps blurred boundaries between content and commerce for 7–15-year-olds.
MUMBAI: Gen Alpha isn’t scrolling through the internet, they’re living rent-free inside its never-ending dopamine drip, and the ads have already moved in next door. The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) Academy, partnering with Futurebrands Consulting, has published ‘What the Sigma?’, an immersive ethnographic study that maps how Indian children aged 7–15 (Generation Alpha) consume, interpret and live alongside media and commercial messaging in a hyper-digital environment.
The research draws on in-home interviews, sibling and peer conversations, and discussions with parents, teachers, counsellors, psychologists, marketers and kidfluencers across six cities. It examines not only what children watch but how algorithms, content creators, peers and parents shape their relationship with the constant stream of shorts, vlogs, gameplay, memes, sponsored posts and ‘kid-ified’ adult material.
Five core themes emerged:
- Discontinuous Generation, Gen Alpha is not growing up alongside the internet, they are growing up inside it. Cultural references, humour, aesthetics and language sync globally in real time, often leaving adults functionally illiterate in their children’s world. A reference that lands instantly for a 10-year-old in Mumbai or Visakhapatnam feels opaque or disjointed to most parents.
- Authority Vacuum, Parents and teachers frequently lose cultural fluency in digital spaces. The algorithm responsive, inexhaustible and perfectly attuned to preferences becomes the most attentive presence in many children’s daily lives. Rules around screen time feel increasingly difficult to enforce when adults cannot fully see or understand the content landscape.
- Digital as Society, Online and offline no longer exist as separate realms, they form one continuous reality. The phone is not a tool children pick up; it is the primary social environment they inhabit.
- Great Media Mukbang, Content flows as an ambient, boundary-less, multi-sensorial stream. Entertainment, advertising, commerce, gameplay, memes and vlogs merge into one undifferentiated feed. The line between active choice and passive absorption has largely collapsed.
- Blurred Ad Recognition, Children aged 7–12 typically recognise only the most overt advertising formats. Influencer promotions, gaming integrations and vlog sponsorships often register as organic entertainment. Children aged 13–15 show greater ad literacy but remain highly susceptible to narrative-integrated, passion-driven and emotionally resonant brand messaging. Discernment remains low across the board in a non-stop stream.
ASCI CEO and secretary general Manisha Kapoor said, “ASCI Academy’s study is an investigation into the content life of Generation Alpha not to judge them but to understand them. Their cultural reference points seem disjointed from those of earlier generations. Insights on how they perceive advertising is the first step towards building more responsible engagement frameworks, given that they are the youngest media consumers in our country right now.”
Futurebrands Consulting founder and director Santosh Desai added, “While earlier generations have been exposed to digital media, for this generation it is the world they inhabit. This report explores not only what they watch but how they are being shaped by algorithms, content and advertising.”
The study proposes four adaptive, principles-led pathways:
- Universal signposting of commercial intent using design principles that make advertising recognisable even to young audiences.
- Ecosystem-wide responsibility shared among advertisers, platforms, creators, schools and parents.
- Future-ready safeguards built directly into children’s content experiences rather than as optional background settings.
- Formal media and advertising literacy embedded in school curricula to teach age-appropriate understanding of persuasion and commercial intent.
In a feed that never pauses, Gen Alpha isn’t merely watching content, they’re swimming in an ocean where entertainment, commerce and identity swirl together. The real question isn’t whether they can spot an ad; it’s whether the adults building the ocean can agree on where the lifeguards should stand.
