Brands
ITC’s Mangaldeep marks ‘Sixth Sense’ panel with #WorldSightDay Video
Mumbai: Mangaldeep, ITC’s agarbatti brand, has launched a new video on the occasion of World Sight Day, commemorating the contribution of its more than 150 visually impaired ITC Mangaldeep ‘Sixth Sense’ fragrance testers in the creation of unique and superior fragrance varieties of its products.
ITC Mangaldeep has set up the flagship ‘Sixth Sense’ panels in Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Chennai, to provide employment opportunities to visually challenged people by tapping into their keen olfactory abilities to improve it product offerings. Mangaldeep has made them a part of the fragrance evaluation process at the product testing stage, while supporting them with livelihood opportunities as well as empowering them with a sense of dignity and pride for being able to make an impact.
It has recruited 150 plus ‘Sixth Sense’ panellists with assistance from self-help groups and NGOs and are given extensive training after they are onboarded.
The heartwarming video shows a visually impaired individual walking through the by-lanes leading to his house and describing the surroundings around him by inhaling the aroma generated by households and shops selling food items and flowers. He then introduces himself and says that although he does not have the power of vision, he has superior olfactory abilities which has helped in earning a livelihood being an ITC Mangaldeep ‘Sixth Sense’ panellist and leading a dignified life.
The video leaves a lasting impression and makes us realise how lucky are those human beings who can enjoy the world’s surroundings with their eyes. The video also highlights the resilient nature of visually impaired individuals and how they manage to tackle the numerous curveballs thrown by life with a genial smile.
The members of Mangaldeep ‘Sixth Sense’ panel have been able to capture minute variations in fragrance strengths and are bringing in high value-addition in the olfactive matching of fragrances, a crucial process which involves matching a fragrance to a benchmark. This panel has played significant roles in the creation of unique and superior fragrance varieties of Sandal, Rose, Lavender and Marigold.
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
