MAM
ITSA removes the middleman for Tradus.com
MUMBAI: The recently-launched agency ITSA has conceptualised and executed Tradus.com‘s second series of film which offers the proposition ‘Remove the middleman and get wholesale prices.‘
The film is about a couple performing a transaction. A young girl representing the buyers tells a boy sitting across the table form her, “I‘d like to buy that phone”. Right in the middle of them sitting on the table is the middleman who has been eagerly waiting, almost drooling at the prospect of making his cut. He snatches the phone and gives it to the girl. With the other hand he snatches the money, gives it to the guy, but not before taking out his own commission.
That‘s when a cursor comes and clicks the Middleman away and a voiceover completes the story, “Remove the Middleman. Log on to Tradus.com and buy directly from sellers and get wholesale prices at your doorstep.”
IbiboGroup CEO Ashish Kashyap said, “This is the second series of Tradus creatives. We wanted to drive home our core differentiation of being a marketplace rather than an online retailer. As a marketplace, Tradus enable sellers to list on their own on the platform and sell directly to the Buyers thereby removing all the inefficiencies. This helps the buyers get wholesale prices. ITSA has been an excellent partner to create a crisp communication via this well produced film.”
ITSA copywriter Emmanuel Upputuru said, “We co-created this spot with the client. Ashish Kashyap, CEO ibiboGroup was very clear in what he was looking for. It was a bold stance to take, to get rid of the middleman. We just had to find a plot that would demonstrate that proposition visually and effectively. So when you take one look at the film you know what the benefit is for the consumer. Manoj Pahwa came to my mind the moment I thought of the idea of putting the middleman on the table.”
Daniel Upputuru who made his debut as a director with this film said, “I wanted to treat the film like a painting. The lighting has been borrowed from Caravaggio. When Emmanuel shared the script I saw the guy and the girl in a beautiful setting. But right in the middle of them is this Middleman who spoils the picture. So the only way to restore the picture is to remove the Middleman.”
Anirban Mozumdar, chief – innovation, strategy and collaboration at ITSA, says, “The purpose of offline communication for any online website is to single-mindedly express its purpose of existence. For Tradus.com it is about telling the consumer that Tradus.com is here to offer a service that wasn‘t there. To buy directly from sellers, so you get wholesale prices at your doorstep.”
ITSA is a three-month-old company and this is their very first television spot, which they have conceived, produced and directed.
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.
