Brands
Mondelez moves veteran to crack Asia’s snack market
INGAPORE: Mondelez International has handed the keys to its south-east Asian kingdom to Abhiroop Chuckarbutty, a battle-hardened consumer goods veteran who spent more than two decades navigating the treacherous waters of emerging markets from Mumbai’s bustling bazaars to Dubai’s gleaming malls.
The 22-year industry stalwart, who orchestrated the messy separation of a $500m tea business from Unilever’s sprawling empire in 2024, will now steer the American snacking giant’s charge across a region where Oreos compete with local delicacies and Cadbury chocolate battles tropical heat.
Chuckarbutty’s appointment as president comes after a year running Mondelez’s African operations from Johannesburg, where he cut his teeth on the company’s complex multi-market dynamics. Before that corporate musical chairs routine, he spent two turbulent years as president of ekaterra’s Africa, Middle East and Turkey tea business, shepherding the venture through its acrimonious divorce from Unilever in 2022.
The executive’s résumé reads like a corporate fire-fighting courseware. At Unilever, where he spent 16 years climbing the ranks, Chuckarbutty wrestled with everything from sluggish west Asian markets to the herculean task of digitising India’s advertising landscape. He juggled profit-and-loss responsibility for a bewildering array of brands—from Lifebuoy soap bars to Kissan ketchup—across markets as diverse as Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates.
His new perch in Singapore puts him at the epicentre of Asia’s snacking revolution, where rising incomes and urbanisation are fuelling an insatiable appetite for packaged treats. The region’s young, mobile-savvy consumers present both opportunity and headache for western brands trying to crack local tastes whilst fending off nimble domestic rivals.
Chuckarbutty’s knack for “business turnarounds and accelerating scale businesses”—as his corporate biography modestly puts it—will be tested against south-east Asia’s fragmented markets, where regulatory tangles and supply-chain snarls can derail even the slickest marketing campaigns.
The appointment signals Mondelez’s intent to double down on a region that represents one of the fastest-growing snacking markets globally, even as trade tensions and economic uncertainty cloud the broader Asian outlook
Brands
Ather Energy doubles service network to 500 centres nationwide
EV maker scales support alongside growth to keep riders on the road
MUMBAI: Ather Energy is quietly building more than just scooters. It is building the backbone to keep them running.
The electric two-wheeler maker has expanded its service network to 500 authorised centres across India, nearly doubling its footprint in a year from 277. The move mirrors its growing retail presence and signals a clear focus on one often overlooked part of EV ownership, what happens after the purchase.
From the outset, Ather has prioritised service support in every city it enters, aiming to make ownership as smooth as the ride itself. Its Gold Service Centres bring in upgraded customer lounges, modern equipment and processes designed to make servicing more transparent and reliable.
Speed, too, is part of the pitch. Through its ExpressCare initiative, riders can get periodic maintenance done in about an hour, now available across 82 centres, turning what used to be a chore into a quick pit stop.
Ather Energy chief business officer Ravneet Singh Phokela said, “Crossing 500 service centres is an important milestone as we scale across the country. Reliable after-sales support is central to the ownership experience, and our focus remains on consistent service quality and accessibility.”
The expansion comes as demand grows for models like the Ather 450 and the Rizta, which have helped the company reach a broader set of riders across metros and emerging cities alike.
Alongside servicing, Ather continues to power up infrastructure through the Ather Grid, now one of the largest fast-charging networks for two-wheelers, with over 4,300 charging points.
With plans to scale further and deepen its presence, Ather’s approach is clear. Selling the scooter may start the journey, but keeping it running smoothly is what sustains it.
