Brands
MTV’s Nescafe Labs picks 12 finalists
MUMBAI: Nescafe and MTV hosted the finale of their co-branded digital talent platform called MTV presents Nescafe Labs at the Summer House Café in Mumbai.
MTV, the voice of the youth and Nescafe, India’s favorite coffee brand, had set out on a journey to provide young and raw talent with a unique online platform to help them get nurtured and recognized with MTV presents Nescafe Labs – a destination for creative youngsters looking for inspiration, mentors and a stage to showcase their talents.
The property garnered a social reach of over 90 million, over 8 million digital video views and received an overwhelming 85,000+ registrations. Out of this, 12 finalists were selected by the mentors to showcase their talent in India’s biggest talent pool party in Mumbai, aptly named the House of Labs.
This ‘Always On’ Platform for experimental, creative, raw and hidden talent, has enabled youngsters to live their dreams. The property saw enthusiastic participation of youngsters possessing unique talent like flute-boxing, beatboxing, rapping, singing, dancing and football freestyling.
Speaking on the need for such platforms, Sunayan Mitra, General Manager – Coffee and Beverages, Nestlé India Ltd. commented, “Nescafe is a brand that resonates with the aspirational youth. It aims to partner with the youth in their journey towards achieving their dreams. Youngsters have an inherent talent. This talent needs to be identified, harnessed and refined. MTV presents Nescafe Labs is one such platform which discovers creative talent and enables them to interact and learn from industry experts. Serving as a talent scouting and nurturing platform, it is an opportunity that kick starts their journey to better and bigger things in life.”
Speaking about the finale of season one of MTV presents Nescafe Labs, Ferzad Palia, Head, Youth, Music and English Entertainment, Viacom18 said, “MTV and Nescafe joined hands to empower the youngsters by providing them a platform in the form of MTV presents Nescafe Labs to give wings to their dreams. The massive number of registrations prove that a lot of youngsters have been able to be a part of this creative ecosystem. It’s amazing to see the enormous talent pool in the country, which is second to none. For us, true success of the platform lies in seeing these talented young people reaching heights of success in their chosen fields and having the best of minds from within the industry coming forward to mentor them.”
Commenting on judging the film-making competition at MTV presents Nescafe Labs, National award winning film-maker Madhur Bhandarkar said, “It feels really good to judge such fresh and raw talent at MTV presents Nescafe Labs finale. It’s amazing to see young film makers brimming with unrestrained energy and showcasing their talent. Rarely do people get such opportunities to showcase their mettle and MTV and Nescafe have done a brilliant job by providing youngsters with such a great platform.”
On being adjudged the winner of the photography challenge, Manjusha Dangeti said, “Photography has been my passion and when I got to know about MTV presents Nescafe Labs I did not give it a second thought and registered right away and to my surprise I won the contest. MTV presents Nescafe Labs has boosted my confidence and given me hope that this is a promising profession and I can surely make it big.”
In order to enable the contestants to hone their talent, industry stalwarts renowned for the skills including the likes of Papon (Cover Singer Challenge), Subi Samuel (Photography Challenge), Shakti Mohan (Dance Challenge), Satish Acharya (Cartoonist Challenge), Nikhil Chinapa and Jose Covaco (Twitterati Challenge), RJ Rishi (RJ Challenge), Vikas Bahl and Madhur Bhandarkar (Film-making Challenge) mentored the contestants.
Brands
Keventers names Shaurya Prabhat as CEO to drive next growth phase
Expansion push, Gen Z focus and new formats shape brand’s next chapter
NEW DELHI: Keventers has appointed Shaurya Prabhat as its chief executive officer, marking a new chapter for the heritage milkshake brand as it looks to scale up for modern consumers. He takes over from Agastya Dalmia, who steered the company’s revival and repositioned it for a younger audience.
Prabhat’s journey with Keventers began in 2017, when he joined to lead business development at a time when the brand leaned heavily on a franchise-led model. Since then, he has steadily expanded his remit across strategy, marketing, operations, HR and business excellence, becoming central to the company’s evolution.
Before joining Keventers, he worked at The Smart Cube, now part of WNS Global Services, where he advised Fortune 100 clients across sectors ranging from retail and banking to pharmaceuticals and oil and gas.
As CEO, Prabhat has set an ambitious agenda. The company plans to open 70 new outlets over the next year, triple its size within three years and double that scale again by year five. Alongside its core outlets, Keventers is exploring newer growth avenues including retail and FMCG, quick commerce and institutional sales, all under a broader “House of Brands” strategy.
The brand is also sharpening its appeal to Gen Z consumers, refreshing its menu with offerings such as waffles, boba and cheesecake ice creams while retaining its legacy charm.
Shaurya Prabhat said, “I’d like to thank the Board for entrusting me with the responsibility of shaping the company’s next phase of growth. What I’ve learned over eight years is that the mission never really changes: grow the company, grow the brand, and do it with honesty. If you manage your inputs with excellence, the outcomes take care of themselves. I’m extremely excited about the vast opportunities ahead for us.”
Keventers founder Agastya Dalmia said, “I have worked alongside Shaurya for over eight years and known him for longer. I have seen how he thinks, how he leads, and how deeply he cares about this brand. He has led almost all significant decisions we have taken over the years and helped us navigate through the most complex situations, from Covid and restructuring our business model to fundraising and governance. I could not be prouder of what we have built together, and I could not be more confident about what he will build next.””
With a mix of nostalgia and new-age ambition, Keventers now appears set to blend its storied past with a sharper, faster future under Prabhat’s leadership.
