Brands
Nestlé supports ‘Nanhi Kali’; changes packaging
MUMBAI: Nestlé India has changed the packaging of its iconic brands, Maggi, Nescafe and Kitkat to support girl child education in association with Nanhi Kali, an NGOs imparting education to underprivileged girl children across India.
In an attempt to spread awareness about this crucial issue, Nestlé has changed packaging of 100 million packs available on shelves till September-end.
Project Nanhi Kali was initiated in 1996 by the K. C. Mahindra Education Trust (KCMET) with the aim of providing primary education to underprivileged girl children in India.
The changes include, Maggi’s tagline going from ‘2 minute noodles’ to ‘2 minutes for education,’ Kitkat’ to ‘No break from education’, and Nescafe changed the tagline to ‘It all starts with education.’ This has been further reinforced with a blue band which carries more information on the association with ‘Nanhi Kali.’
Nestlé India MD and chairman Suresh Narayanan said, “Each time a consumer picks a pack, the visual properties of the brand serve as symbols of the promise the brand has made to the consumers. We are changing the packaging of three of our most iconic brands to sensitize and draw attention to the crucial need for society.”
Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra added, “This is a path-breaking and innovative partnership between Nestlé India and a non-profit organisation.”
The partnership with Nanhi Kali further strengthens the Nestlé Healthy Kids Programme which has already reached out to about 1,00,000 beneficiaries. Project Nanhi Kali, jointly managed by K. C. Mahindra Education Trust and Naandi Foundation, has been a credible programme.
Brands
E-commerce growth rises, but profits come under pressure
Shop Culture flags rising costs, weak systems and a $5.38 billion quick-commerce boom reshaping global retail
MUMBAI: E-commerce is booming, but profits are thinning. A new report by Shop Culture warns that brands clinging to outdated, growth-at-all-costs strategies are being outpaced in a costlier, more complex 2025 landscape.
Global online retail is expected to cross $6.86 trillion this year, with 2.77 billion shoppers making at least one purchase. Yet returns are under strain: average return on ad spend has slipped to 2.87:1, exposing cracks in how brands chase scale without building sustainable margins.
Three shifts are rewriting the rules. First, retail media is getting pricier, with Amazon’s average cost per click rising 15.5 per cent year-on-year to $1.12. Second, while 77 per cent of e-commerce professionals now use AI daily, many see limited gains as weak systems blunt its impact. Third, geography is no longer expansion, it is strategy. The share of Shop Culture clients operating across multiple markets has more than doubled, from 30 per cent in 2024 to 65 per cent in 2025.
Subarna Mukherjee, founder and ceo, Shop Culture, is blunt: “The e-commerce industry has a nostalgia problem. In 2022, the playbook was simple: list aggressively, spend on ads, and ride the wave of post-pandemic digital adoption. It worked. Revenue grew rapidly. But by 2025, the industry is seeing the consequences of those structural shortcuts. E-commerce itself is not slowing down, the challenge lies in how brands are operating within it.”
Nowhere is the shift sharper than in India’s quick-commerce boom. The segment is set to hit $5.38 billion in 2025, growing 17 per cent and emerging as the fastest-growing globally. What began as a convenience play is fast becoming a margin buffer. In one case, quick commerce drove 70 per cent of a packaged food brand’s online revenue, delivering 130 per cent year-on-year growth. A beauty brand, meanwhile, saw selling prices rise 25 per cent higher than on traditional marketplaces.
Expansion, too, is being rethought. The report argues that brands chasing the largest markets first often stumble. Better outcomes come from sequencing entries based on efficiency, regulatory readiness and competition, with markets such as the UK and Germany offering smarter entry points than the United States.
Compliance has turned from a checkbox into a revenue lever, especially in Europe. Brands with ready frameworks can go live in 8 to 12 weeks, while others risk delays of six months or more due to listing and documentation hurdles.
AI, for all the hype, is no silver bullet. Across more than 1,500 listings, it improved conversion rates by 10 to 15 per cent, cut TACOS by 7 to 10 per cent and reduced stockouts by 20 per cent, but only when layered on strong foundations. As Mukherjee puts it: “AI is not a growth strategy, it is an amplifier. It enhances strong systems and exposes weak ones.”
The message for 2026 is stark. Growth alone will not save brands. Margins, discipline and smarter strategy will. In a market still expanding at breakneck speed, the real race is no longer for scale, it is for survival.
