MAM
Pepperfry names Ruchir Aswal as VP of product – business
Mumbai: Homegrown furniture and home products marketplace Pepperfry has named Ruchir Aswal as vice president of product (business).
In this role, Aswal will be responsible for driving products for channel expansion (franchisee and other programmes), merchant or seller network, pepcart logistics, distributor management systems and sales systems across the country, said the brand in a statement.
“At Pepperfry, our goal is to spark a feeling called home amongst consumers by democratising the furniture and home products category in the country. Even as we continue to scale up our existing business, provide a seamless experience to our stakeholders, we are also working hard to expand into adjacent categories,” said Pepperfry co-founder and COO Ashish Shah. “Technology will be a key differentiator and I am certain Ruchir with his vast experience and perspective will accelerate Pepperfry’s journey.”
A post-graduate diploma holder (MBA) in finance and marketing from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, Aswal has over 13 years of experience in business and product management having worked for global brands like Jio, Intuit, Nium, Shaadi.com and Rediff.com. Prior to joining Pepperfry, he was associated as an angel investor/consultant for startups like Goodify, qonsept, ethnic, squeakee, etc.
“Today even when Pepperfry is already a household brand I feel we have just scratched the surface,” stated Ruchir Aswal. “I am super excited to be a part of this truly differentiated journey and look forward to taking some strategically bold initiatives & making a lasting impact in the hypergrowth future for the brand.”
MAM
Sleepwell unveils nationwide sleep study on World Sleep Day
79 per cent use screens before bed, 36 per cent of 18–25-year-olds sleep ≤5 hours.
MUMBAI: Sleepwell just dropped the pillow truth bomb because when India’s sleeping less and scrolling more, even the mattress wants to stage an intervention. On World Sleep Day 2026, Sleepwell released its nationwide Sleep Study, painting a stark picture of India’s escalating sleep crisis. The findings show that 79% of Indians use screens right before bed, fuelling restless nights and drowsy days. Alarmingly, 36% of young adults aged 18–25 sleep five hours or less making them the country’s most sleep-deprived group.
The study also busts the myth of “catch-up sleep”, 65% of respondents actually sleep even later on weekends, pointing to increasingly irregular patterns that spill fatigue into the working week. Mattress discomfort emerged as a frequently overlooked culprit behind late-night wake-ups and constant leak-anxiety checks.
To drive the message home, Sleepwell’s CMO Puneet Gulati appeared on Zee Business, stressing that quality sleep isn’t a luxury, it’s foundational health. He highlighted how the right mattress can transform restless nights into restorative ones.
The brand doubled down with clever late-night activations, partnering with a quick-commerce platform to serve contextual ads between 11 pm and 3 am, gently nudging bleary-eyed scrollers to consider mattress discomfort as the reason they’re still awake and pointing them to the nearest Sleepwell store. Digital influencers and creators also shared relatable stories of how poor sleep fuels impulsive late-night behaviour.
In a nation that celebrates hustle but quietly pays for it in lost rest, Sleepwell isn’t just selling mattresses, it’s selling the radical idea that sometimes the bravest thing you can do is close your eyes and actually sleep well.
