Brands
Perfetti Van Melle India launches Center Fresh Mints
MUMBAI: Perfetti Van Melle India has launched Center Fresh Mints, a new offering by the Center Fresh brand in the mint candy segment.
This new offering will provide the benefit of ‘Instant Fresh Breath’ with 3-layers of sugar free mints available in a stylish pocket friendly pack. Center Fresh Mints will be available in peppermint flavour and strawberry mint at a price point of Rs 10.
Perfetti Van Melle India managing director Rajesh Ramakrishnan said, “We see tremendous opportunity for growth with relevant extensions in the fresh breath needed space. I am confident that this launch will strengthen the position of Center Fresh brand in India and help extend its equity to higher price points.”
Perfetti Van Melle India director-marketing Rohit Kapoor said, “We wanted to introduce a truly innovative mint offering under Center Fresh in India specially approaching 2019 when the brand shall be completing 25 years milestone. It’s the first extension of the brand in non-gum segment. Globally we have seen powermints as a category gaining a lot of traction and we would like to develop the category further in India with the launch of Centerfresh Mints.”
The launch is supported with campaign on TV, extensively on digital medium and visibility tools for retail & modern trade.
Commenting on the campaign, Ogilvy executive creative director Anurag Agnihotri said, “The launch campaign for Center Fresh Mints highlights various relatable situations in the lives of today’s youth when you would need instant fresh breath. We have tried to capture these occasions through a hummable, memorable music track.”
Perfetti Van Melle India Pvt Ltd (PVMI) started operations in India in 1994. The company at present has a diverse portfolio of brands across segments (i.e. candies, jellies, gums & chewies) which it sells through various channels across the country. PVMI is a fully owned subsidiary of the global confectionary conglomerate Perfetti Van Melle, headquartered in Amsterdam.
Brands
Lululemon picks former Nike executive to be its next chief
Heidi O’Neill, who helped grow Nike into a $45 billion giant, will take the top job in September
CANADA: Lululemon has found its next chief executive, and she comes with serious credentials. The athleisure giant named Heidi O’Neill as its new CEO on Wednesday, ending a search that has left the company running on interim leadership since earlier this year. O’Neill will take charge on September 8, 2026, based out of Vancouver, and will join the board on the same day.
O’Neill brings more than three decades of experience across performance apparel, footwear and sport. The bulk of that time was spent at Nike, where she was a central figure in one of corporate sport’s great growth stories, helping take the company from a $9 billion business to a $45 billion global powerhouse. She oversaw product pipelines, brand strategy and consumer connections, and played a significant role in shaping how Nike spoke to athletes around the world. Earlier in her career, she worked in marketing for the Dockers brand at Levi Strauss. She also brings boardroom experience from Spotify Technology, Hyatt Hotels and Lithia and Driveway.
The board was unequivocal in its enthusiasm. “We selected Heidi because of the breadth of her experience, her demonstrated success delivering breakthrough ideas and initiatives at scale, and her ability to be a knowledgeable change and growth agent,” said Marti Morfitt, executive chair of Lululemon’s board.
O’Neill, for her part, was bullish. “Lululemon is an iconic brand with something rare: genuine guest love, a product ethos rooted in innovation, and a global platform still in the early stages of its potential,” she said. “My job will be to accelerate product breakthroughs, deepen the brand’s cultural relevance, and unlock growth in markets around the world.”
Until she arrives, Meghan Frank and André Maestrini will continue as interim co-CEOs, before returning to their previous senior leadership roles once O’Neill steps in.
Lululemon is betting that a Nike veteran who helped build one of the world’s most powerful sports brands can do something similar for an athleisure label that has genuine love from its customers but is still chasing its full global potential. O’Neill has done it before at scale. The question now is whether she can do it again.
