MAM
Philips Avent and WOOP collaborate to create community of new moms
MUMBAI: Women of Opinion (WOOP), an engagement and advocacy platform, has collaborated with parenting and baby products brand Philips Avent with an aim to create the country’s largest community of pregnant and lactating moms. Through its gamified platform, WOOP will help Philips Avent engage deeper with expecting and new mothers to help them understand the concept of assisted breastfeeding.
With its proprietary technology powering the platform, WOOP’s advocacy campaign will enable Philips Avent to reach out to millions of new mothers and pregnant women to educate them on the importance of breastfeeding and create awareness about the availability of products like breast pumps that can assist them in their endeavor to provide best nutrition to their baby.
Speaking about the partnership with Philips Avent, WOOP co-founder and CEO Rashi Mittal Nair said, “It’s great to work with clients like Philips Avent that understand that true consumer advocacy is not a short-term campaign but an ‘always on’ brand strategy. The WOOP platform has been designed to identify, engage, and leverage advocates on an ongoing basis in a scalable and measurable manner.”
She added, “Having used breast-pumps myself when my daughter was born, I can honestly say that if it wasn’t for this product, I wouldn’t have been able to provide her with mothers milk for the 18 months that I did. I’m really happy that with this program on WOOP, we get to spread this awareness and joy to more mothers in India and get them to experience how life-changing it can be.”
Commenting on the program, Philips India business head, health & wellness, Pooja Baid said, “Philips is committed to the cause of breastfeeding in India. WOOP has given us a platform where peer support for nursing mothers and to-be moms will further drive awareness around the adoption of breastfeeding practices and the various solutions available to help prolong breastfeeding to the extent possible. This collaboration will also help us gain the scale we think this campaign deserves, and more importantly, we will be able to do it in a measurable manner.”
As revealed in a press statetment, in a test run, the campaign witnessed mothers spending an average time of over 11 minutes with the brand. In addition, Philips Avent has also been able to drive actionable insights from the on-tap community they have built by asking for feedback in the campaign.
Moms on WOOP can choose to advocate breast-pumps via either sharing their stories on social media, having conversations on trusted parenting forums, creating content for the brand, or even convincing other new moms to use breast-pumps. In the test run, over 50% of the moms helped spread the word and encouraged other moms to learn and try assisted breastfeeding; over 20% of moms created images, videos and stories around their experience of learning assisted breastfeeding.
Philips Avent plans to keep identifying, engaging, and leveraging these advocates, keeping the program ‘always on’. Campaign looks to reach out to millions of moms in the coming years. It has got off to a great start with over 30,000 moms already advocating the brand in just a few months of its first run.
Brands
Jubilant FoodWorks faces Rs 47.5 crore GST demand, plans appeal
Tax authorities flag alleged misclassification of restaurant services
MUMBAI: Jubilant FoodWorks Limited has landed in a tax tussle after receiving a GST demand of Rs 47.5 crore from the office of the additional commissioner of CGST and central excise in Thane, Maharashtra.
The order, issued under the provisions of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, relates to an alleged incorrect classification of certain services under the category of restaurant services. According to the tax authorities, this classification resulted in a short payment of goods and services tax for the period between the financial years 2019-20 and 2021-22.
The demand includes Rs 47.5 crore in GST along with an equal amount as penalty, in addition to applicable interest. The order was received by the company on March 13, 2026.
In a regulatory filing to the BSE Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited, the company said it disagrees with the order and believes its arguments were not adequately considered.
The company is preparing to challenge the decision and plans to file an appeal. It added that once the redressal process is complete, the demand is likely to be dropped.
Despite the sizeable figure attached to the notice, the company said it does not expect any material impact on its financials, operations or other activities.
The disclosure was signed by Suman Hegde, EVP and chief financial officer, who confirmed that the company received the order at 19:06 IST on March 13 and has already initiated steps to contest it.
The development places the quick service restaurant major in the middle of a tax debate that could hinge on how certain restaurant-linked services are classified under GST rules. For now, the company appears ready to take the matter from the tax office to the appeals desk.
