Brands
Pidge hires Arpit Bansal to sharpen brand and fuel growth
NEW DELHI: Pidge is tightening its brand engine. The technology-led logistics and fulfilment platform has appointed Arpit Bansal as head of marketing, signalling a sharper push on growth, trust and category leadership as it scales across India’s fast-moving last-mile economy.
Bansal will own the full marketing mandate — from brand strategy and category positioning to product communication and demand generation — at a moment when Pidge is expanding its technology stack, entering new categories and courting larger enterprise clients.
With more than 12 years of experience across fintech, mobility, digital payments and enterprise solutions, Bansal has held senior marketing roles at Escorts, Sterlite Power, Evalueserve and Paytm. His track record spans digital-first growth, large-scale integrated campaigns and building consumer trust in complex, high-stakes categories.
“Marketing at Pidge is about trust as much as growth”, said Ratnesh Verma, founder and ceo of Pidge. “As we scale our fulfilment network and deepen enterprise partnerships, full-funnel, long-term marketing becomes critical. Arpit brings strategic clarity, data-led thinking and a strong grasp of consumer behaviour — exactly what we need for the next phase”.
Bansal sees the opportunity as a chance to help shape the category. “Pidge is solving some of logistics’ hardest problems with technology, transparency and reliability”, he said. “This is a defining moment. My focus will be on building a distinctive brand, integrated marketing engines and narratives that make Pidge one of the most trusted names in Indian logistics”.
The appointment underlines Pidge’s ambition to move beyond scale to stature. As competition intensifies and expectations rise, the company is betting that brand credibility — backed by technology — will be its sharpest differentiator.
In India’s crowded logistics race, Pidge is not just delivering parcels. It is delivering a point of view — faster, smarter and with intent.
Brands
Hocco crosses Rs 530cr revenue in two years
Sauce.vc-led Rs 100cr raise values ice cream brand at Rs 2,500cr pre-money as quick commerce hits 20 per cent of sales.
MUMBAI: Hocco has just scooped a seriously sweet milestone crossing the Rs 530 crore revenue mark in just two full years of operations. The fast-growing Indian ice cream and indulgence brand announced it has raised Rs 100 crore in fresh capital led by Sauce.vc. The round values the company at Rs 2,500 crore pre-money and underscores investor confidence in its rapid scale and distinctive India-first approach.
Founder Ankit Chona said the brand’s success stems from solving real Indian challenges extreme summer heat, fragmented cold chains and culturally rooted tastes. “In India, product development doesn’t end in the lab. It only ends when it survives the street,” he noted. This philosophy has produced viral hits such as Aamchi mango ice cream, BIX cake-sponge sandwiches, the Oh cone and culturally relevant collaborations like Haldiram’s Barfi and festive Modak specials.
Hocco currently operates manufacturing facilities in Ahmedabad and Panipat with a production capacity of approximately 3 lakh litres per day, running near full capacity in peak season. The fresh capital will help expand this to around 4.5 lakh litres per day.
Quick commerce has emerged as a major growth engine, now contributing ~20 per cent of overall business and growing nearly 2x year-on-year. The channel has boosted product discovery, increased consumption frequency and helped extend ice cream beyond its traditional seasonal limits.
Sauce.vc founder Manu Chandra said, “At Sauce, we believe that when you chance upon an outlier business, you double down with stronger conviction. We see Hocco as just that.”
With a strong innovation pipeline, deeper distribution and continued focus on cultural relevance, Hocco is entering its third year aiming to capture even more mind space and market share. In a category long dominated by legacy players, this young brand is proving that the coolest way to win is to build for India’s realities, one scoop, one street and one satisfied craving at a time.
