Brands
Stirring up strength as Horlicks enters the senior nutrition league
MUMBAI: It’s time to raise a glass not just for taste, but for strength. Horlicks, the heritage health drink from Hindustan Unilever Limited, is now blending nutrition with age-defying intent as it enters the senior wellness space with its latest launch, Horlicks Strength Plus. Designed for older adults, the formulation is all about supporting graceful ageing with serious muscle behind it quite literally.
Launched across South and East India, Strength Plus is a nutritionally dense, zero-added-sugar drink tailored for seniors. It’s packed with easily digestible proteins, leucine, calcium, vitamin D, and dietary fibre all aimed at maintaining muscle mass, bone strength, and digestive balance. And with no added maltodextrin in the mix, it’s as clean as it is conscious.
This isn’t just a product, it’s a well-timed intervention. According to the UNFPA India Ageing Report 2023, India’s senior population is projected to rise to 15 per cent by 2036 and nearly 21 per cent by 2050. With ageing comes sarcopenia, brittle bones, and gut troubles yet many seniors remain unaware of how significantly their nutritional needs shift.
Horlicks Strength Plus is here to change that narrative not only through formulation, but through education. The brand has partnered with Apollo Diagnostics and Apollo Pharmacy to offer subsidised health checks for seniors, a Rs 2,525 diagnostic package available for just Rs 299 at select locations. The initiative aims to nudge India’s elders towards proactive health management through both diagnostic awareness and dietary correction.
Speaking about the launchfoods HUL executive director Rajneet Kohli said, “We are proud to build on the strong legacy of Horlicks, a brand trusted by generations for formulations that are not only effective, but also cater to consumer taste preferences. As people age, they face unique health challenges, and supplementation can help bridge the dietary gap to meet their specific needs. Horlicks Strength Plus is an easy- to-consume solution that fortifies the body and helps maintain strength. It is the latest addition to our expanding Horlicks PLUS range, with a thoughtfully developed composition that elevates muscle strength, supports bone health and enhances digestive wellness. It contains no added sugar and is a flavorful drink that can be consumed with milk or water. Through our collaboration with Apollo Diagnostics and Apollo Pharmacy, we aim to empower elderly individuals to take charge of their well-being.”
Speaking about the need for nutritional supplementation for older adults, Indian Institute of Nutritional Sciences (IINS) chairman Prof Varsha said, “Medical science has extended longevity of life. However, lifestyle has a negative impact on quality of life. Increased immobility and muscle-wasting results in 3F’s – Frailty, Falls & Factures. Nutritional science supports quality of life with safe protein supplementation, adequate activity-sustaining energy & correction of micronutrient deficiencies. Remember, you are what you eat or drink.”
Strength Plus now joins Horlicks’ expanding ‘Plus’ portfolio, which already includes offerings like Women’s Plus, Mother’s Plus, and Diabetes Plus each a targeted response to evolving nutritional needs. But this launch hits a particularly crucial demographic at a crucial time.
Because while youth may be fleeting, strength with the right support doesn’t have to be. With Strength Plus, Horlicks isn’t just keeping up with its consumers, it’s growing older with them, one nourishing sip at a time.
Brands
Uber launches hotel bookings feature in partnership with Expedia
From hotel bookings to room service at your door, the ride-hailing giant is making its boldest push yet into everyday life
CALIFORNIA: Uber is done being just a taxi app. At its annual GO-GET product event, the world’s leading mobility and delivery platform unveiled a sweeping set of new features designed to plant itself at the centre of how people travel, eat and shop, hotel bookings included.
The headline move is a partnership with Expedia Group that lets Uber users in the United States book hotels directly within the Uber app, with access to a catalogue that will eventually grow to more than 700,000 properties worldwide. Uber One members get 10 per cent back in Uber One credits on all hotel bookings and savings of at least 20 per cent on a rolling list of more than 10,000 hotels globally. Vacation rentals from Vrbo, Expedia Group’s home-rental brand, will be added later this year. The partnership is expected to expand beyond the United States. From June, Uber rides will also be integrated directly into the Expedia app, with push notifications sent to travellers ahead of hotel check-in to book discounted Uber rides for the duration of their stay.
Dara Khosrowshahi, chief executive of Uber, framed the expansion in terms of the modern condition. “Uber is becoming an app for everything, helping people go, get, and now travel all in one place,” he said. “We’re all living through a moment of real cognitive overload: too many apps, too many decisions, too much noise. At the end of the day, our job is to help people reclaim their time, spending less of it managing the logistics of life and more of it actually living.”
Ariane Gorin, chief executive of Expedia Group, struck a similarly ambitious note. “Travel should feel effortless, and this partnership gets us one step closer to offering a seamless traveller experience,” she said. “By connecting our two-sided marketplace with Uber, we’re bringing Uber rides directly into the Expedia app and Expedia Group’s lodging inventory into the Uber app through our Rapid API technology. Together, we’re helping travellers spend less time planning and more time enjoying the journey.”
Beyond hotels, the product announcements come thick and fast. Travel Mode, available within both the Uber and Uber Eats apps, offers curated recommendations on local favourites, tourist destinations, OpenTable restaurant reservations and on-demand delivery to hotel rooms. Uber One International means the membership programme now works globally, allowing members to earn credits on rides abroad that can be redeemed once back home. A new Shop for Me feature lets users request items from any store, even those not listed on the app. Eats for the Way allows riders in select cities booking an Uber Black or Uber Black SUV to have a drink or snack waiting for them in the car. Voice Bookings, powered by artificial intelligence, lets users book a ride conversationally, without touching their phone. And a redesigned One Search bar consolidates results for places, food and items across the entire Uber platform in a single query.
Uber has now logged more than 72 billion trips since it launched in 2010. The question it is now answering is what comes after the ride. The answer, apparently, is everything else. Whether users want a hotel in Paris, a coffee in the back of a car or a snake plant from the local garden centre, Uber would very much like to be the one to provide it. The app economy’s land grab has a new front-runner.
NOTE: The image used is AI generated and only for representational purposes.
