Brands
Sunfeast bakes it special with a first-ever bouquet just for mum
MUMBAI: This Mother’s Day, Sunfeast Baked Creations has whipped up more than cupcakes, it’s cooked up a celebration of mums and their untold firsts with its touching new campaign, Her First Ever. Because while mums are busy being there for our first steps, heartbreaks, and birthdays, they often skip their own milestones.
To turn that around, the brand has launched a fresh initiative that calls on families to give back by creating new ‘firsts’ for the woman who gave them all of theirs. Taking that thought from oven to action, Sunfeast Baked Creations opened its new café on Bengaluru’s MG Road with a fittingly emotional gesture. Indian cricketer Shreyanka Patil’s mother, Pravina Patil, stepped into the spotlight to inaugurate the café, a first for her, and a moment to savour.
While speaking about the campaign ITC Ltd food tech business head Rohit Bhalla. “With ‘Her First Ever’, we wanted to honour not just what mothers do for us, but who they are beyond their roles.Mother’s often miss out on their own milestones while helping us achieve ours. This campaign is our way of encouraging families to create small, joyful moments for her ones that are hers and hers alone. Sunfeast Baked Creations, with its indulgent and thoughtfully crafted creations, becomes the perfect medium to make these memories.”
Speaking on her association with the campaign, Indian cricketer Shreyanka Patil said, “Being a part of this campaign was more than just a collaboration it was personal. My mom has been my biggest supporter and cheerleader, throughout my journey. Seeing her step into the spotlight for the very first time, inaugurating ITC Sunfeast Baked Creations was an incredibly special and proud moment for both of us. I hope this inspires others to do the same.”
To sprinkle more joy on the initiative, the brand has rolled out a limited-edition menu complete with a Mother’s Day Assorted Cupcake Bouquet (“the only bouquet she’s encouraged to eat”), a Pamper Your Mom Hamper for breakfast in bed, and a Heart Bento Cake, all designed to say: this time, it’s all about her.
With Her First Ever, Sunfeast Baked Creations serves a slice of sentiment and a generous dollop of love.
Brands
AI becomes key tool for Indian travellers, Agoda report finds
68 per cent plan to use AI for trips as 33 per cent already rely on it.
MUMBAI: Holiday planning is getting a software upgrade less “Where should we go?” and more “What does the algorithm say?” Indian travellers are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to map their journeys, with new data from Agoda’s 2026 Travel Outlook Report suggesting that AI is fast becoming central to how trips are imagined, planned and booked.
While 33 per cent of respondents said they already use AI tools for travel planning, a far larger 68 per cent indicated they are likely to rely on it for their next trip pointing to a sharp acceleration in adoption in a market already comfortable with digital-first travel.
What travellers want from AI, however, goes well beyond basic search. The report shows 38 per cent are looking for recommendations on local attractions and activities, while 37 per cent expect personalised itineraries. Destination discovery remains a key use case at 29 per cent, with dining suggestions (23 per cent) and budget management (22 per cent) also emerging as practical applications.
The shift reflects a broader change in expectations AI is no longer a novelty but a planning companion expected to work across every stage of the journey, from inspiration to execution.
Trust levels appear to be keeping pace. Nearly 88 per cent of respondents said they either trust or feel neutral about AI-generated recommendations, including 53 per cent who expressed clear confidence. This builds on earlier trends, with Agoda’s 2025 survey showing nine in ten Indian travellers already using apps to book travel suggesting AI adoption is more evolution than disruption.
The company has been testing this appetite through initiatives such as its 2025 AI-powered Vacation Planner campaign, which generated customised itineraries and visuals based on user inputs, delivered with a layer of celebrity-led engagement.
For platforms like Agoda, which aggregates more than 6 million properties, over 130,000 flight routes and 300,000 travel activities, AI offers a way to navigate scale without overwhelming users turning abundance into relevance.
As AI continues to embed itself into everyday decision-making, India is emerging as a market where travel planning is not just going digital, but decisively intelligent.
