Brands
Tata Motors expects festive season to pump up sales; launches Tiago NRG
MUMBAI: Tata Motors has launched its newest addition to the passenger vehicle family – The Tiago NRG. It has extended the Tiago brand with an all-new SUV inspired vehicle, positioned as the ‘Urban Toughroader’.
Tata Motors CEO and MD Guenter Butschek said, “In line with our brand promise ‘Connecting Aspirations’, we want to be in sync with the growing trend of bringing to market more SUV like vehicles. With this launch, we are extending the Tiago brand and increasing our presence by entering into newer segments and tapping new sets of buyers. This launch is a step towards our Turnaround 2.0 journey, as we continue to focus on winning sustainably’ in the PV business.”
The company does not want to limit the brand to a set demographic and target audience and rather aims to appeal to audiences in big cities and small towns.
Tata Motors head of marketing for passenger cars Vivek Srivatsa expects the festive season to perform well considering that the last two months have been slow for the market. “We expect a catch up to happen between October-December,” he said.
On the distribution front, the car will be available with 300 dealers and another 300 EOS (extension outlets) to tap in a large set of audience across 300 towns in India.
The marketing campaign for the car is scheduled to go live from October with an extensive use of TV, print, digital and selective OOH. Srivatsa believes in the power of OOH as it will enable them to highlight the look of the car.
In order to tap into more customers during the festive season, Tata Motors is set to launch a hatchback and a sedan within the next three months.
The formerly launched Tiago stands in the top 10 brands in the country. The car has a market share of around 10 per cent as of 2018 and has grown steadily from a customer base of 3000 per month to 8000 per month.
While manual cars are often the most bought, people are increasingly choosing automatic cars as it allows them to drive with ease. Although Tiago NRG does not have an automatic variant yet, Srivatsa mentions that the company will look at the market response for the car and then decide on whether it is a viable option to launch an automatic variant of the car or not.
The earlier launched Tiago cars do come in an automatic variant and interestingly, 20 per cent of Tiago cars on road are automatic. The company is positive and bets big on automatic cars as the way ahead.
Powered by the 1.2L Revotron petrol engine and the 1.05L Revotorq diesel engine, the Tiago NRG will be available with 5-speed manual transmission. It will come in three attractive colour options – Malabar Silver, Canyon Orange and Fuji White, with dual tone infinity black roof and roof rails. The car is priced at Rs 5.49 lakh for the petrol version and Rs 6.31 lakh for the diesel version, ex-showroom Delhi.
Tiago NRG will have to face stiff completion from Hyundai and Toyota who have similar cars in the market that are priced between Rs 5.5-8 lakh.
Brands
Zydus Wellness expands Ritebite Max Protein into new formats
RTD shakes, ghee jaggery bars and Korean chips target $10–12 bn protein market.
MUMBAI: Protein is no longer just gym talk, it’s making a full-course entry into everyday India. Zydus Wellness Ltd. is stretching its Ritebite Max Protein portfolio across three new formats, signalling a sharper push to turn protein from a niche supplement into a daily habit. The expansion brings ready-to-drink (RTD) protein shakes, culturally rooted ghee jaggery bars, and Korean-inspired protein chips under one umbrella, an attempt to build what the company calls a “multi-format protein ecosystem”. The move targets India’s rapidly expanding protein market, currently estimated at $10–12 billion and growing at a mid-teen CAGR.
The numbers suggest the strategy already has legs. In Q3 FY26, Ritebite Max Protein posted near double-digit EBITDA margins following its acquisition, driven by distribution expansion, product innovation and broader category tailwinds.
At the centre of the rollout is convenience. The newly launched RTD shakes available in Choco Burst and Berry Blush deliver 26 grams of protein per 250 ml serving, designed for on-the-go consumption. Meanwhile, the “Roots” Ghee Jaggery Protein Bars blend traditional Indian ingredients with whey and casein, offering 10 grams of protein and 4 grams of fibre per serving.
But the play isn’t just about nostalgia. On the other end of the spectrum, Korean-flavoured protein chips featuring variants like Hot Chilli, Barbeque and Gochujang tap into global snacking trends. Each 60-gram serving delivers 10 grams of protein and 4 grams of fibre, alongside claims such as no palm oil and gluten-free formulation.
The broader insight is clear: the protein category is fragmenting along lifestyle lines. One cohort is leaning into familiarity and traditional formats, while another is chasing novelty and international flavours. Zydus is betting it can straddle both worlds.
With a nationwide rollout planned across e-commerce and quick-commerce platforms, the company is positioning Ritebite Max Protein not just as a product line, but as a day-long consumption habit, one shake, bar, or chip at a time.
