Brands
The ABBY’s joins hands with prestigious global award program, The One Show
Mumbai: South Asia’s pre-eminent awards for Creativity, Media and Communication, ABBY’s has joined hands with The One Show, the globally prestigious award program in advertising, design and digital marketing worldwide, thereby sharing the stage with other global and regional award platforms.
The association seeks to create a new gold standard in recognising and awarding the region’s best creativity by bringing global standards of judging, jury selection and transparency to the established Indian Awards brand.
The One Club for Creativity CEO Kevin Swanepoel said, the One Show is committed to raising the bar on creative judging standards all over the world. “With India already a rising new global creative powerhouse, the Abby Awards will further add shine to a very respected domestic creative program,” he said.
The One Show’s Gold Pencil, which is regarded as one of the top prizes in the international creative industry for over 40 years, has a rich legacy of honouring some of the most ground-breaking ideas, created by some of the most remarkable minds in creativity across the globe.
This year’s Abby’s will be a part of the Goafest in partnership with the AAAI and will mark the thirteenth Abby Award after a break of the last two years due to the pandemic.
Elaborating on the association, The Ad Club president Partha Sinha said, “Abby’s has been India’s mainstay for 56 years when it comes to recognising creativity & innovation across the communication industry. We wanted to add more heft and give Abby’s a place on the global stage it so well deserves. The association with ‘The One Show’ will enhance our judging standards to match global best practices, help in the selection of juries and raise levels of transparency in the entire awarding process”.
The Abby Awards will represent the South Asia region that includes India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan and has been doing so since 2004. In keeping with contemporary trends, the Abby’s will include categories such as Direct, Design, Digital, Mobile, Technology, Still Craft, Digital Craft, Radio Craft, Video Craft, Brand Activation & Promotion, Branded Content & Entertainment, PR, Broadcaster and Publisher.
The Awards Governing Committee for ABBY’s Awards includes eminent industry names such as Havas Group India Group CEO Rana Barua, (AGC Chairman), Goafest Organising Committee chairman & Another Idea founder Jaideep Gandhi, Times of India president Partha Sinha, IPG Mediabrands CEO-India Shashi Sinha, Publicis Groupe CEO South Asia Anupriya Acharya, Madison Communications chairman and managing director Sam Balsara, GroupM Media (India) CEO-South Asia Prasanth Kumar and FCB Group India Group Chairman & CEO Rohit Ohri, among others.
The list of international judges will be announced by One Show after the process of selection of both Indian and international jury will get initiated.
Brands
Kwality Wall’s reports standalone losses following strategic HUL demerger
Ice cream major faces Rs 64 crore Ebitda loss amid commodity inflation and muted Q3 sales
MUMBAI: Kwality Wall’s (India) Limited (KWIL) has released its first set of financial results as a standalone entity, revealing a challenging start to its independent journey. Following its successful demerger from Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) on 1st December 2025 and its subsequent listing on 16th February 2026, the company is navigating a transition period marked by structural changes and high input costs.
For the quarter ended 31st December 2025, the company reported revenue of Rs 222 crores. Despite the revenue base, the bottom line was impacted by several factors, resulting in an Ebitda loss of Rs 64.2 crores. When calculated on a Pre-IND AS 116 basis, the Ebitda loss stood at Rs 83.8 crores.
Organic Sales Growth (OSG) declined by 6.5 per cent year-on-year during the quarter. Volume growth, however, saw a marginal increase of 1.2 per cent. The company reported a gross margin of 41.5 per cent. Additionally, exceptional expenses amounting to Rs 94 crores were recorded, primarily linked to non-recurring costs during the transition phase.
Performance across portfolios and channels was mixed. Within the impulse portfolio, brands such as Magnum and Cornetto recorded mid-single digit volume growth, indicating steady demand in on-the-go consumption. However, the in-home portfolio, which includes take-home packs, experienced muted consumption. The company is planning a relaunch of this category with improved offerings ahead of the 2026 season.
Quick commerce (Q-Com) continued to emerge as a strong growth driver, delivering robust double-digit growth during the quarter. Meanwhile, the company also expanded its physical distribution network by increasing the number of company-owned cabinets across markets.
Margin pressure during the quarter was driven by a combination of one-off factors and broader cost inflation. Gross margins were impacted by around 600 basis points due to trade investments made for stock liquidation. Additionally, cocoa price inflation contributed to another 400 basis points of pressure on margins.
Deputy managing director Chitrank Goel attributed the muted performance partly to prolonged monsoons and transitional challenges linked to the GST framework. Operating expenses also increased as the company invested in establishing its standalone supply chain, operational systems and corporate infrastructure following the demerger.
Looking ahead, the management remains focused on a volume-driven growth strategy. To restore profitability, the company has initiated a cost productivity programme aimed at reducing non-consumer-facing costs. It is also working on building regional manufacturing networks to optimise logistics expenses and improve operational efficiency.
The commodity outlook for the near term remains mixed. Dairy prices are expected to remain firm due to tight supply conditions and rising fodder costs. Sugar prices may also move higher following increases in the Minimum Selling Price (MSP). While cocoa prices have moderated recently, currency depreciation has offset some of the potential cost relief for the company.
