MAM
Thought Blurb Communications elevates Renu Somani to national creative director
Mumbai: Thought Blurb Communications, a full-service advertising and design agency helmed by Vinod Kunj, has announced the elevation of Renu Somani to national creative director. After steadily guiding the direction of the creative product of Thought Blurb Communications for the last ten years, Somani will now take over as the creative head at the agency from being the executive creative director.
Renu holds more than 18 years of experience with creative departments of advertising agencies like Ambience Publicis, McCann Erickson and Saatchi & Saatchi and has worked for brands like Parachute Hair Oil, Savlon Soap, and ICICI Home Loans. At Thought Blurb, she has led creative communications for brands like Parle-G, Parle Marie, Parle 20-20, Vero Moda, Reliance Digital, Radio Mirchi, and Viacom 18, to name a few.
Renu began her career as an art director before switching seamlessly into her role as a writer after joining Thought Blurb. She brings her combined talents in art, copy, scripting, and audio-visual media to bear on a 360-degree execution in traditional, electronic, and digital media. Renu now takes charge of managing the creative products of the company that has a presence in Mumbai and Kochi. She will be overseeing a diverse team of creative talent in these cities, helping in the development of brands across the country and also in planning the creative strategy for new clients here.
Speaking on her new role, Renu Somani stated, “I have a degree in art, but writing comes as naturally to me as breathing. I believe I paint stories with my words. The creative industry is shape-shifting and each day a new avatar is being created. My mandate will be to give shape and voice and texture and personality to the avatar that we at Thought Blurb would like to give ourselves. We are known to nurture great talent, and I’d like to build on that tradition and get the team to come up with ideas that reflect the zeitgeist of the times.”
Speaking about the appointment, Thought Blurb Communications founder and chief creative officer Vinod Kunj stated, “Renu is an extremely instinctive and creative person. She can pick up a castaway idea from a brainstorming session and polish it to perfection. We are a very close-knit unit, and we cherry-pick the brands we work with. In the process, we have built great case studies for some of India’s biggest brands. Renu will now work with her team and create campaigns that make a meaningful difference to those brands in the international markets.”
Somani’s work has been recognised over the years by several Indian and international industry award bodies. She has also been a finalist at the One Show, Cannes, and Adfest Awards. She has won awards at the Abbys, D&AD Kyoorius, Golden Mikes, and Radio Mirchi Kaan Awards. Most recently, she won the IAA Awards for her work on Parle G. Her work has also been featured in the Communication Arts Guild magazine.
Brands
Pre-seed funding fuels nailinit, India’s new-age nail care brand
Gruhas Collective Consumer Fund backs Gen Z-focused beauty startup
MUMBAI: nailinit, a community-first nail care startup targeting Gen Z and millennials, has raised Rs 2.5 to Rs 3 crore in a pre-seed round led by Gruhas Collective Consumer Fund and Marsshot VC, alongside a clutch of consumer, technology and operator angels.
Backed by entrepreneur and investor Nikhil Kamath, Gruhas Collective Consumer Fund is betting on nailinit’s attempt to give India’s nail care aisle a long overdue makeover. The fresh capital will be used to deepen distribution across quick commerce and D2C channels, build its community engine, and accelerate product innovation in a category that is high frequency but still light on strong brands.
Founded by Tanishq Ambegaokar and Shubham Singhal, nailinit is positioning itself at the crossroads of beauty, self-expression and culture. The brand wants nails to be more than a finishing touch. It sees them as a canvas for identity, content and commerce.
“At nailinit, we are building for a generation that sees beauty as self-expression, not just routine,” said Ambegaokar. “The nail category in India has largely been underserved by strong brands. This capital allows us to invest in product depth, community and distribution in a thoughtful and long-term way.”
Singhal added that while the brand’s tone may be playful, its operating focus is sharp. “This round strengthens our supply chain, expands our digital footprint and enables disciplined execution as we scale.”
The funding round drew notable angels including Shashank Kumar of Razorpay, Arjit Johri of Marsshot VC, Yash Jain, formerly of NimbusPost, Karan Jindal of Meta, Jivraj Singh Sachar of ISV Capital, Nishank Jain of Accel, Yashvardhan Kanoi, Ashwarya Garg of HYPD, Venus Dhuria of Phot.AI and Amishi Parasrampuria of The Whole Truth.
Gruhas Collective Consumer Fund fund manager Gauri Kuchhal, believes the opportunity lies in shifting habits. “Nail care remains underpenetrated in India, with consumers relying on time-intensive salon visits. As convenience and self-expression gain ground, press-on nails can unlock more frequent and experimental usage. Nailinit is well-placed to expand beyond press-ons into adjacent categories.”
The brand is currently the only nail care player in India blending product-led retail with a dedicated kiosk at Jio World Drive in Bandra, where customers can walk in for services while discovering the range. It has also built early traction across quick commerce platforms such as Zepto and Blinkit, with a launch on Instamart in the pipeline, and is available on Amazon, strengthening its omnichannel presence.
In a space long dominated by salon chairs and scattered labels, nailinit is attempting to file, shape and polish the category into something sharper. With fresh funding in hand, the startup is setting out to prove that in beauty, small details can make a bold statement.
