MAM
upGrad for Business onboards Work Better to strengthen its enterprise L&D offerings
Mumbai: upGrad for Business, the B2B arm of ed-tech major upGrad, has onboarded Work Better CEO Swapnil Kamat and his team to strengthen its enterprise learning and development offerings. Founded in 2008, the Mumbai-based Work Better is an executive education and training company that specialises in soft skills training, sales training and leadership training.
“Enterprise L&D is coming of age now. This synergy, hence, is aptly-timed and will fuel upGrad’s ambition of being one of the few Integrated LifeLongLearning Tech Companies in the world, dominating both B2B and B2C space,” commented upGrad co-founder and MD Mayank Kumar.
As per Technavio Research report, the global soft skills training market has the potential to grow by $14.9 billion by 2024 and is expected to exceed $60.89 billion by 2031, expanding at a CAGR of 12.7 per cent during the period, as per TMR’s study.
“The rise of multifunctional roles which require new-age subject knowledge is constantly pushing medium and large-sized organisations to re-think their L&D strategies not just for skilling their talent pool but also for retaining them,” stated upGrad For Business president Minaxi Indra. “With the two majors coming together, we look forward to empowering orgranisations with both, market-ready and future-ready skills in order to train their workforce with best of technical, leadership, and managerial varieties for maximum career benefits.”
According to Citi GPS’ (Global Perspectives & Solutions) September 2021 report, L&D is increasingly being viewed as a strategic investment, and two in three organisations are looking to plug the skills gap through internal upskill and reskill training initiatives.
“Work Better Training started as a result of our own frustration with corporate training. Having worked with multinationals before our entrepreneurial days, we had been a part of several executive training programs and realised that most of them were theoretical. Hence, we started Work Better Training in an endeavour to make corporate training programs more real, practical and implementable,” said Work Better Training CEO Swapnil Kamat. “Work Better has deep-rooted expertise in soft skills, sales & behaviour training, while upGrad is a leader in technical and hard skills training. With this consolidation, we both can leverage each other’s expertise to add further value & provide holistic solutions to customers.”
MAM
Barista partners Ginny Weds Sunny 2 with mango campaign
Cafe chain blends cinema buzz with summer menu and 20 per cent offer.
MUMBAI: Love may brew slowly, but marketing clearly doesn’t especially when coffee meets cinema and mangoes steal the spotlight. Barista Coffee Company has partnered with the upcoming hindi film Ginny Weds Sunny 2 as its official beverage partner, in a move aimed at tapping into youth culture through entertainment-led engagement. The collaboration is not just a logo placement exercise. Instead, Barista is translating the film’s high-energy vibe into its cafés with a themed summer menu titled “Main Hoon Mango”, accompanied by a limited-period 20 per cent discount on combo offerings across outlets.
Actors Medha Shankr and Avinash Tiwary feature in the campaign, seen engaging with the mango-themed menu inside Barista cafés, a visual cue designed to blur the lines between reel and real-life consumption moments.
The strategy reflects a broader shift in how consumer brands are leveraging hindi film industry not just for visibility, but for immersive, on-ground engagement. By embedding the film’s narrative into its product experience, Barista is aiming to drive footfall, especially among younger audiences who increasingly seek experiential touchpoints over traditional advertising.
Barista Coffee Company CEO Rajat Agrawal described the partnership as both a branding and growth play, focused on expanding reach beyond the existing customer base and aligning with evolving consumer preferences.
The emphasis on a seasonal, flavour-led hook mango, one of India’s most culturally resonant ingredients adds a timely layer to the campaign, aligning with summer consumption trends while riding on the film’s promotional momentum.
For Barista, the move is part of a larger positioning shift. Rather than operating purely as a coffee retail chain, the brand is increasingly framing itself as a lifestyle destination, one that intersects with entertainment, conversation and shared experiences. By integrating cinema into its physical spaces, Barista is effectively turning cafés into micro-extensions of the film’s universe, where consumers do not just watch a story unfold but participate in it sip by sip.
The 20 per cent offer further nudges trial, lowering the barrier for consumers to engage with the themed menu while amplifying recall through a tangible incentive.
Brand-film collaborations are hardly new, but their execution is evolving. Where earlier partnerships relied on co-branded ads or product placements, the current playbook leans towards immersive storytelling and retail integration.
In that sense, Barista’s “Main Hoon Mango” push is less about promotion and more about participation inviting consumers to experience a slice of the film within a familiar, everyday setting. As the film industry continues to act as a cultural amplifier, such partnerships underline a growing truth, in today’s attention economy, it is not enough to be seen brands must be experienced.
And if that experience comes with a mango twist and a cinematic backdrop, all the better.
