MAM
UrbanClap enters into a strategic partnership with The Man Company to redefine Grooming Services for Men
MUMBAI: UrbanClap, India’s leading beauty & home services marketplace, today announced a strategic partnership with The Man Company. This partnership comes on close heels of UrbanClap’s foray into men’s premium grooming services market as it becomes the first to offer these services at home.
The men's grooming category is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 45% and is expected to reach Rs 35,000 crore by 2022 as per a Nielsen report[1]. Starting today, consumers in nine cities across India will be able to access Charcoal Face Cleanup and Facial services from the Charcoal series by The Man Company on the UrbanClap app. Designed exclusively for men, these services are being offered at an inaugural price of Rs 599 and Rs 1,199, respectively. Consumers can book these premium grooming services through the week between 7 am and 10 pm and experience them right in the comfort of their homes.
Abhiraj Bhal, Co-founder, UrbanClap said “We launched men’s grooming services after having served more than 10 lac women with our flagship Salon at Home services. And, continuing with our focus on using genuine branded products to deliver great services, we have tied up with The Man company. This collaboration brings together the best in grooming products and the best in grooming services on one platform.”
Bhisham Bhateja, Co-Founder and COO, The Man Company said, “The best grooming essentials from The Man Company are now matched with UrbanClap’s highly trained professionals, as we bring premium salon experience to men’s doorstep for the first time ever. Our goal is to bring a world-class personal care experience to men at a time and place of their convenience, enabling them to look and feel their very best.”
UrbanClap’s premium men’s grooming services have been launched in nine major cities, including Delhi-NCR region, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Chandigarh, Kolkata, and Ahmedabad. Men in these cities can also select from a wide range of services including haircut and styling, shave or beard grooming, facials, pedicures, and hair color. Similar to the salon at home services for women, professionals for men’s grooming services too will bring everything with them from branded products and tools to disposable towels and sheets along with post-service clean up, so that consumers can relax and enjoy the service.
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
