Brands
Voltas Beko turns factory into immersive ‘Factory of Happiness’
Brand invites creators inside to build deeper, experience-led engagement
MUMBAI: Voltas Beko is stepping beyond traditional marketing playbooks, turning its manufacturing unit into an immersive brand experience with its ‘Factory of Happiness’ initiative.
At a time when attention spans are shrinking, the brand is betting on participation over promotion. Instead of a typical campaign, it invited a curated set of creators, including Kamya Jani, along with tech influencers, Gen Z voices and trade partners, to its Sanand facility in Ahmedabad for a behind-the-scenes look at how its products come to life.
The factory was reimagined as an interactive space, offering visitors a closer view of the people, processes and decisions shaping the brand. The focus was less on product display and more on how design and engineering contribute to everyday comfort and convenience.
Originally rooted as an internal philosophy, ‘Factory of Happiness’ has now evolved into a broader platform that reflects the brand’s emphasis on care, consistency and long-term thinking. The initiative was conceptualised and executed with Barcode Entertainment, which brought its creator-first storytelling approach to the on-ground experience.
“At a time when the world is increasingly dealing with loneliness, anxiety, and emotional fatigue, the idea of happiness has never been more relevant,” said Barcode Entertainment director, growth Ajay Kulkarni. “What stood out for us with Voltas Beko was that this wasn’t a manufactured campaign, but an authentic internal belief. ‘Factory of Happiness’ gave us the opportunity to shape that philosophy into something people could truly experience.”
Adding to this, Barcode Entertainment group head, influencer marketing Sonia Nahar said, “Influencer marketing today is shifting from storytelling to story living. For us, this was about making people feel the brand, not just see it. When creators are part of the experience, their storytelling becomes more honest and relatable.”
Looking ahead, Voltas Beko plans to extend the idea beyond the factory floor. The company will roll out ‘Happiness Corners’ at select retail outlets and introduce ‘Happiness Ambassadors’ across its service network to enhance customer interactions. The campaign also includes in-store kiosks, interactive demos and a sustainability initiative called Plant Parents, where saplings are planted in the names of employees’ children.
By opening its doors and inviting consumers in, Voltas Beko is showing that in a crowded market, experience may well be the new advertisement.
Brands
UK’s OnlyFans seeks US investor at $3bn valuation after owner’s death
The adult video platform is seeking stability after the death of its billionaire owner
LONDON: OnlyFans is looking for a new partner. The London-based adult video platform is in advanced talks to sell a minority stake of less than 20 per cent to Architect Capital, a San Francisco-based investment firm, in a deal that would value the business at more than $3bn (£2.2bn).
The move is driven by an urgent need for stability. Leonid Radvinsky, the Ukrainian-American billionaire who owned OnlyFans, died of cancer last month at the age of 43, leaving the future of one of Britain’s most profitable privately held businesses suddenly uncertain.
The choice of Architect Capital is not arbitrary. The firm has deep expertise in financial services, which aligns neatly with OnlyFans’ ambitions to offer banking products to its creators, many of whom have long struggled to access basic financial services because of the nature of their work.
The numbers behind OnlyFans are, by any measure, staggering. The platform posted revenues of $1.4bn in the year to 30th November 2024, with a pre-tax profit of $684m, up four per cent on the prior year. Payments to creators totalled $7.2bn over the same period, a rise of nearly ten per cent. Radvinsky personally collected $701m in dividends from the business in 2024 alone, on top of more than $1bn in such payments he had already received. The platform, run through its parent company Felix International, hosts 4.6m creator accounts, with performers keeping 80 per cent of subscription proceeds and the platform pocketing the remaining 20 per cent. It has 377m fan accounts in total.
The current minority stake talks represent a notable scaling back of ambitions. In January, OnlyFans was reported to be in discussions with Architect about selling a majority stake of 60 per cent. Before that, the company had explored a sale to a consortium led by Forest Road Company, a Los Angeles-based investment firm. Neither deal materialised.
OnlyFans has built an enormously lucrative business on content that mainstream finance has long refused to touch. Now, with its owner gone and a $3bn valuation on the table, it is looking for the kind of respectable institutional backing that might finally persuade the banks to take its calls.
