Brands
Winni launches premium line of chocolates
Mumbai: India’s second-largest online gifting platform, admired for its wide range of curated gifting products including cakes, flowers & and customized gifts for every occasion and relationship, has launched its premium range of chocolates to fulfill the massive demand it has experienced in the last five years in tier-2 & tier-3 cities.
Winni has sold Rs 75 Cr worth of chocolates in the last five years which the sale from tier 2, and tier 3 has accounted for a total of 55 per cent (40 per cent from tier 2 & 15 per cent from tier 3) which has surprisingly surpassed the tier 1 cities (40 per cent). Although the chocolate market in India has been growing at a 8-9 per cent YoY rate, Winni has experienced 100 per cent growth in chocolate sales in the last three years on its online platform and also at the retail stores.
Winni is going to offer a premium range of healthier chocolate alternatives by replacing artificial preservatives with natural and organic ones; enhancing the flavours by merging them with spices, fruits, dry fruits, and sweets in Western taste. Winni Chocolates’ premium range will be exclusively available through Winni.in and in over 300 brand retail outlets in 23 states and five UTs.
Winni’s co-founder & CEO Sujeet Kumar Mishra said,” With the rise in income level of the young aspirational class & the exposure to tier 1 cities lifestyle through social media, we have experienced a significant change in the buying behavior of our customers from tier 2 & tier 3 cities in the last few years. It’s pretty evident that cakes & and chocolates are replacing the traditional ‘Mithai’ (sweets) even in small cities during festivals and the rate of growth in demand is higher than in metros. That’s the reason we have decided to launch a premium range of chocolates that are still not available in tier-2 & and tier-3 cities despite the demand & and purchasing capacity.
He added, “Currently we sell chocolates worth 2.5 Cr every month via our online platform, our network of 300+ retail outlets across the country and other e-retailers, which is 10-12 per cent of our total sale. We are expecting to see reasonable growth in these numbers with the introduction of the new premium range of chocolates which are developed keeping various factors in mind such as the nutrition value, health first approach & the authentic taste. We are coming up with an extended product range where our consumers will have healthy snacking choices such as Protein bars, Yoga bars, seeds and dry fruits coated range of chocolates & and multiple variants of Sugar-Free chocolates.’’
Winni cakes offering a premium range with healthier alternatives aims to capture a larger market share and meet the evolving needs of its customers. Their emphasis on natural ingredients and unique flavours can set them apart from competitors and position them as a preferred choice for premium chocolates.
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.
