MAM
Wow, exclaim kids at Hershey’s product
MUMBAI: Wow Design, a strategic brand design consultancy, has associated with Hershey’s for strategising the packaging design for its new range of healthy flavored milkshakes.
Evolving Indian consumers prefer richer, superior experiences when it comes to food and beverages as they are exposed to it on global excursions. The health foods category in India too is slowly evolving to meet with the consumers preferences.
Wow Design is a strong believer in creating elegant and impactful packaging, as it’s the face of any brand and allows an interaction of only a few minutes with the consumers before they make up their mind.
For Hershey’s product launch, Wow Design evaluated both – the current brand drivers and the challenges in launching a product that would appeal to both the buyer (mothers) and the consumer (Kids). These drivers were – existing equity with the consumers in delivering rich experience on taste, flavor and mouth feel and an aspirational imagery attached to the brand. The challenge was to find a fine balance between delight for kids and healthy goodness for mothers in a pack of milkshake while exhibited on the same shelf as its Indian competitors.
A thoughtful decision was taken to leverage on the richness and consistency of the product to establish it as a milkshake versus the available flavored milk products. The designs stemmed from the core concept of it being the ultimate healthy milkshake that kids deserve.
The final result was clean, yet communicative range of packs that retained the global appeal of the brand Hershey’s and connected effectively with the health-conscious Indian consumers.
Wow Design partner and executive director Deepti Kshirsagar said, “The design strategy needs to work for the dual target audience – one the consumer and second the decision maker. Coming from an aspirational yet familiar international brand like Hershey’s, the trust aspect for the mothers and tastefulness for the kids could be taken care of with a prominent brand endorsement in the design. The challenge was to imbibe the healthy goodness of the product, as that becomes a primary concern for the mothers and impact decision making to a large extent. ”
Wow Design partner and executive director Saswata Das said, “The rapid growth of the flavored milk beverages category in India has attracted many global players like Danone and even Coca-Cola to enter this segment. We helped Hersheys’s to take on the Indian players and charge a premium for their unique positioning and fortification benefit.”
Brands
Kingfisher signs three-year IPL partnership
Packaged water brand signs on as ‘good times partner’ for 2026–28 cycle
MUMBAI: Kingfisher Premium Packaged Drinking Water is betting big on cricket’s biggest stage, sealing a three-year partnership with the Board of Control for Cricket in India to sharpen fan engagement at the TATA Indian Premier League.
The brand, owned by United Breweries, will serve as the official “good times partner” for the men’s IPL from 2026 to 2028, extending a relationship that began with the Women’s Premier League. The move signals a broader push to embed itself deeper into live sport, with a focus on immersive, consumer-led experiences rather than conventional sponsorship visibility.
At the heart of the tie-up is a suite of fan-first activations spanning broadcast, stadiums and digital channels. These include the “Kingfisher Bird Cam”, offering a branded spider-cam perspective during live matches, and the “Good Times Zone”, an in-stadium entertainment hub during play-offs aimed at amplifying match-day buzz. The brand will also back IPL fan parks, elevate public screening experiences and run digital contests tied to key moments through the season.
Vikram Bahl, chief marketing officer, United Breweries, said cricket in India “is more than a sport, it is a shared cultural moment”, adding that the IPL brings that energy alive at scale. “For Kingfisher Premium Packaged Drinking Water, being present at the heart of these moments, in partnership with the BCCI, is a natural extension of what we stand for. Through this association, we aim to enrich how fans experience the game… making every match more immersive, social and memorable,” Bahl said.
Devajit Saikia, honorary secretary, BCCI, said the IPL “has always been at the forefront of redefining sports entertainment and fan engagement”. He added that the collaboration would fuse cricket fandom with “innovative fan experiences that extend beyond the stadium”, helping create memorable moments for audiences nationwide.
For United Breweries, part of the HEINEKEN group, the play is clear: move from passive branding to active participation in the fan journey—on screens, in stands and across social spaces. With millions tuning in and turning up each season, the IPL remains the country’s most potent marketing theatre. The question now is whether “good times” can translate into lasting brand recall in a market where visibility is easy, but engagement is hard-won.
