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
Pre-seed funding fuels nailinit, India’s new-age nail care brand
Gruhas Collective Consumer Fund backs Gen Z-focused beauty startup
MUMBAI: nailinit, a community-first nail care startup targeting Gen Z and millennials, has raised Rs 2.5 to Rs 3 crore in a pre-seed round led by Gruhas Collective Consumer Fund and Marsshot VC, alongside a clutch of consumer, technology and operator angels.
Backed by entrepreneur and investor Nikhil Kamath, Gruhas Collective Consumer Fund is betting on nailinit’s attempt to give India’s nail care aisle a long overdue makeover. The fresh capital will be used to deepen distribution across quick commerce and D2C channels, build its community engine, and accelerate product innovation in a category that is high frequency but still light on strong brands.
Founded by Tanishq Ambegaokar and Shubham Singhal, nailinit is positioning itself at the crossroads of beauty, self-expression and culture. The brand wants nails to be more than a finishing touch. It sees them as a canvas for identity, content and commerce.
“At nailinit, we are building for a generation that sees beauty as self-expression, not just routine,” said Ambegaokar. “The nail category in India has largely been underserved by strong brands. This capital allows us to invest in product depth, community and distribution in a thoughtful and long-term way.”
Singhal added that while the brand’s tone may be playful, its operating focus is sharp. “This round strengthens our supply chain, expands our digital footprint and enables disciplined execution as we scale.”
The funding round drew notable angels including Shashank Kumar of Razorpay, Arjit Johri of Marsshot VC, Yash Jain, formerly of NimbusPost, Karan Jindal of Meta, Jivraj Singh Sachar of ISV Capital, Nishank Jain of Accel, Yashvardhan Kanoi, Ashwarya Garg of HYPD, Venus Dhuria of Phot.AI and Amishi Parasrampuria of The Whole Truth.
Gruhas Collective Consumer Fund fund manager Gauri Kuchhal, believes the opportunity lies in shifting habits. “Nail care remains underpenetrated in India, with consumers relying on time-intensive salon visits. As convenience and self-expression gain ground, press-on nails can unlock more frequent and experimental usage. Nailinit is well-placed to expand beyond press-ons into adjacent categories.”
The brand is currently the only nail care player in India blending product-led retail with a dedicated kiosk at Jio World Drive in Bandra, where customers can walk in for services while discovering the range. It has also built early traction across quick commerce platforms such as Zepto and Blinkit, with a launch on Instamart in the pipeline, and is available on Amazon, strengthening its omnichannel presence.
In a space long dominated by salon chairs and scattered labels, nailinit is attempting to file, shape and polish the category into something sharper. With fresh funding in hand, the startup is setting out to prove that in beauty, small details can make a bold statement.
