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WPP’s Brand Union promotes Toby Southgate to worldwide CEO
MUMBAI: WPP’s global brand strategy and design agency Brand Union has promoted Toby Southgate to worldwide CEO, effective 1 July.
Southgate will manage the growth of the global network while to continuing his responsibilities in the Americas. He will remain based in New York and will report to Brand Union and FITCH group CEO Simon Bolton.
“Toby is a true professional in our industry and a trusted adviser to senior clients all around our network. He has a unique thought process and leadership style that enables him to have compelling conversations with clients, prospects and talent alike. I have no doubt Toby has what it takes to step into this role on a worldwide stage and take Brand Union to the next level,” said Bolton.
In this new role, Southgate will be responsible for leading the growth of Brand Union across each of its 24 markets. He will manage all of Brand Union’s international teams and lead collaboration with other WPP agencies, delivering on the group’s ‘horizontality’ strategy.
“I love this business and I’m proud to be leading Brand Union beyond the traditional definition of branding. I’m delighted Simon has given me the chance to lead the network. Brand Union is all about creating brilliantly designed and beautifully connected experiences for our clients and their brands. There is much more to come,” said Southgate.
Southgate brings extensive Brand Union experience to this role, having joined the agency in 2008. He has held a number of roles including Brand Union Middle East managing director, Brand Union UK CEO and most recently, CEO Americas. In his latest role, he helped grow the agency’s footprint leading the acquisition of Epigram, a Brazilian brand and communications agency, in 2014.
He has been a key player in the agency’s business development over the last seven years, bringing in major clients like The Coca-Cola Company, Vodafone, Shazam, GlaxoSmithKline and CBRE.
CBRE global chief marketing officer Paul Suchman said, “Toby’s partnership and dedication to our business has been nothing short of outstanding. Under his leadership, Brand Union has helped us find a powerful global voice and significantly strengthen our brand equity in every market we serve.”
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Bharat Vedica launches ‘From Beehives to Bottle’ campaign
Honey brand uses honeycomb-inspired hexagon bottle and reels to celebrate nature’s craft.
MUMBAI: Bharat Vedica just bottled nature’s buzz because when bees build the perfect shape, the smartest thing a brand can do is copy the homework. Bharat Vedica, the wellness-focused organic brand under A Patel Venture, has rolled out a digital-first campaign titled ‘From Beehives to Bottle’ that traces honey’s journey from blossom to breakfast table. The storytelling series of Instagram reels follows bees collecting nectar, the transformation inside the hive, and the final bottling turning a quiet natural process into engaging short-form content.
At the centre of the narrative is the brand’s new hexagon-shaped honey bottle, directly inspired by the honeycomb’s geometry widely regarded as one of nature’s most efficient designs. The shape serves as both packaging innovation and visual metaphor for precision, balance and harmony in every drop.
Nutritionist Kiran Kukreja (Nutty Over Nutrition) appears in the campaign content, explaining raw honey’s everyday benefits and its role in modern wellness routines.
The reels have driven strong performance on Instagram, with the brand recording a high double-digit month-on-month increase in follower acquisition and impressions reaching multiples of the existing base significantly boosting top-of-funnel visibility and discovery among premium consumers.
Bharat Vedica MD Arvind Patel said, “Bees build honeycombs with remarkable precision, creating a structure that represents efficiency, balance, and harmony. The hexagon bottle draws inspiration from that natural design, translating the beauty of the hive into something people can experience in their everyday kitchens.”
The refreshed raw honey range includes Ajwain Flower Honey, Rose Petal Honey, Forest Honey and Saffron (Kesar) Honey, available in 250 g and 500 g sizes. It is currently sold on the brand’s website and Amazon, with wider retail availability planned soon.
In a wellness world full of loud promises, Bharat Vedica quietly lets the bees do the talking proving that sometimes the sweetest story isn’t invented in a boardroom, it’s already humming away in a hive.
