e-commerce
Flipkart adds a pink touch with majority stake in content hub Pinkvilla
MUMBAI: Shopping just got a splash of pink. Walmart-owned Flipkart has picked up more than 75 per cent in entertainment and lifestyle platform Pinkvilla, valuing it at around 15 million dollars, as part of a bold push to court Gen Z with content-driven commerce.
Founded in 2007, Pinkvilla has grown into a cultural staple with 60 million monthly users and 7.2 million Instagram followers. Its celebrity-fuelled stories, lifestyle updates and digital IPs have built a fiercely loyal base. “Pinkvilla’s robust content IPs and strong connection with its loyal audience are assets that will accelerate our efforts to leverage content as a key driver of growth,” said Flipkart senior vice president for corporate Ravi Iyer.
For Flipkart, the deal is more than an investment, it’s a strategy to blur the lines between entertainment and shopping. One in three Flipkart customers is Gen Z, with video commerce already a major draw. “Our acquisition of Pinkvilla is a critical step in deepening our engagement with Gen Z,” Iyer added. Pinkvilla’s founder and CEO, Nandini Shenoy, called the move a “validation” of the platform’s reach, noting that Flipkart’s backing would help scale operations and deliver even more of the content fans love.
The Bengaluru-based ecommerce giant has been flexing its investment muscle through Flipkart Ventures, with bets on over 20 startups, including logistics enabler Xportel, Factors.ai, and AI-powered recruitment venture Expertia.ai. With Pinkvilla now in its basket, Flipkart is hoping star power and storytelling will spark its next wave of growth.
e-commerce
Instamart and Duolingo launch street spell check campaign for Instaprint
Duo the owl fixes signboard typos across cities to showcase instant printing.
MUMBAI: If spelling mistakes had a sworn enemy, it might just be a bright green owl with a printer. Instamart has teamed up with language learning platform Duolingo for a quirky nationwide campaign that turns everyday spelling errors into a public spectacle while promoting its instant printing service, InstaPrint. The playful activation takes aim at the many misspelled shop boards and public signs scattered across Indian streets. From “saloons” that promise haircuts rather than drinks to menus and posters peppered with punctuation mishaps, the campaign sends Duolingo’s mascot Duo on a mission to restore linguistic order.
Armed with Instamart’s instant printing feature, Duo prints corrected versions of the mistakes on the spot and pastes them over the originals. The result is a series of humorous street interventions that have quickly begun circulating on social media.
Photos and videos of the grammar correcting owl have been widely shared online, with amused users reacting to the unexpected spell check patrol. One user joked, “Ab ayega na maza bhidu,” capturing the internet’s delight at the unusual campaign.
Behind the humour lies a practical message. The activation is designed to showcase the capabilities of Instaprint, Instamart’s printing service that allows users to print documents and posters almost instantly.
The company says the feature is meant for everyday needs such as printing resumes, visa documents or last minute posters without the usual scramble to locate a print shop.
Instamart introduced Instaprint in 2025 across select metropolitan cities including Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi. The service allows users to order printed materials directly through the platform, extending the quick commerce model beyond groceries and household essentials.
By combining Duolingo’s famously persistent owl with India’s street level spelling quirks, the campaign taps into the internet’s long running fascination with grammar mistakes while demonstrating a real world use case for instant printing.
After all, in a world full of typos, sometimes what you really need is a quick printer and a very determined language teacher.
