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Licious join forces with Bigg Boss 16 to create ‘Licious Greed Zone’
Mumbai: Colors’ reality show Bigg Boss has come a long way in its 15-year journey and has gone on to become a phenomenon in the television entertainment landscape. The sixteenth season of the hit show has bagged the No. 1 spot in the non-fiction category. The show has been instrumental in providing an unprecedented dose of glamour, entertaining audiences with its engaging content, and adding grand new elements year after year. Within six weeks of its launch, the show attracted over 127 million viewers on Colors and 600 million views on Voot. Bigg Boss 16 catapulted itself to the pole position in the non-fiction category with a massive reach of three billion, along with one billion views and a 97 per cent share of voice on Colors Digital, making it one of the marquee shows in the Hindi general entertainment category.
Over the last decade and a half, the Bigg Boss has become a huge platform for brands to collaborate, and it provides a great canvas for advertisers to connect with their target audience. The sponsorships aim to provide brands with an opportunity to engage and collaborate through various touch points. During the show, the brands will gain prominence and visibility through ad spots, task integrations, the caller of the week segment, special zones, and other peripheral branding opportunities.
The 16th season of Bigg Boss has Licious as an associate sponsor. Licious’ one-of-a-kind “Licious Greed Zone” is created in the house and occasionally opens up the window of surprise for the BB contestants to satiate their meat cravings. To build excitement and engagement with its audience, Licious debuts in the Bigg Boss kitchen, vowing to bring in new enthusiasm among the viewers as they can vote on the Licious app to choose and decide from the endless range of products that will go inside the house for their favourite contestants to enjoy delectable dishes. To top it all off, the top three lucky voters will receive a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to “Meet and Greet Salman Khan!”
Speaking about the association, Licious VP of brand Santosh Hegde said, “Our partnership with Bigg Boss is a huge pop culture moment for us! Our strategic and steadfast approach to making Licious offerings a part of the BB house has culminated in a breakthrough in the brand collaboration space, especially by giving consumers and audiences the chance to vote for their Licious favourites and making them a part of this experience. While our ready-to-eat range was at the heart of it, we are pumped to give the contestants a taste of our diverse portfolio, which only goes to show how Licious caters to all types of cravings, both on-screen and off-screen.”
Viacom18 revenue head of Colors Pavithra KR added, “This year’s Bigg Boss saw a lot of excitement and food cravings, especially where meat was concerned. This opened up an opportunity, and we felt that Licious, a D2C farm-to-fork platform, had found space in the Bigg Boss house. Hence the idea of a “Licious Greed Zone” germinated for the meat-lovers in the house. We co-created a contest on the Licious app to drive audience engagement and give the viewers the “power to choose” from the Licious menu. For the first time ever, viewers decided the menu that goes inside the house, keeping in mind the indulgences and cravings of the housemates. Hence, the brand became a part of the narrative and added to the immersive experience of the show.”
The 16th season of Bigg Boss is focused on offering a robust experience to brand partners through means of engagement, excitement & entertainment. The idea is to assist the brands in creating a powerful & impactful narrative that has the potential to build a lasting connection with the audience through content present in multiple markets cutting across geo-social cross-sections in India.
NEW DELHI: Hamdard Laboratories gathered a cross-section of India’s achievers in New Delhi on Friday, handing out the Hakeem Abdul Hameed Excellence Awards to figures who have left their mark across healthcare, education, sport, public service and the arts.
The ceremony, attended by minister of state for defence Sanjay Seth and senior officials from the ministry of Ayush, celebrated individuals whose work blends professional success with a sense of public purpose. It was as much a roll call of achievement as it was a reminder that influence is not measured only in profits or podiums, but in people reached and lives improved.
Among the headline awardees was Alakh Pandey, founder and chief executive of PhysicsWallah, recognised for turning affordable digital learning into a mass movement. On the sporting front, Arjuna Awardee and kabaddi player Sakshi Puniya was honoured for her contribution to the game and for pushing women’s participation onto bigger stages.
The cultural spotlight fell on veteran lyricist and poet Santosh Anand, whose songs have echoed across generations of Hindi cinema. At 97, Anand accepted the honour with characteristic humility, reflecting on a life shaped by perseverance and hope.
Healthcare honours spanned both modern and traditional systems. Manoj N. Nesari was recognised for strengthening Ayurveda’s place in national and global health frameworks. Padma shri Mohammed Abdul Waheed was honoured for his research-backed work in Unani medicine, while padma shri Mohsin Wali received recognition for his long-standing contribution to patient-centred care.
Education and social development also featured prominently. Padma shri Zahir Ishaq Kazi was honoured for decades of work in education, while former Meghalaya superintendent of Police T. C. Chacko was recognised for public service. Goonj founder Anshu Gupta received an award for his dignity-centred rural development initiatives, and the Hunar Shakti Foundation was honoured for empowering women and young girls through skill development.
The Lifetime Achievement Award went to former IAS officer Shailaja Chandra for her long career in public healthcare and governance, particularly in the traditional systems under Ayush.
Speaking at the event, Hamdard chairman Abdul Majeed said the awards were a tribute to those who combine excellence with empathy. “These awardees reflect Hakeem Sahib’s belief that healthcare, education and public service must ultimately serve humanity,” he said.
Minister Seth struck a forward-looking note, saying India’s young population gives the country a unique opportunity to become a global destination for learning, health and wellness by 2047.
The ceremony also featured the trailer launch of Unani Ki Kahaani, an upcoming documentary starring actor Jim Sarbh, set to premiere on Discovery on 11 February.
Instituted in memory of Unani scholar and educationist Hakeem Abdul Hameed, the awards have grown into a national platform that celebrates those building a more inclusive and resilient India. For one evening at least, the spotlight was not just on success, but on service with substance.
