Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

<ul><li>Dunzo unveils new brand mascots inspired by its various users.</li><li>Dunzo has curated a series of characters inspired by the varied demographic of their users, delivery partners and merchants who have contributed to Dunzo's rise as a delivery service of choice. </li></ul>As a platform built for delivery partners, merchants, and users, Dunzo’s philosophy has always been centered around all its customers. During the first stage of its Brand Mascot Campaign, Dunzo put Delivery Partners at the heart of all its communications, led by the spirited mascots Dunya and Harri. Dunya and Harri who have undeniably become a natural extension of the brand, are recognised easily across channels As an expansion of the first brand campaign, Dunzo has taken a conscious call to imbibe it’s hashtag, #VareityMakesUs. Dunzo has curated a series of characters inspired by the varied demographic of their users, delivery partners and merchants who have contributed to Dunzo's rise as a delivery service of choice. The idea that #VarietyMakesUs is deeply embedded in Dunzo’s value system, and repeatedly emphasized in many of their campaigns in the past. With the inception of the ‘Duniverse’, a strong closely knit community of Users, Partners and Merchants, Dunzo wishes to drive home the message that the real strength of our world lies in diversity and it truly is variety that makes us As the Duniverse continues to grow, more characters and narratives from the Dunzo world and try to push this relevant conversation around inclusivity and representation, forward every single time. Meet the characters of Duniverse The ‘Duniverse’ of mascots comprise an eclectic mix of characters who bring with them their own traits and quirks. Keeping with the spirit of inclusivity, Dunzo conceptualized six true blue Indian mascots, (2 partners, 2 merchants and 2 customers) of varied demographics, gender identities, religious ideologies, harmoniously coexisting in this thriving ecosystem. Dunya Dundekar (delivery partner) She's bold, brilliant, and badass. She's the pride of Pune, and will zip to your door at lightning speed. Mess with her, and you'll have a front row seat to watch her serve some savage Karate chops. Harri U.P (delivery partner) He'll take care of your smallest needs with the biggest heart. When this mast macha from Bangalore is not delivering to doorsteps, he is busy making short videos with his killer dance moves on social media. Shelfali Aloowalia (Merchant) This businesswoman is a full-time hustler. She’s busy on her phone running her grocery store "Kirana Firana" in the heart of Delhi and using her Dunzo dashboard to run orders from home. Being the newly crowned champion at Vasant Vihar Badminton Association, she has no trouble shuttling between multiple tasks - at home or at work! <div type="image" title="dunzo shefali" msid="78102593" hostid="261"></div> Stewart Sodawala (Merchant) This bindass bawa from Mumbai can whip up a storm at a moment's notice. Aside from entertaining his guests with delightful stories at his cafe "Dhinchak Dhansak", he can be found striking conversations and coins at neighbourhood kabaddi tournaments. Even in during notorious rains, Stewart’s partons never miss out <div type="image" title="Stewart" msid="78102767" hostid="261"></div> Lana Doorjee (User) She's sassy, and she's stylish. This medical student from Kohima doubles down to make the most of every moment. Her home business of making decorative candles and her mindful meditation sessions have helped her find the calm among the chaos. <div type="image" title="dunzo lana mascot" msid="78102615" hostid="261"></div> Asghar Ismile (user) This charming chetta is enthu about literally everything. Being one of the well-known investment bankers of Kochi, he credits philanthropy to be the reason behind his permanent smile. Although he never has mood swings, he's often seen swinging the club at the local golf course. <div type="image" title="dunzo asghar mascot" msid="78102629" hostid="261"></div> Dunzo will be adding the characters on its app as well. <div type="image" title="1 (1)" msid="78103118" hostid="261"></div> *Each character has been visualised and designed in a signature illustration style.

Dunzo makes its mascot ‘Duniverse’ more inclusive. Here are a few more mascots they have added

<ul><li>The role of a Chief Marketing Officer has changed as a consequence of the global pandemic. It has now transformed into Chief Motivational Officer during the second wave of coronavirus.</li><li>In India, brands are trying to figure out the right way to communicate with their audience during a national emergency and change their message, which makes marketing – and the role of CMO – more critical than ever.</li><li>In our latest interview series, we speak to a few CMOs to understand how they are helping out their organisations find the right ways to connect with consumers.</li><li>Third-party delivery platform Dunzo has been using its social media platform to amp up people’s SoS requests. Sai Ganesh, Marketing Lead, Dunzo tells us how this lockdown has changed his role as a marketing officer.</li></ul>With India’s healthcare system severely stretched, many brands have been leveraging their social media presence to either amplify citizens’ SoS for ICU beds or to spread awareness around vaccination registration. One such brand is Dunzo. It was quick to convert its social media page into an SoS helpline for its users. Very early on during this on-going pandemic, Dunzo also reminded consumers that we are all in this together by swallowing its pride and uplifting its competitors in its social media posts. <div type="javascript" title="Instagram" contenttype="Image"><cdata><![CDATA[ ]]></cdata></div> Lately, Dunzo has stayed away from all promotional posts. After the cases started rising in India during April 2021, Dunzo decided to pause, reflect, rework its strategies and most importantly, prioritise consumer interest. It was after an internal discussion that Dunzo decided it should use its reach to help people, who are crying out for help. The delivery platform also started using Instagram Reels to beat misinformation around COVID-19 vaccination and spread awareness. <div type="javascript" title="Instagram" contenttype="Video"><cdata><![CDATA[ ]]></cdata></div> Dunzo is also using its humor to bring a smile to our lips and help us laugh in the face of adversity. <div type="javascript" title="Instagram" contenttype="Image"><cdata><![CDATA[ ]]></cdata></div> <div type="javascript" title="Instagram" contenttype="Image"><cdata><![CDATA[ ]]></cdata></div> So, Dunzo has been using its advertising tools to encourage people to get vaccinated against COVID-19, amplify user requests and express its gratitude for frontline workers. Apart from that, the platform has reduced the number of posts on social media and is only focusing on helping out its users. Before the pandemic, organisations were looking for CMOs who were data-driven, focused on the customer, and were able to anticipate needs people didn’t even know they had. Today, a CMO is also required to be agile because consumer needs are changing overnight and most importantly, the need of the hour is a marketing leader who is empathetic and caring. CMOs set the right tone for the organisation at the top and lead the brand to connect with consumers. They are also expected to protect the health, safety, and well-being of their employees. And when all of this is over, it will be brands like Dunzo that will be remembered by consumers for its humanitarian aid and looked up as examples by SMBs and start-ups. So, as a leader who is supervising these much-needed marketing activities during a crisis, we reached out to Sai Ganesh, Marketing Lead, Dunzo to understand how this lockdown has changed his role as a marketing officer. Excerpts: <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q. How has your schedule changed during the second wave? Can you draw a comparison between last year's lockdown with this year's?" text="Q. How has your schedule changed during the second wave? Can you draw a comparison between last year's lockdown with this year's?">Q. How has your schedule changed during the second wave? Can you draw a comparison between last year's lockdown with this year's?</cmsannotation> To be honest, it is similar in many ways, but except that this time the pandemic feels more intense and closer home. Last year, we were getting used to the WFH setup, taking care of our mental health while doing great work. This year, it has gotten more exhausting personally to witness the pandemic unfolding the way it has, so we do ensure that each of us takes regular breaks to recuperate. People who are known to us have passed away or are struggling to survive, so it's definitely overwhelming. For a creative team especially it's even more difficult to work during these times. So, we have prioritised self-care and helping others over everything else for now. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q. No communication or relevant/empathetic communication, which route should a brand take during difficult times like these?" text="Q. No communication or relevant/empathetic communication, which route should a brand take during difficult times like these?">Q. No communication or relevant/empathetic communication, which route should a brand take during difficult times like these?</cmsannotation> ALWAYS relevant empathetic communication. Without any doubt! We saw that last year and this year, consumers don't want brands to be “salesy", but they also want brands to stand up and help others in trying times. The power users on Social media call out brands that are tone-deaf / not able to take a stance during tough times. So yes, consumers are going to call you for inaction so "No communication" is a bad idea. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q. As a leader, how are you trying to be there for your employees?" text="Q. As a leader, how are you trying to be there for your employees?">Q. As a leader, how are you trying to be there for your employees?</cmsannotation> Ensuring that employees are safe and healthy (both mentally and physically) is our top priority. We have been trying to do that by having regular non-work calls, making sure there is a balance between ensuring people have clarity on work to be done, at the same time, giving them enough freedom to take breaks. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q. How are you using your advertising tools to help out other people?" text="Q. How are you using your advertising tools to help out other people?">Q. How are you using your advertising tools to help out other people?</cmsannotation> Right in the beginning, when we saw that people on Social media were looking for ways to help each other out, our focus has been on using our communications platforms to amplify such calls for help. We are also connecting those who can offer help to those who need help. Like last year, we are also using our communications to spread awareness on Social distancing and precautions to stay safe. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q. How have your goals changed due to the second wave?" text="Q. How have your goals changed due to the second wave?">Q. How have your goals changed due to the second wave?</cmsannotation> Goals haven't changed much, just revised as per the external macro-environment.

Dunzo has prioritised self-care and helping others over everything else for now: Sai Ganesh, Dunzo

<ul><li>Consumables market in India is projected to grow sustainably for the next 5 years at ~6% CAGR to hit USD $~1 Trillion by 2025 from $725 billion in CY20. </li><li><keyword id="11728824" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="quick-commerce">Quick Commerce</keyword> penetration within the online consumables market is ~7% and is expected to grow to 12-13% by 2025.</li></ul>According to the latest report ‘Quick Commerce: A $5 billion market by 2025’ launched by homegrown consulting firm <keyword id="3359665" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="RedSeer">RedSeer</keyword>, the market penetration of Quick commerce is estimated at USD $~0.3 Bn in CY2021 and is expected to grow 10-15x in the next 5 years, that is $5 billion by 2025. ~20 million households are addressable by quick commerce in India with an estimated addressable market size of USD $~50 Bn in 2020, as per the report. Quick commerce is defined as delivery of consumables within a span of 45 minutes with a nominal delivery charge. The major growth drivers for Quick Commerce are: <ul><li>Rising adoption among convenience seeking customers with unplanned ordering behaviour.</li><li>Increasing affinity of Online and Gen-Z customers towards Top-up and indulgence purchases.</li><li>Covid-led change in consumer behaviour towards using online as replacement for Kirana.</li></ul>Indian Quick Commerce (Q-Commerce) market offers two main opportunities including Consumables (Fresh, Staples, Packaged Foods, Beverages, <keyword id="11728823" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="home-care-and-personal-care">Home Care and Personal Care</keyword>, OTC medicines, alcohol, Tobacco, Pet supplies) and adjacent or Long-Tail categories (flowers, gifts, books, small electronics, etc.) Consumables market in India is projected to grow sustainably for the next 5 years at ~6% CAGR to hit USD $~1 Trillion by 2025 from $725 billion in CY20. Further, Quick Commerce penetration within the online consumables market is ~7% and is expected to grow to 12-13% by 2025. Currently at USD $~3.8 billion, the online consumables market is expected to grow exponentially and is expected to reach $30+ Bn by 2025, of which ~50% will come from Metro and Tier-1 cities. The major drivers for this market are willingness to pay for premium products, growing market for easy-to-cook products at home delivery, demand for healthy and nutritional products, rising consumption of newer products through global experiences. Metro and Tier 1 cities are a major growth driver. Mid to high income households within these cities will drive growth; they are convenience seeking and spend across consumables sub-categories. These consumers include Gen Z, ambitious millennials, Gen X-active buyers and Gen X- Passive buyers. Gen Z- impulse purchasers and ambitious millennials dominate in unplanned purchases and their fulfilment methods are based on speed and convenience. Commenting on the launch of the report, Mukesh Kumar, engagement manager at RedSeer, said, “Quick Commerce is emerging as one of the fastest growing e-commerce models serving the need for faster delivery among convenience seeking customers. With high fill-rates and 30-45 mins delivery service for unplanned orders, mid-to high income households in Metros are increasingly replacing traditional kiranas with Quick Commerce Platforms like Swiggy’s Instamart and <keyword id="3275685" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="dunzo">Dunzo</keyword>.”

Quick Commerce market, currently led by Dunzo and Swiggy Instamart, is expected to grow 10-15x in 5 years to become $5 billion opportunity by 2025: RedSeer

<ul><li>According to Kanter Worldpane, <keyword id="34523" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="fmcg">FMCG</keyword> sector in India is expected to report a 4-5% volume growth in FY21, driven by rural areas that are expected to grow two percentage points ahead of the urban regions that are hit harder by COVID-19 pandemic. </li><li>This is expected to impact Q1FY21 earnings of FMCG companies, however, it will be better than some of the consumer discretionary sectors like apparel, retail, paints etc.</li><li>The pandemic has also led to resurgence of the good old nearby <keyword id="6425985" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="kirana">Kirana</keyword> store which offered the most convenience (home delivery and credit) to consumers where maintaining social distancing and restriction on out of home trips are the norms in urban centres.</li></ul> As COVID-19 started to spread across the nation, the lockdown announced in the last week of March did have a knee jerk reaction on the overall demand for the FMCG sector. The pain continued to be seen until the first week of April after which relaxations in terms of continuing manufacturing operations for essential products started to get streamlined as situations improved in terms of manufacturing and supply, although issues with labor availability and logistical challenges continued, which now have normalized to a very large extent. According to Kanter Worldpane,l FMCG sector in India is expected to report a 4-5% volume growth in FY21, driven by rural areas that are expected to grow two percentage points ahead of the urban regions that are hit harder by COVID-19 pandemic and which continue to battle with the lockdown flip-flops at the local level. This is expected to impact Q1FY21 earnings of FMCG companies, however, it will be better than some of the consumer discretionary sectors like apparel, retail, paints etc. During the gharbandi period there has been change in consumer buying behavior towards purchasing more of essential products and cut down on discretionary spends due to continued lockdown, job losses and salary cuts in urban areas. The money was largely spent on essential products like food (biscuits, milk, noodles), immunity boosting foods (chywanprash, honey etc), drinks &amp; beverages, health &amp; hygiene (sanitizers, masks) and even on homecare &amp; skin cleansing products (floor, toilet &amp; surface cleaners, anti-bacterial soaps etc). Personal care and grooming products, however, took a hit both in urban and rural India given the discretionary nature. Also, preference has clearly been for value packs and smaller SKUs across product categories especially in rural regions. While, in urban regions it’s a mix of value and premium products depending on the income pyramid. Moreover, owing to the fear of contracting the virus by going out, a notable shift is being observed of doing purchases online resulting in tie ups between FMCG companies and various e-commerce platforms like <keyword id="964794" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="BigBasket">BigBasket</keyword>, Grofers, Amazon, <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword>, <keyword id="3275685" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="dunzo">Dunzo</keyword> etc. The pandemic has also led to resurgence of the good old nearby Kirana store which offered the most convenience (home delivery and credit) to consumers where maintaining social distancing and restriction on out of home trips are the norms in urban centres. While the frequency of trips to the grocery store has reduced to 30.5 in May from 34.4 in March, there has been a rise in basket value by 4.3% YoY to Rs. 3,734 between March and May 2020 as against previous year. Rural India contributes to ~36% of FMCG spends and is thus an important growth element. Managements across organized FMCG companies thus have their eyes on the rural economy to drive growth in the current trying times that have displayed relative resilience. Driving distribution expansion by increasing stockist network and direct reach could therefore be a tactical growth driver. Besides distribution, the rural economy has been relatively resilient owing to a lower impact of <keyword id="8764262" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="covid">COVID</keyword>. Despite the migrant labour issue, the hinterland has shown relative strength all through the gharbandi supported by government proactive measures of increased allocation to MGNREGA (led to more jobs), higher farm incomes due to aggressive MSP fixation, good monsoon, higher Kharif acreages, lower disruption in retail channel and other social sector schemes (PM-KISAN, PM Garib Kalyan, distribution of free foodgrain through PDS etc). This is also reported in a surge in demand for products like agrochemicals, hybrid seeds, fertilizers, tractors, tillers and even entry level two-wheelers alongside FMCG products. Further, rising aspirations and an improved standard of living in the rural areas could direct a faster than expected recovery in FMCG volumes and also the Indian economy. We believe for a sustained growth in FMCG sector, structural administrative reforms like amendments to Essential Commodities Act, creating a law to allow free inter-state movement of farmer’s goods and strengthening the post harvest agri-infrastructure backed by effective implementation will give the much needed boost to agri sector and rural economy thus doubling farmers income resulting in increased consumption for FMCG and other products. (The article was written by Suvarna Joshi. Suvarna is a Senior Research Analyst at Axis Securities with over a decade of experience in fundamental research. She is an expert in tracking FMCG, Speciality Chemicals, and Mid-cap stocks &amp; sectors.) SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/coovid-vaccine-from-oxford-serum-institute-and-astrazeneca-shows-promising-immune-response/articleshow/77069321.cms">The COVID-19 vaccine from Oxford and AstraZeneca shows 'promising' results in early human trials</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/dil-bechara-kissing-booth-2-and-other-movies-you-can-watch-on-netflix-amazon-prime-disneyhotstar-this-week/slidelist/77142498.cms">Dil Bechara, Kissing Booth 2 and other movies you can watch on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+Hotstar this week</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/work-from-home-effect-these-companies-are-shelling-out-for-employees-power-bills-internet-cost-and-more/articleshow/77139229.cms">WFH effect – These companies are paying for employees' power bills, internet cost and more</a>

An FMCG analyst shares a picture of what's selling in rural India and what's not

<ul><li>Last week, Zee Entertainment Enterprises mentioned FMCG brands like Pepsi, Maggi, ITC Dark Fantasy, Cadbury Dairy Milk, Red Label Tea and Amul Lassi in its OOH campaign and a week before that, Lay’s also thanked other brands for their services. </li><li>But it wasn’t just brands from unrelated categories uplifting each other. Brands like Dunzo, Swiggy, Dettol and Lifebuoy have also shown in the recent past how difficult times are about putting competition to rest and working together towards a common goal. </li><li>We reached out to experts to understand how well it bodes for brands to opt for this empathetic strategy. They opined that consumers respect brands that care about things other than business and work together for a single, larger cause. </li></ul>For years, <keyword id="9575066" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="rival-brands">rival brands</keyword> have engaged in ad wars that called each other out on social media or pulled each other down publicly to achieve one-upmanship. However, we are in the midst of a global pandemic and many SMBs and even well-established brands are struggling to survive in this highly volatile environment. Therefore, it is time for big brands to pause, reflect, rework their strategies and most importantly, keep aside competition to prioritise consumer interest. A few brands like Dunzo, Swiggy, Dettol and Lifebuoy that provide essential services swallowed their pride and decided to uplift each other in their brand campaigns. By acknowledging their competitors, these brands reminded their consumers that we are all in this together. With its wit that it is known for, Dunzo had posted a creative on social media saluting those who chose to do the ‘ride’ thing and thanked Swiggy, Grofers and BigBasket. <div type="javascript" title="Instagram" contenttype="Image"><cdata><![CDATA[ ]]></cdata></div> After Dunzo’s post, Swiggy launched a video campaign called ‘Sukhriya Kare’ with leading social media influencers to thank heroes who wear a helmet and drive around on their scooters to deliver essential products -- risking their lives. It also mentions rival delivery partners Dunzo, Medlife and Grofers. <div type="javascript" title="Instagram" contenttype="Video"><cdata><![CDATA[ ]]></cdata></div> In yet another heartwarming gesture, bathing soap giant Lifebuoy released a public service print ad that urged the audience to buy a soap they have access to -- be it Lux, Dettol, Santoor or Godrej No 1. <div type="twitter" handle="ambimgp" handlename="Ambi Parameswaran" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1075309911880421378/egNXy-cA_normal.jpg" favoritecount="258" retweetcount="82" status="⁦@HUL_News⁩ Great initiative to advertise the importance of hand wash ⁦@htTweets⁩. And a big hurray for mentioning… https://t.co/66U8bINm4x" createdat="1580453185000" id="1223135428984725504"></div> But does this really work? Unusual times call for unique solutions. Lloyd Mathias, Business Strategist and Angel Investor said it is a great idea to keep aside competition and collaborate, especially during times of crisis. Mathias said, “The Covid pandemic is a moment of great human suffering as brands coming together – even with competitors – speaks well about our larger need to fight this together. Very early on during this pandemic, Apple and Google came together to partner on COVID-19 contact tracing technology. A positive step by two tech giants signalling the seriousness of the challenge and the need to bring all hands on deck.” Highlighting how this strategy can help brands gain consumer affinity, Mathias added, “At times of any major disruption or calamity, brand wars must take a back seat and rise to the occasion keeping consumer interest in mind. Consumers will see this as a positive and mature sign, recognizing that brands can put behind their differences when it comes to larger concerns of humanity.” In the age of social media, anything that is a little different from regular communications generates a lot of chatter. And emotions go a long way. Lay’s had also launched a digital campaign to express gratitude towards the unsung heroes of India who have brought joy to millions even in these challenging times like Dunzo, Zomato, Flipkart, Whisper, to name a few. One might argue this strategy looks opportunistic but Nidhi Sinha, Head of Content, Mintel India told us that brands who care about things other than their business are not only bought more often but gain their consumer’s respect. Sinha said, “In times of the pandemic, Indian consumers have reflected a strong sense of affinity with the environment and local communities. As brands come together for a single cause, it certainly puts them in a good light as consumers respect the fact that these brands 'care' and are not just focused on their own business. According to a Mintel research conducted in February 2020, prior to COVID-19, 26% of Indians said that they expect brands to support environmental issues. As the country fights the crisis together, these initiatives not only show gratitude but also reflect a sentiment of care and selflessness, much needed in these times of need.” Telling us why inclusive ads would work more than <keyword id="9575064" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="40" keywordseo="competitive-ads">competitive ads</keyword> in today’s environment, N Chandramouli, CEO, TRA Research said, “Empathetic advertising instead of adversarial advertising is what people appreciate, especially in stressed situations like extended WFH, threat of Covid etc. Consumers do not want to be pushed to take sides in such a situation, and they want unadulterated information. Not only are such ads like a breath of fresh air, but they are also non-intrusive and gentle. Which is why they work well.” However, Chandramouli also said that brands will be brands and even in these instances, they subtly show how they have an upper hand over other players. He said, “The competitive spirit of brands comes when you are fighting for survival, market share and mindshare. In some categories, if the category is the beneficiary of this crisis, they may keep the combatant side silent, but soon after the dust of the crisis settles, the pugilist in them will be out with gloves again. Even in these empathetic ads for instance, brands will be brands and they tend to subtly show their advantages against competition. After all, brands exist in a competitive world, and they do not exist to do philanthropy.” Not just in communications, crisis calls for long-term relationships Mathias said brands need to lend each other their expertise and fight the bigger battle together. “The lockdown severely impacted most businesses and in these times collaboration worked as an effective risk mitigation strategy to minimize revenue loss by ensuring supply and fair distribution. Brands may need to collaborate with their competitors in areas that they would normally compete for e.g. combining deliveries and sharing of logistics and manufacturing. Some may even consider doing joint messaging,” said he.

Brands are forgetting competition and patting rival businesses on their back, here is why

<ul><li><keyword id="6359432" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="britannia">Britannia</keyword>'s essentials products such as biscuits, cakes, rusk, croissants, milkshakes, wafers, ghee and dairy whitener will be sourced by <keyword id="3275685" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="dunzo">Dunzo</keyword> from its distribution centers.</li><li>Earlier two FMCG makers - ITC Foods and Marico - had announced such partnerships to get their products delivered at consumer's doorsteps by using the service of app-based aggregators.</li></ul>FMCG major <keyword id="146218" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Britannia-Industries">Britannia Industries</keyword> on Tuesday said it has partnered with Dunzo, an on-demand e-commerce platform, to deliver its range of products during the nationwide lockdown. Customers can get Britannia products at their doorsteps through the Dunzo app in less than an hour of ordering from the 'Britannia Essentials' store. The first store in Bengaluru will be operational from Tuesday onwards and would be extended to other cities such as Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Gurgaon, Jaipur, Hyderabad and Chennai, a joint statement said. "During this unprecedented time, it is critical for us to maintain a continuous supply of our products which are daily staples in millions of Indian households. With a significant rise in demand for at-home delivery, we are happy to leverage Dunzo's innovative and most advanced technology platform, to enable seamless delivery of products every day," Britannia Industries Managing Director <keyword id="459296" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Varun-Berry">Varun Berry</keyword> said. Britannia's essentials products such as biscuits, cakes, rusk, croissants, milkshakes, wafers, ghee and dairy whitener will be sourced by Dunzo from its distribution centers. "Across the country, there is a demand for essentials and in these extraordinary times, companies need to rise to the occasion. We at Dunzo are committed to helping our cities fight the COVID-19 pandemic," Dunzo CEO and Co-Founder Kabeer Biswas said. Earlier two FMCG makers - ITC Foods and Marico - had announced such partnerships to get their products delivered at consumer's doorsteps by using the service of app-based aggregators. ITC Foods has announced partnership with Dominio's Pizaa and launched "Domino's Essentials" to deliver groceries and packaged foods to customers during the lockdown period. Marico has partnered online food ordering platform Swiggy and <keyword id="830092" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Zomato">Zomato</keyword> to deliver essential food items to consumers. Under this partnership, Swiggy and Zomato would deliver essential food items under the Marico portfolio which includes Saffola Oils, Saffola Plain Oats, Saffola Masala Oats and Coco Soul Virgin coconut oil, from their homes. India is presently going through an unprecedented complete lockdown of three weeks, ending on April 14, to prevent the spread of <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword>. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/zomato-and-swiggy-both-get-raise-funds-but-swiggy-leads-with-a-higher-valuation/articleshow/75008445.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Zomato and Swiggy both raise funds – but Swiggy leads with a higher valuation</a>

Britannia started home delivery of biscuits, cakes, rusk, croissants, milkshakes, wafers, ghee and dairy products

<ul><li>From <keyword id="2709620" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="grocery-delivery">grocery delivery</keyword> to moving houses, the technology for pickup and drop services is significantly rising in the country. </li><li>There are over 1,000 logistics tech startups so far. </li><li>Here are the five <keyword id="8352712" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="logistics-apps">logistics apps</keyword> for your daily deliverables.</li></ul>The demand of easy access to facilities has given way to several logistics startups in India. Millennials now use apps for everything right from grocery ordering to moving houses, to pickup and drop services. According to the Indian Brand Equity Foundation, the logistics industry is expected to hit $215 billion by next year. There are over 1,000 logistics tech startups so far. Here are the five apps that are must-haves. <keyword id="3275685" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="dunzo">Dunzo</keyword> Dunzo allows users to to order groceries and pet supplies from 1,500 stores nearby. The services are available across five cities — Bengaluru, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Chennai and Pune. The app supplies everything from salt packets to late night deliveries. It does not have any ‘minimum order’ restrictions and lets the user track the order in real-time. <keyword id="964794" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="BigBasket">Bigbasket</keyword> Bigbasket is a <keyword id="62452" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="grocery-shopping">grocery shopping</keyword> app that delivers raw materials, organic products and fresh fruits and vegetables online. It allows users to pay via digital payment methods like net banking and e-wallets, thereby saving the hassle of cash payments for household essentials. Milkbasket Milkbasket grocery app will ease your morning hustle. The app delivers organic products including milk, eggs and bread, among others. The app provides free delivery everyday in the morning at 7 am. It also lets the user order till midnight. The services allow to choose from over 40 varieties of milk — including organic products and brands like Mother Dairy, Amul, Nestle. Grofers Grofers is an online grocery store delivering across 21 cities in India — including Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai and Bangalore. The app delivers products from brands like Patanjali, Ashirwad, Saffola and Fortune among others. The online store provides a range of baby care products, diapers and beauty products. Swiggy Food delivery platform Swiggy provides its user an option to buy grocery products via 'Swiggy Store.' The apps also allows instant pickup and delivery services to its customers with 'Swiggy Go'

​These five apps will save your time spent on milk and grocery runs

<ul><li>As the country continues to stay put and spend more time with their families, there is an increase in demand for snacks. </li><li><keyword id="5948549" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dilen-Gandhi">Dilen Gandhi</keyword>, Sr. Director and Category Head- Foods, <keyword id="110163" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="PepsiCo-India">PepsiCo India</keyword> tells us how difficult the lockdown period was for <keyword id="54572" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="PepsiCo">Pepsico</keyword>'s <keyword id="115385" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kurkure">Kurkure</keyword> and how it plans to leverage on the current rise in-home consumption for snacks.</li></ul>The pandemic-infused lockdown has affected consumers’ lifestyle and behaviours to a great extent. From what they watch to what they eat, consumers' priorities have completely changed. Albeit, it did bring along a silver lining as it gave them an opportunity to spend more quality time, reconnect and rediscover moments of togetherness with their families. Among many other things, the new normal has affected people’s snacking habits, which has now become more of a family bonding exercise than a personal activity. As a result, packaged food products like Lay’s and Kurkure -- that can be binged on while working, watching content or during weekend watch parties with your family -- have seen an uptick in demand for in-home consumption. PepsiCo’s Kurkure has not only seen its penetration in the country increase due to the lockdown, consumers are also ordering it more frequently and in larger packs. According to Kurkure’s recent study, 80% of the families surveyed have started snacking together. It has become a family bonding activity during these challenging times. To leverage the rising demand for in-home snacking, Kurkure launched a campaign earlier this month to capture how Indian families share an amazing bond in their own ‘atpata’ and ‘chatpata’ ways. <div type="Youtube" id="kf5UmRc3PYA" title="An Ode to Chatpati Indian Families | #ChatpataShukriya" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/kf5UmRc3PYA/mqdefault.jpg"></div> Kurkure’s supply chain is also up and running now and has almost come to the normal levels to meet the demand. We caught up with Dilen Gandhi, Sr. Director and Category Head- Foods, PepsiCo India to understand what kind of changes has he observed in consumer behaviour during COVID, how is the snacking category evolving with time and what has adjusting in the new normal taught him. Experts: Q. We are living in unprecedented times today. How is Pepsico's Kurkure sailing through these challenging times? The nationwide lockdown imposed various challenges for businesses across industries. But with the world gradually coming back to normal, businesses and brands have been innovating and implementing new ways of working in today’s times. Changed consumer preferences led to an increase in demand of online deliveries, especially of food and other essentials. One of the key initiatives we took was to partner with delivery services such as Swiggy and Dunzo to meet in the increasing in home demand and support smaller business. Our associations with Swiggy and Dunzo, helped us deliver our products, such as Kurkure and LAY’S to our consumers. This further helped us strengthen our direct-to-home services. We have also been using this time to double-up on market research, helping us always have a finger on the pulse of our consumers. Our findings and internal surveys have helped shape our latest campaign, which aims to express gratitude towards Indian families for their continued support towards each other during difficult times. Kurkure’s latest campaign is an ode to the Indian families and thanks them for always being supportive, entertaining, and adding ‘masaledaar fun’ to each other’s lives. Q. What kind of changes in demand have you witnessed lately? As people have been adjusting to the ‘new normal’, in-home consumption has witnessed a significant uptake. We have witnessed a jump in both penetration and frequency of our food category. There has been a growing demand for our larger packs as in-home occasions have increased manifold. While the consumers are looking at in-home experiences and seeking convenience, they are also looking at value. We have also introduced various combo packs for our food portfolio creating and further driving in-home consumption. Q. How have you observed consumer behaviour changing during COVID in the snacking industry? The current situation requires brands to constantly evaluate the consumer experience and challenges being faced by them. During this time people sought moments of joy and togetherness with brands became the perfect companions in those moments. Several studies have shown that consumers are reassured by positive brand actions and commitments. This has underscored the need for the brands to be more purpose-driven than ever before. Thereby, making it essential to build genuine, empathetic, and transparent communication, which focuses on offering solutions rather than hard-core promotion. Besides Kurkure, even for LAY’S and Quaker our first communication was purpose-driven and the response we have received has been very encouraging. Q. How did you tweak your marketing strategy to resonate with the consumers in the current challenging situation? These unprecedented times gave rise to a ‘new-normal’ world and also altered the rules of a marketer’s playbook. Consumers today believe in brands that make a difference. A number of recent studies have shown that brands should not act alone – instead, they should join forces with others and contribute to the cause collaboratively. We are keeping a close eye on evolving trends of consumer behaviour and redefining our brand strategies accordingly. Keeping the above in mind, we launched Kurkure’s Thanks To Indian Families, wherein we leveraged increased in-home consumption and families spending more quality time together. Q. Your recent campaign tries to leverage on in-home consumption. Tell us a bit about why you decided to change your focus? What does your overall communication strategy look like now? Earlier this month, Kurkure launched a campaign to express gratitude towards millions of Indian families for their continued support and for entertaining each other in their own ‘atpata’ and ‘chatpata’ ways during these challenging times. The new campaign is based on three key insights. The cultural insight of how India has been known for its family - centric setup, the social insight - which recognizes the deepened bond, uptick in family time and increased connect between family members during the lockdown phase, and the consumer insight which identifies people's need to express themselves in fun and quirky ways. These insights fit well with Kurkure as the brand has always been about fun times with family in its trademark ‘quirky and full of masti’. It aims to capture the nuances of the relationship that all family members share with each other and celebrates how they have kept one another upbeat even during these times. Going forward, the strategy will be to continue leveraging insights and purpose-driven storytelling and communicating through a mix of channels, led by digital. Q. Is your supply chain up and running completely? Our Supply chains are very close to normal levels. All our food plants are functional at this point of time while maintaining the highest standards of safety. Q. Have you partnered with any e-comm players or delivery partners to bolster your sales? In the last few months, consumers have been seeking more from the safety of their homes which has contributed to the increased relevance of e-commerce platforms. Keeping the consumer’s requirements in mind, PepsiCo has strengthened its relationship with the e-Grocers like Big Basket, Amazon PepsiCo has partnered with Swiggy and Dunzo to ensure uninterrupted availability of our brands, such as Kurkure and LAY’S to consumers across locations. Our tie-up with Dunzo has been encouraging, with safe delivery-on-demand and fulfilling our promise of last-mile-delivery. We are now working in scaling the model and expanding it to other states. Q. Did you come up with any out-of-the-box solutions to adjust to the new normal? We have a big out of the box campaign announcement coming soon. Do watch out the space. Q. As a leader, what were your learnings from this time? As a marketing leader, these times have reinforced 2 central beliefs I’ve long held. Consumers will always reward brands who deliver to their needs – right now consumers are looking for brands to take actions that are authentic and true to the core of the brand. The other is that consumers are incredibly resilient and will look to brands that can share that positivity, albeit in a genuine manner.

Kurkure witnesses a jump in penetration and order frequency as in-home consumption rises

Almost one in five of India’s future unicorns drop off the race as funding winter bites

<keyword id="12986120" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="pluckk" source="Orion">Pluckk</keyword>, a digital lifestyle-oriented fresh food brand in the fruits and vegetables (F&amp;V) space, on Tuesday announced the acquisition of <keyword id="17302404" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="kook" source="Orion">KOOK</keyword>, an Indian food-tech startup that offers a range of DIY meal kits, at a deal value of USD 1.3 million. The acquisition was through a combination of cash and equity, the company said in a statement. KOOK offers do-it-yourself (DIY) ready-to-cook meal kits that make cooking easier for everyone by providing pre-portioned ingredients and easy-to-follow recipes. With a reputation for catering to various dietary preferences and cooking skills, KOOK has a strong presence in Delhi and Mumbai. "With KOOK's strong target audience and expertise in meal kits, Pluckk is well-positioned to deliver the best quality fresh food to end-consumers in this thriving USD 15 billion market," it said. Speaking on the acquisition, Nelson D'Souza, CFO, Pluckk, said, KOOK's demonstrated expertise in building a world-class product in the meal-kit space, coupled with Pluckk's commitment to provide safe and chemical-free produce, will enable offering an unbeatable farm-to-fork experience to customers across India. "In the post-covid world, ready to cook meal kits have emerged as a sought after cooking trend with customers preferring to control the quality of food consumed while having more dining options which we look to leverage by offering this differentiator to our customer experience. "Further, from a unit economics point-of-view, this is a welcome addition to our portfolio and will help us accelerate our journey towards building a profitable business," he said. Pluckk's acquisition of KOOK is a strategic move to tap into the enormous growth potential of the meal kit market and presents significant opportunities for Pluckk, the statement said. The global market is projected to grow from USD 15.21 billion in 2021 to USD 31.5 billion by 2025, representing a 20 per cent CAGR. "The synergies between what we are building at KOOK and the lifestyle-first approach that Pluckk brings to the fruits and vegetables category seems very compelling. "Our range of DIY meal kits, combined with Pluckk's digital lifestyle-oriented brand, will allow us to offer even more convenience and healthy meal options to the discerning customers in the ever-growing markets Pluckk operates in," KOOK, co-founder, Arpitta Jerath said. KOOK, co-founder, <keyword id="17302405" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="nikhil-thatai" source="Orion">Nikhil Thatai</keyword> said, "We estimate the market size of meal kits to be around USD 1 billion by 2025 in India and we look forward to leveraging our expertise in meal kit delivery to offer healthy and delicious meal options to cater to this booming market in our country." KOOK is a DIY meal kit startup founded by ISB alumni <keyword id="2300" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="nikhil" source="Orion">Nikhil</keyword> and Arpitta in 2020. With presence across Delhi &amp; Mumbai, KOOK was started with a mission to make at home cooking hassle free and easy. Pluckk offers a farm-to-fork product line for health-conscious consumers, featuring safe and chemical-free produce through their ozone wash and traceability program. Customers can shop based on food trends such as gut health, heart health, and diabetes, and access a wide range of products beyond the basics, including organic and exotic produce. Pluckk's products are available on their own direct-to-consumer (D2C) platform and partner platforms like Blinkit, Swiggy, Zepto, Dunzo, and Amazon. Co-founded by Pratik Gupta and seed-funded by Exponentia Ventures (EV) with current operations in Bangalore and Mumbai, Pluckk offers a large variety of special selections of gourmet fruits and vegetables directly to end-consumers, doing away with mediators. The platform has already on boarded 500 plus farmers across Mumbai and Bengaluru and plans to reach the 1,000-mark in the next 6 months. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/april-auto-sales-maruti-suzuki-flags-decline-in-bookings-in-april-electric-two-wheelers-lose-momentum-due-to-fame-ii-irregularities/articleshow/99927888.cms">April Auto Sales: Maruti Suzuki flags decline in bookings in April, electric two-wheelers lose momentum due to FAME-II irregularities</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/maruti-suzuki-tvs-motor-eicher-motors-stock-rise-but-tata-motors-hero-motorcorp-down/articleshow/99927773.cms">Tata Motors, Hero MotoCorp stocks slip after April sales disappoint; Maruti Suzuki, TVS Motor, Eicher Motors rise</a>

Foodtech startup Pluckk acquires 100% stake in meal kit brand KOOK

One in eight adults who are infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus experience long term <keyword id="44308" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="symptoms" source="Orion">symptoms</keyword> due to COVID-19, according to a large Dutch study published on Friday in The <keyword id="6361830" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="lancet" source="Orion">Lancet</keyword> journal. The study provides one of the first comparisons of long-term symptoms after SARS-CoV-2 infection, called 'long COVID', with symptoms in an uninfected population, as well as those in individuals both pre- and post-COVID-19 infection. The inclusion of uninfected populations enables a more accurate prediction of long-term COVID-19 symptom prevalence as well as improved identification of the core symptoms of long COVID. "There is urgent need for data informing the scale and scope of the long-term symptoms experienced by some patients after COVID-19 illness. said Professor <keyword id="14640089" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="judith-rosmalen" source="Orion">Judith Rosmalen</keyword> from the <keyword id="269633" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="university-of-groningen" source="Orion">University of Groningen</keyword> in The <keyword id="44173" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="netherlands" source="Orion">Netherlands</keyword>. However, most previous research into long COVID has not looked at the frequency of these symptoms in people who haven't been diagnosed with COVID-19 or looked at individual patients' symptoms before the diagnosis of COVID-19, said Rosmalen, lead author of the study. The study looked at the symptoms most often associated with long COVID, including breathing problems, fatigue and loss of taste and smell, both before a COVID-19 diagnosis and in people who have not been diagnosed with the disease. The researchers collected data by asking participants to regularly fill out digital questionnaires on 23 symptoms commonly associated with long COVID. The questionnaire was sent out 24 times to the same individuals between March 2020 and August 2021, meaning participants who had COVID-19 during this time were infected with the SARS-CoV-2 Alpha-variant or earlier variants. Most of the data was collected before the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in The Netherlands so the number of vaccinated participants was too small to analyse. Of 76,422 participants, 4,231 participants who had COVID-19 were matched to 8,462 controls taking account of sex, age and time of completing questionnaires that indicated a COVID-19 diagnosis. The researchers found that several symptoms were new or more severe three to five months after having COVID-19, compared to symptoms before a diagnosis and to the control group, suggesting these symptoms can be viewed as the core symptoms of long COVID. The core symptoms recorded were chest pain, difficulties breathing, pain when breathing, painful muscles, loss of taste or smell, tingling hands and feet, a lump in throat, alternately feeling hot and cold, heavy arms or legs and general tiredness. The severity of these symptoms plateaued at three months after infection with no further decline, according to the researchers. Other symptoms that did not significantly increase three to five months after a COVID-19 diagnosis included headache, itchy eyes, dizziness, back pain and nausea, they said. "These core symptoms have major implications for future research, as these symptoms can be used to distinguish between post COVID-19 condition and non-COVID-19-related symptoms," said PhD candidate Aranka Ballering, first author of the study. Of the study participants who had submitted pre-COVID symptom data, the researchers found that 21.4 per cent of COVID-19-positive participants, compared to 8.7 per cent of the control group, experienced at least one increased core symptom at moderate severity 3 months or more after SARS-CoV-2 infection. This implies that in 12.7 per cent of COVID-19 patients their new or severely increased symptoms three months post-COVID can be attributed to SARS-CoV-2 infection. "By looking at symptoms in an uninfected control group and in individuals both before and after SARS-CoV-2 infection, we were able to account for symptoms which may have been a result of non-infectious disease health aspects of the pandemic, such as stress caused by restrictions and uncertainty," Ballering added. "Post-COVID-19 condition, otherwise known as long COVID, is an urgent problem with a mounting human toll. "Understanding the core symptoms and the prevalence of post-COVID-19 in the general population represents a major step forward for our ability to design studies that can ultimately inform successful healthcare responses to the long-term symptoms of COVID-19," he added. The authors acknowledge some limitations in the study as it included patients infected with the Alpha variant or earlier variants of SARS-CoV-2 and has no data from people infected during the period when the Delta or <keyword id="1609796" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="omicron" source="Orion">Omicron</keyword> variants were causing most infections. Also, due to asymptomatic infection, the prevalence of COVID-19 in this study may be underestimated, the researchers said. Another limitation to the study is that since the beginning of data collection other symptoms, such as brain-fog, have been identified as potentially relevant for a definition of long COVID but this study did not look at these symptoms, they added. SEE ALSO : <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/lic-housing-finance-profit-rises-6-fold-to-925-crore/articleshow/93351429.cms">LIC Housing Finance profit rises 6-fold to ₹925 crore</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/reliance-backed-dunzos-b2b-logistics-arm-arrives-on-ondc/articleshow/93351531.cms">Reliance-backed Dunzo's B2B logistics arm arrives on ONDC</a>

One in eight patients develop long Covid symptoms says Lancet study

<ul><li>Fintech companies like Paytm and PB Fintech have not only reported better than expected earnings but also narrowed their losses significantly.</li><li>While Zomato and Nykaa did not deliver overall improvement in financials, analysts still have high hopes for them.</li><li>Shares of Paytm rose nearly 22% from February 3 when it reported its quarterly earnings.</li><li>Analysts say the long-term growth potential of these companies is huge in spite of the short-term challenges.</li></ul>There’s no end to the woes of new age technology companies. They are in the spotlight yet again, after their mixed performance during the December quarter. Fintech companies like Paytm and PB Fintech have not only reported better than expected earnings but also narrowed their losses significantly. Zomato and Nykaa did not deliver overall improvement in financials, but analysts remain optimistic. Another new age company among talks is hyperlocal delivery startup Dunzo with elevated losses and massive valuation. Billionaire and chairperson of RPG Group highlighted the financials of the company <a href="https://twitter.com/hvgoenka/status/1625843597626183680">in a tweet </a>on February 15. “New age digital stocks are not doing great primarily because the market is not doing great. India is underperforming this year with a negative 2.34 % return YTD while markets like China, HongKong and South Korea are doing very well. When India’s underperformance changes, new age digital companies also will start performing. Some results from this segment are very good like Paytm. Zomato also has done reasonably well, but Nykaa’s results came below expectations,” said Dr V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services. New age technology companies have been under the scanner because of the massive underperformance in their share prices due to elevated valuation. However, analysts believe that the long term bet on these companies is worth it despite several roadblocks. “The long-term growth potential of these companies is huge and, therefore, in spite of the short-term challenges, these stocks have buyers particularly after the sharp correction from their listing peak prices,” added Vijayakumar. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;" class="redcator-table-advance"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">New age companies </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Q3 FY23 Profit/Loss </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Q3 FY22 Profit/Loss </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Paytm </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-₹392 crore </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-₹779 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Zomato </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-₹347 crore </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-₹63 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">PB Fintech (Policybazaar) </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-₹87 crore </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-₹298 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Nykaa </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹8.2 crore </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹27.9 crore </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody></table> Paytm’s first ever quarterly operating profit impresses, builds hope The fintech company’s December quarter performance was a big surprise for many as it posted its first ever quarterly operating profit as it narrowed down losses. The growth was driven by pick up in merchant subscription revenues and loan distribution. “Biggest surprise is distribution business, control of cashbacks, opex,” said Macquarie in a report. Shares of the company rose nearly 22% from February 3 when it reported its quarterly earnings. Macquarie has upgraded rating on the company’s stock to ‘Outperform’ from ‘Underperform’ with a target price of ₹800. “PayTM has positively surprised on the distribution of financial services revenue by a wide margin and has also managed to control overall expenses and charges. At the time of listing, profit and free cash flow were not even a part of management’s discussion. However, we see a very visible change in approach of management to deliver profit, evidenced, we believe, by the core EBIDTA profitability that was reported recently,” said Macquarie in a report. Zomato: A promising road to profitability Zomato reported better than expected Q3 FY23 revenues, and analysts believe it may reach profitability by the end of the current financial year. “Depending on execution-related wins, the company (ex of quick commerce) may clock profitability in Q4FY23 itself, two quarters ahead of their guidance,” said analysts at Nuvama Institutional Equities. “Zomato’s road to profitability has grown even more promising. Zomato (ex-quick commerce) clocked adj. EBITDA level profitability in the month of Jan-23. Depending on execution-related wins, the company (ex of quick commerce) may clock profitability in Q4FY23 itself, two quarters ahead of their guidance,” added the report. Analysts say Zomato’s relaunch of its Gold membership plan should bring growth back. Most brokerage houses have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/no-long-tail-effect-zomato-banks-on-demand-recovery-in-future-even-as-it-shuts-operations-in-225-cities-on-poor-performance/articleshow/97907071.cms">maintained a ‘Buy’ rating </a>on the company’s stock. “The fact that most of these companies have put forth their strategy to cut down losses and become profitable in the near future builds hope for investors. For example, Zomato’s decision to cut operations in 225 smaller cities. Moreover, since most of these <keyword id="10951575" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="new-age-tech-companies" source="Orion">new age tech companies</keyword> are direct consumer based there are expectations of inflation cooling down and boosting consumer spend.” Shrikant Chouhan, head of equity research (retail) at Kotak Securities told Business Insider India. Nykaa: Premium valuation reflects solid outlook, say analysts Nykaa, reported a 70% on year decline in net profit in Q3 <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/nykaas-stock-plunges-4-2-after-its-q3-net-profit-slips-70/articleshow/97901748.cms">missing analysts expectations</a>. Despite this, brokerages believe the best is yet to come for the company. During a post-earnings conference call Falguni Nayar, executive chairperson, MD and CEO of Nykaa said that although inflationary pressures were present, it wasn’t that big of an issue for many of Nykaa’s customers. Q3 is considered to be a seasonal quarter for the company because of the festive season and despite macro challenges Nykaa’s growth was applauded by analysts. “In a quarter rampaged by a tougher macroeconomic environment, Nykaa reported substantial growth in Q3FY23 numbers,” said a report by JM Financial. The brokerage firm has assigned a ‘Buy’ rating on the stock. “We continue to see increased strength of the dominant positioning in beauty and personal care (BPC) vertical while the newcomer, fashion vertical, has gained market share at the cost of a sharp dip in contribution margin,” added the report. Nykaa’s EBITDA margins came under pressure and fell to 5.3% in Q3, as against 6.3% in the same period last year. “While we expect Nykaa’s GMV growth, at 35% in FY23E-25E, to be the highest within our global ecommerce coverage, we believe Nykaa’s valuation premium (FY24 EV/GMV of 3.1x vs 0.5x median for peers) already reflects this solid growth outlook and Nykaa’s stronger margin profile,” said a report by Goldman Sachs. The investment banker has assigned a ‘Neutral’ rating on the stock. PB Fintech on course to profitability soon The December quarter performance of PB Fintech, the parent company of Policybazaar and Paisabazaar, was another surprise for investors as the company narrowed its losses significantly. Its insurance premiums jumped 70.3% on year to ₹30.3 billion driven by a strong showing across segments. “Given its market share of 90%-plus in online insurance sales and a growing offline presence, PB is poised to post strong sales,” said analysts at Nuvama Institutional Equities. Further, the management expects revenue and margins to improve further as agent productivity rises and benefits of appointments channel are realised. They hinted at a sharp profitability uptick in Q4, say analysts. “This growth becomes even more impressive considering the seasonally weak Q3 for insurance, where new business premiums for life and general insurance declined QoQ by 19% and 12%, respectively,” said a report by JM Financial. New-age internet based businesses, like their unlisted peers, have been chalking out strategies that lead them towards profitability and are already on a growth path aided by their unique business propositions — allaying investor and analyst concerns. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/google-india-layoffs-nearly-500-people-fired/articleshow/98001522.cms">Google layoffs reach Indian shores, nearly 500 employees sacked late Thursday</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/news/neal-mohan-indian-american-guy-journey-to-becoming-youtube-ceo/slidelist/98001073.cms">From Lucknow to USA: Indian-American Neal Mohan’s journey to becoming YouTube CEO</a>

You Searched For "dunzo rise" and got 12 results

Dunzo makes its mascot ‘Duniverse’ more inclusive. Here are a few more mascots they have added

BI India Partner

Dunzo has prioritised self-care and helping others over everything else for now: Sai Ganesh, Dunzo

Karuna Sharma

Quick Commerce market, currently led by Dunzo and Swiggy Instamart, is expected to grow 10-15x in 5 years to become $5 billion opportunity by 2025: RedSeer

BI India Partner

An FMCG analyst shares a picture of what's selling in rural India and what's not

Guest Author

Brands are forgetting competition and patting rival businesses on their back, here is why

Karuna Sharma

Britannia started home delivery of biscuits, cakes, rusk, croissants, milkshakes, wafers, ghee and dairy products

PTI

These five apps will save your time spent on milk and grocery runs

Prerna Sindwani

Kurkure witnesses a jump in penetration and order frequency as in-home consumption rises

Karuna Sharma

Almost one in five of India’s future unicorns drop off the race as funding winter bites

Katya Naidu

Foodtech startup Pluckk acquires 100% stake in meal kit brand KOOK

PTI

One in eight patients develop long Covid symptoms says Lancet study

PTI

New age technology companies back in the spotlight after Q3 performance

Bhakti Makwana

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides

You Searched For "dunzo rise" and got 12 results

Dunzo makes its mascot ‘Duniverse’ more inclusive. Here are a few more mascots they have added

BI India Partner

Dunzo has prioritised self-care and helping others over everything else for now: Sai Ganesh, Dunzo

Karuna Sharma

Quick Commerce market, currently led by Dunzo and Swiggy Instamart, is expected to grow 10-15x in 5 years to become $5 billion opportunity by 2025: RedSeer

BI India Partner

An FMCG analyst shares a picture of what's selling in rural India and what's not

Guest Author

Brands are forgetting competition and patting rival businesses on their back, here is why

Karuna Sharma

Britannia started home delivery of biscuits, cakes, rusk, croissants, milkshakes, wafers, ghee and dairy products

PTI

​These five apps will save your time spent on milk and grocery runs

Prerna Sindwani

Kurkure witnesses a jump in penetration and order frequency as in-home consumption rises

Karuna Sharma

Almost one in five of India’s future unicorns drop off the race as funding winter bites

Katya Naidu

Foodtech startup Pluckk acquires 100% stake in meal kit brand KOOK

PTI

One in eight patients develop long Covid symptoms says Lancet study

PTI

New age technology companies back in the spotlight after Q3 performance

Bhakti Makwana

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides

These five apps will save your time spent on milk and grocery runs