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When you download a <keyword id="23309105" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="women-only-app" source="keywords">women-only app</keyword>, you’re probably not expecting said app to be helmed by a man. This is why when I first learned of coto, a women-only community building and consultation app, I couldn’t help but feel uncertain of one of the app’s founders being a man. But I persevered. As I looked into <keyword id="23309110" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Tarun-Katial" source="keywords">Tarun Katial</keyword>, one of the founders, it slowly dawned on me that he once led several beloved television shows I’d grown up watching — I’m talking Kaun Banega Crorepati, <keyword id="20458721" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="kyunki-saas-bhi" source="keywords">Kyunki Saas Bhi</keyword> Kabhi Bahu Thi and <keyword id="1679765" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jassi-Jaissi-Koi-Nahi" source="Orion">Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahi</keyword>. Did I freak out? Yes. Did this make me feel the slightest bit better about him founding a women-only app? Guilty. However, I decided to put my personal biases aside, meet him and hear from him what he had to say about his decision to be a part of the app. <h2><keyword id="19903931" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="KBC" source="keywords">KBC</keyword> to Big Boss</h2>To call Tarun a chill and laid-back person would be the understatement of the century. I felt immediately at ease in his presence. Most of all, he seemed open to talking about anything under the sky. While I was curious about his startup journey, we decided to start at the very beginning of his career — cause how does a certified media guy go from television and radio to a cause-based app? After a brief stint in advertising, Tarun directly went to work in television — on a show like KBC and under an TV aficionado like Sameer Nair, no less. He led Star Network and Sony’s content teams in various capacities in the late 90s and early 2000s — a golden era of <keyword id="19981325" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-television" source="keywords">Indian television</keyword> if there ever was one. From helping Big B himself rehearse his lines ahead of the iconic show to helping bring like Bigg Boss to the country, Tarun did it all. And this is probably where his romance with Indian television took root. So, how did he master the skill of targeting the right pulse of his viewers? <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="113064627" title="Amitabh Bachchan almost didn’t host Kaun Banega Crorepati! So how did the show’s makers convince Big B?" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> <h2>A master at understanding his audience </h2>When asked if TRP was the main metric television producers use to weigh the success of a show, Tarun shook his head, smiling enigmatically. “The people will tell you before any other metric,” he said. Elaborating on this, he fondly recalled the days when KBC had just begun. He spoke of how he would hear the now-familiar introductory music of the show drifting from the apartments in his building as he would go down the stairs while leaving for the studio at 9 PM everyday. “Things like that tell you what you need to know,” he added. And I fully believe him. His work under Sameer Nair was hardly the only noteworthy thing he did during his television career. Throughout his tenure at Starplus and Sony, Tarun experimented with various show formats. He brought in several shows from the West to India and worked on tweaking them to fit the Indian audience’s rather picky palate. He brought other super-hit reality shows like Indian Idol and Fear Factor to our screens— with some of these shows running to date. What he’d said about mapping consumer trends years ago holds true today as well: Tarun Katial ultimately draws motivation from his consumers. <h2>The audience that matters most </h2>Tarun’s experience with reality TV was all well and good. But what was truly juicy was the amount of time he’d spent making women-oriented shows. As mentioned before, he was behind the legendary serial Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. “KBC and Kyunki both aired the same year. That serial gave us one of the most prominent female politicians of the country,” he said, referring to Smriti Irani. “And I also met my wife on the sets of that show,” he grinned sheepishly. After that, he went on to contribute to Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahi — which launched television superstar Mona Singh. And after he’s spent years steering content that connected with Indian women and gave a platform to the quintessential badass female lead, we will take the risk of labelling him a feminist. Later, as CEO of Big FM, Reliance Broadcast Network and ZEE5, Katial expanded into radio and digital streaming, keeping pace with the changing media landscape over the years. Even here, he seemed particularly inclined to bring shows with nationalistic and feminist angles to the platforms. <h2>Tarun’s pivot to tech </h2>Tarun seems to enjoy disruption (his words, not mine) when it comes to his career choices. He describes himself as a ‘Zero to One’ guy, a term used by legendary investor Peter Thiel for the act of creating a product or service that didn't exist before. Tarun claims to prefer flitting from one project to another. And it was his time with ZEE5 that culminated in an affair with the world of tech. He began pursuing a degree in <keyword id="19986189" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital-transformation" source="keywords">Digital Transformation</keyword> at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, where he got to see the potential of AI — something he went on to capitalise on. Around the time of his studies coming to an end, his wife experienced online harassment. To Tarun, the natural trajectory was to come up with a solution. And the solution in this case was to create a safe and inclusive space for women to be themselves: coto. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="113604147" title="AI is learning to be &amp;#39;emotionally intelligent&amp;#39; — here&amp;#39;s why that matters" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> <h2>A safe space </h2><keyword id="20239707" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Coto" source="keywords">Coto</keyword> (short for Come Together) was designed as a judgement-free platform where women could connect, share and support each other. Leveraging blockchain technology, it also allows users to monetise their contributions through coto Gains, a digital currency within the app. Scrolling through the app and showing me its various features, Tarun showed how many women had managed to monetise their areas of expertise. “Financial independence is extremely important for women today and we wanted to make sure that coto allowed them the opportunity to attain this,” he said. With more than 10,000 communities focused on topics such as health, wellness, and financial independence, coto claims to foster <keyword id="20960365" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="female-empowerment" source="keywords">female empowerment</keyword> while maintaining a strict no-advertising policy. What I gathered from the interaction was that Katial’s pivot to tech wasn't just about launching another app; it was about addressing real societal needs he had observed throughout his life’s experiences. By blending his media savvy with the transformative potential of digital technology, Katial (along with the other founders) is offering women a platform for self-expression, support and community building.

Media executive behind iconic TV shows like KBC and “Kyunki Saas…” goes on to build a women-only app! Here’s why

<ul><li><keyword id="98896" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kellogg-India">Kellogg India</keyword> is now targeting the 'In-between meal' segment.</li><li>It had recently launched the <keyword id="11099763" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="k-energy-bars">K Energy bars</keyword> to enter this category.</li></ul>Breakfast cereal category major Kellogg India is set to expand its portfolio with more Indianised products that are suited to local palates. Last year, the company launched its first-ever Indian breakfast product Kellogg's Upma for which it received a healthy response. The move to introduce Kellogg's Upma assumed significance as the company broke with tradition to launch a product which was curated for the local palate. In a conversation, Kellogg South Asia's Managing Director Mohit Anand said, "Our offering may be Indianised to serve the local palate better, however, consumer preferences are evolving and so are we along with them." According to Anand, the pandemic and the resulting lockdown has brought shifts in consumer behaviour such as their increased preference for 'In-home food consumption over out-of-home foods'. "The need for health and wellness coupled with convenience and taste of comfort food has heightened." "Early results (for Kellogg's Upma) have been very encouraging with very strong feedback from consumers; more than half of consumers who are aware about Kellogg's Upma intend to buy it and hence it stands strong in their consideration set." Besides the breakfast category, Kellogg India is now targeting the 'In-between meal' segment. It has recently launched the K Energy bars to enter this category. "The '3 p.m. snacking' is not an uncommon snacking occasion anymore and the discerning consumer, especially in the wake of Covid-19 is in search of nutritional and convenient options." "Concepts such as recently launched 'K Energy bars with protein' fulfil this in-between meal hunger need perfectly." On the recovery process, Anand cited that consumption is back to pre-Covid levels with sales benefiting from increased 'In-home consumption' of food categories. "Starting March last year, we experienced major disruptions in 'Supply Chain' and 'Route To Market', much like the industry. Behind a hyper local approach and with extreme agility, we were able to recover the operations within 40 days." "Our plants were operational within 72 hours of the announcement of lockdown and shortly we were able to recover the on-ground operations to normal levels. Dedicated multi-functional teams worked relentlessly with strong support from government agencies like Invest India, to restore the operations." Going forward, he pointed out that key challenges will remain around demand compression due to economic stress. "Discretionary spends will come under stress as consumers make choices and will pivot towards trusted brands that provide value for money." "Brands will need to continue to innovate to serve the emerging needs of consumers, especially on health and wellness given the heightened awareness on it driven by the pandemic. A shifting shopper footprint driven by e-com will be the new reality as the channel accelerates in the coming months or years." At present, Kellogg has two manufacturing plants in India for domestic as well as export production. The company began its India operations in 1994 by setting up a manufacturing plant at Taloja, Maharashtra. In addition, it has also established a Research and Development Centre in India that caters to the demand of the South Asian markets for Kellogg.

Kellogg expands its portfolio by launching more Indianised products

<ul><li><keyword id="8758553" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="the-kellogg-company">The Kellogg Company</keyword> came to India 25 years ago and continues to hold on to its leadership position.</li><li>It has used sampling, along with coming up with products at competitive price points to create an edge for itself.</li><li><keyword id="868842" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sumit-Mathur">Sumit Mathur</keyword>, Director of Marketing, Kellogg South Asia, who talked to us about the brand’s marketing strategy, the audience’s reception to some of its recent innovations and why sampling will continue to be important for it in the future too.</li></ul> India is a tough market to crack when it comes to the breakfast cereals category. We are a country where breakfast has always meant warm home-cooked food, considering different parts of the country have an array of breakfast options to offer. How do <keyword id="2201606" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="breakfast-cereal">breakfast cereal</keyword> brands then make themselves more appealing to the tough Indian audience? Moreover, with faster lifestyles, more and more of the younger populace is choosing to skip breakfast, thereby making it tougher for these brands. The Kellogg Company has been present in India for the past 25 years now. While other brands including <keyword id="75190" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nestle">Nestle</keyword>, Marico and <keyword id="6505353" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="MTR-Foods">MTR Foods</keyword> have tried to enter this otherwise unorganized category, Kellogg’s has been able to retain its leadership position. Over the years, it has educated people about the importance of breakfast, through its campaigns and has also let people know about all it has to offer through solid sampling exercises across the country. We recently caught up with Sumit Mathur, Director of Marketing, Kellogg South Asia, who talked to us about the brand’s marketing strategy, the audience’s reception to some of its recent innovations and why sampling will continue to be important for it in the future too. Edited excerpts: Q) As a brand, sampling has been an intrinsic part of your marketing mix. Will it continue to be a critical strategy for the brand, going ahead? Our job is to get consumers to try our products. For a category like ours, you are required to create several touch points for consumers to experience it. Sampling, along with the right price architecture, helps in achieving that. In our range of innovations launched over the past two years, sampling amongst other promotional activities are a key focus for the company as it helps consumers to experience a product closely before they develop an affinity towards it . Q) Tell us a bit about your recently launched campaign ‘Breakfast Se Badhkar’ and the thought behind it. As an organisation, we live by the purpose of ‘Nourishing India’s Potential’. We have demonstrated it in several ways. We recently announced our ongoing programme of offering a bowl of Kellogg’s cereal with milk to children from underprivileged sections of society as their daily breakfast. We are also on our mission to driving a behaviour change in many urban Indian consumers who skip or skimp breakfast due to lack of time. The new masterbrand campaign is our attempt to bring alive our purpose and drive this behavioural change. The film explains how breakfast is the morning hero to help children achieve their best that day and every day. This insight is supplemented with an endearing and relatable touch where a mother’s concern for her kid is captured in the phrase ‘Ek chammach aur’. Q) You have been speaking about how youngsters are choosing to skip breakfast, owing to their lifestyles. How are you making yourself more appealing to this young TG? We have seen two megatrends gaining relevance among our consumers - the rise of snacking and of health-conscious consumers. It’s even truer with today's generation whose lives are only getting busier, they understand what’s good for them and are ready to look for it and consume it. A lot of our recent innovations are based on these trends. Whether it is <keyword id="774503" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kelloggs">Kellogg's</keyword> Chocos Fills for the teenagers to consume as a snack between lectures and their on-the-go life or Granola and Muesli for the young multi-tasking generation. Q) Last year you had launched a few very localised flavors. How has the uptake been so far? Are you looking at launching more Indian flavors anytime soon? Consumers in India and the world over are going back to their roots. They want traditional goods infused with convenience. This gave birth to the ‘Real Range of Kellogg's Corn Flakes – Thandai Badam, Kesar Pista Badam and Rose Badam last year. Created in consultation with celebrity Chef Ranveer Brar, these variants are inspired by flavours that Indians have a strong cultural connect to. These flavours have received tremendous response from the consumers and its success is not a surprise to us since our earlier range of Kellogg's Corn Flakes with Badam and Honey flavours have work equally well in the past. Q) India is a tough market for a category like cereals, owing to the presence of Indian ghar ka khaana. How are you helping bring about a behavioural change in consumers? In a country like India with such diverse food habits, any food player including a breakfast company like ours, there are people who have the time to prepare and eat home-cooked hot meals in the morning and then there is an audience which is nutrition-seeking but time-starved. Our mission is to understand that segment of audience and partner them in providing them with a convenient and nutritious solution. And breakfast is not just important for one set of people, it’s important for any one to start their day right and achieve what they set out for that day. This brings to the point on our mission for the brand to driving a behaviour change in many urban Indian consumers who skip or skimp breakfast due to lack of time. It is reflected in the breakfast education that we do in schools, our feeding programme of Bright Start which currently has 5000+ children enrolled in daily morning meal of Kellogg’s cereals and milk. And that’s what our latest Masterbrand communication is aimed at. Q) How are you approaching smaller cities? Is there a significant demand for cereals there? Has there been any growth in demand in the past few years? Currently, Kellogg’s is available in more than 2,700 towns and over 550,000 outlets. The demand for cereals is only increasing. Q) K was a great innovation. How has the uptake been over the years? Are you planning some innovations in the product? All innovations from the house of Kellogg's are meant to solve a unique problem for a consumer. We have had multiple launches of products in different format and price points in the past couple of years. The recent launch of Kellogg’s Chocos fills, a crunchy cereal snack made with a delicious chocolaty filling and with the goodness of three nourishing grains – rice, oats and wheat has received a very good response. In fact, Kellogg’s Chocos fills was recognised as one of the breakthrough innovations in the FMCG space in 2019 by Nielsen. The ‘Real Range’ of Kellogg's Corn Flakes with three traditional flavours - Thandai Badam, Kesar Pista Badam and Rose Badam is another example of how consumer insights were used by us to carry out innovation. We added granola with almonds and cranberries to our portfolio in 2018. While consumers continue to seek more and more nutrition in the food choices they make, taste remains the primary driver of that food preference. Kellogg’s Granola is that tasty, oven-baked creation carefully crafted to cater to both, taste and nutrition. Q) Going ahead, what will be your broad marketing strategy and key focus areas to grow your market share? Kellogg’s marketing strategy stems from the fact that we are category leaders and we can further grow this category through our product portfolio and proposition. Hence, it is critical to remain salient in the breakfast occasion and simultaneously extend into ancillary occasions. Because a Kellogg’s cereal is nourishing with milk in the morning as breakfast and is equally nourishing when consumed straight off the pack as an evening snack. The key enablers to building brand salience revolve around building a robust, sharp and relevant portfolio; that ranges from the premium and goes straight to the affordable consumption packs to attract more consumption. Another enabler to this is to get consumers to try our food more and more. Hence, our key dollar of investment is in-store, both from the visibility and sampling point of view.

Why sampling continues to be a key marketing strategy for Kellogg’s

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Coming from a South Indian upper-middle class family, <keyword id="143" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bollywood">Bollywood</keyword> actress <keyword id="598" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Deepika-Padukone">Deepika Padukone</keyword> makes sure she makes every penny count. Featured on the <keyword id="6373044" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Forbes">Forbes</keyword> magazine this August, <keyword id="1110" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Deepika">Deepika</keyword> was the only Indian to get a place amongst the richest actresses of the world. If the financial magazine is to be believed, Deepika has earned approximately Rs 68 crore in one year. 
 As per reports, Deepika owns a house in Mumbai’s Beau Monde, an uptown apartment, which is worth Rs 16 crore. Deepika has a parking option for three cars, which she uses to park her <keyword id="6363321" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Audi">Audi</keyword> Q3 and <keyword id="121473" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Audi-A8">Audi A8</keyword>. 
 
Coming from a sportsman’s family, she has been trained to be disciplined since childhood. Even when she was 5-year- old, Deepika would wake up early morning and go to practice badminton. Coming back from the court, she would hurriedly prepare for school. Having trained under this strict routine had paid off for the actress. She believes - how you handle money is correlated to how disciplined you are. 
 
Accepting one's limitations is another key reason for Deepika’s intelligent money management. Coming from a humble background, she learnt how to ‘live with what she has'. This has kept her going in the worst of times. What she has learnt is to know what you can afford and be comfortable with. 
 
In one instance when she had passed out of school, she needed a photographer to get her portfolio shoot done. A photographer in Bangalore charged Rs 10,000, which she had borrowed from her parents. But she vowed to herself to be independent so she won’t have to depend on anyone. This explains her hard work and where she is today. 
 Business and creativity can’t go together - this is what Deepika believes. So, in the current situation, she has no intention of investing money into production. While she earns quite less from films as compared to her <keyword id="2370" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="hollywood">Hollywood</keyword> counteparts, she endorses brands like Coca-Cola, <keyword id="6355975" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Axis-Bank">Axis Bank</keyword>, Vistara, Kellogg’s, <keyword id="20864" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="vogue">Vogue</keyword>, Tissot, Van Heusen, Tanishq and <keyword id="69300" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="nike">Nike</keyword>, which has got her bank account skyrocketing. 
 
The actress wants to pick up stake in one of these companies in near future. 
 
Way to go, girl!

What makes Deepika Padukone India's Wonder Woman

After Iodex, Yonex, Bajaj Nomarks, India’s ace badminton player <keyword id="30618" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Saina-Nehwal">Saina Nehwal</keyword> will now be seen endorsing products for Kellogg. 
 
World Number 2 in women’s singles, Nehwal, signed the two-year deal pegged at around Rs 1.5 crore, outpacing tennis star Sania Mirza and boxer Mary Kom. 
 A spokesperson of <keyword id="98896" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kellogg-India">Kellogg India</keyword> confirmed the deal with Nehwal but did not divulge any further details. 
 
"Kellogg is looking for a repositioning exercise with Saina... the advertising is likely to break next month," one of the persons familiar with the development told Economic Times. 
 
Nehwal has also endorsed Indian Overseas Bank and the Sahara group. 
 
National director of sports and live events at GroupM ESP, Vinit Karnik, told ET Saina is the highest paid woman sportsperson in India. 
“Sania Mirza's endorsement fee used to be the highest till about five years back. But Saina has been far more visible on the circuit, which is what brands look for,” he told the financial daily. 
 
However, few managers believe that gap between earnings of male and female sportstars still remains wide. 
 
Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni charges over Rs 10 crore for brand endorsement and Virat Kohli's fee is Rs 5-6 crore. 
But, talent management firm Kwan's promoter Anirban Das told ET, "It's a reflection of the popularity of the sport rather than a function of gender. The reach of cricket still hugely overshadows any other sport in India." 
 
(Image: Reuters)

Look out Sachin and Dhoni! Saina Nehwal becomes top female sports endorser

Days after Maggi fiasco, other food manufacturers like <keyword id="29464" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Parle">Parle</keyword>, KFC, Wendy’s and many others are being dragged into parallel issues by the consumers. A report circulated by the Economic Times suggests that the age-old biscuit maker Parle is receiving a minimum of 5 phone calls each day by its fuming customers. 
 
The calls, as mentioned in the report, are by and large about the contaminants being found in the food products. Not just this, but demands of compensation from Rs 5,000 to 5 lakh has also emerged as a matter of concern. What adds more to one’s surprise is the fact that some has also threatened the country’s largest food maker saying that if it doesn't cough up, they'll go to the media and even the regulator. 
 <keyword id="115414" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ramesh-Chauhan">Ramesh Chauhan</keyword>, a member of the family that runs Parle and also the chairman of <keyword id="140687" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bisleri-International">Bisleri International</keyword>, said, "Consumers are panicking. Some are raising genuine issues, which is good. But some are taking advantage of the existing environment." 
 <keyword id="120094" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mayank-Shah">Mayank Shah</keyword>, the company’s deputy marketing manager, also came-up to cover the matter. Shah said, "There are customers who are getting overtly concerned and some want to use the opportunity to make a quick buck." 
 Other food manufacturers like <keyword id="268892" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Yum-Brands">Yum Brands</keyword>, Pepsi, Wendy's, Mondelez and Dabur too are facing similar issues and are fielding alike calls from consumers. 
 There have also been reports that some of the companies have used ‘Make in India’ platform to get their unregulated products passed by the <keyword id="109212" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Food-Safety">Food Safety</keyword> &amp; <keyword id="179673" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Standards-Authority-of-India">Standards Authority of India</keyword> (FSSAI). Those manufacturers who have made it to this list are: Tata Starbucks, Ferrero SpA, Field Fresh Foods, Kellogg's and McCain. 
 
Nadia Chauhan, a member of the Chauhan family and also the joint managing director Parle Agro, which has brands like Frooti and Appy, said, "Companies can only put themselves to ransom by panicking. Globally, no one would entertain such stuff because the awareness level is so high. As a company, you need to settle the matter but paying up is just out of the question."

Indian consumers might prefer to stay away from packaged food. Here is why

<ul><li>CommerceIQ to hire 250 people globally and across India as well next year.</li><li>It intends to significantly scale its India operations, with additional key hires in software and product development, data science and analytics, product operations and support.</li><li>Some of the positions available across India currently.</li></ul>CommerceIQ, which is a US based <keyword id="12456764" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="e-commerce-management-platform" source="Orion">e-commerce management platform</keyword>, is looking forward to hiring 250 people globally next year, out of which 125 people will be in India (Bengaluru). The <keyword id="35621" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="e-commerce" source="Orion">e-commerce</keyword> management platform is planning to increase its headcount by 50% in India and looks to further accelerate growth in the coming year. It intends to significantly scale its India operations, with additional key hires in software and product development, data science and analytics, product operations and support. “The demand for e-commerce management solutions that are artificial intelligence (AI)-driven is unstoppable given the acceleration that the pandemic has brought on in this space. We are not only growing revenues, however, we are expanding our product capabilities, doubling down on our commitment to customer success”, said Guru Hariharan, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of CommerceIQ, to Business Insider in an interaction. The company supports two offerings: sales and advertising and uses machine learning, analytics and automation to aggregate data across sales, marketing and supply chain operations. Kellogg’s, Mondelez International,Nestle,Whirlpool, Colgate, Johnson &amp; Johnson are some of its popular clients. He further added, “In addition, based on strong customer demand, we began expanding our offering to existing customers who wanted to leverage our technology across their global operations and we will be making some key announcements in this area soon. The fact is the e-commerce market is nearing $5 trillion on a global scale, with growth coming not just in the US, and we want to be there to capture the lion’s share of the opportunity. Asia in particular, will experience a near doubling of growth, and the fact that we have such robust operations in India gives us a strong foundation for growth in the region” These are some of the positions available across India currently — 1. Business analyst Eligibility criteria — 1-2 years of prior experience both performing and structuring advanced analyses with extensive experience with data manipulation using Excel and SQL. Key responsibilities — Analyse and identify deeper patterns in data and weave a story from the data at hand. 2. Customer operations manager Eligibility criteria — Minimum 5-7 years experience in operation management, managing mid and small size projects in pre-sales, client onboarding/kickoff, product operations, support and software implementations. Key responsibilities — Answer questions from Fortune 500 consumer brands and help uncover product opportunities that help brands win. 3. Director of e-commerce strategy and advertising Eligibility criteria — Around 8 years in total of professional work experience with 6 years experience in running enterprise-level media and advertising engagement with customers, in a consulting/agency role and 3 years of people and team management experience Key responsibilities — Lead a team of advertising managers and serve as a subject matter expert on all aspects of e-commerce advertising across channels such as Amazon, Walmart etc. 4. Senior recruiter Eligibility criteria — 5 years of recruiting experience in e-commerce or software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies. Key responsibilities — Partner with hiring teams to develop aggressive, achievable staffing strategies to fill openings through direct sourcing efforts. 5. Engineering manager Eligibility criteria — 6 years of relevant engineering work experience with 5 years software design, coding in Java/equivalent and a good understanding of frontend technologies. Key responsibilities — Manage the performance and career development of a team of engineers, and own significant parts of the company’s applications that require design, architecture, and coding (both frontend and backend). 6.Software development engineer III Eligibility criteria — 5 Years in designing and developing complex and scalable software modules. Key responsibilities — Candidate will be responsible for developing, testing and releasing features within time and with high quality that will drive revenue and margin impact to top brands. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/former-sbi-chairman-pratip-chaudhuris-arrest-will-lead-to-policy-paralysis-say-experts/articleshow/87482347.cms">The arrest of former SBI chief Pratip Chaudhuri may prevent bankers from making any risky decisions, say experts</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/news/indian-government-is-reportedly-working-on-a-package-to-push-semiconductor-production-in-india/articleshow/87482038.cms">Indian government is reportedly working on a package to push semiconductor production in India</a>

E-commerce management platform CommerceIQ will be hiring 250 people next year across various domains

<ul><li><keyword id="11494632" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="commerceiq">CommerceIQ</keyword> has raised $60 million in Series C round, led by Insight Partner.</li><li>It plans to use this funding to expand its team in <keyword id="3658" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> and crack more M&amp;As.</li><li>The tech platform currently has 2200 customers including Kellogg’s and Colgate-Palmolive.</li></ul>CommerceIQ, a tech platform that helps businesses make entry into e-commerce, has closed its Series C round at a $60 million. The round was led by Shopify-backer Insight Partner, along with participation from Trinity Ventures, Shasta Ventures, and Madrona Venture Group. The California and Bengaluru-based e-commerce management platform helps 2200 consumer brands -- like Kellogg’s, Nestle, Colgate-Palmolive and more -- manage their e-commerce operations. Though many of its clients do have their own marketplaces and direct-to-customer (D2C) operations, they only account for a minor portion of their sales. Therefore, CommerceIQ solely focuses on helping them with sales through established third-party e-commerce platforms like <keyword id="18635" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword>, Walmart, Shopify and more, which can bring them better results. It ties and automates multiple functions like sales, advertising, supply chain operations, and also drives large scale automations across the e-commerce operation. Indirect e-commerce sales take on D2C approach “Most e-commerce happens through indirect commerce [third-party e-commerce platform]. You never go to Colgate.com or Huggies.com or places like that to buy toothpaste or a diaper. You are essentially going to Amazon.com, Walmart.com or in India’s case <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword>.com. About 85% of the total e-commerce in the US happens through indirect, only 15% happens on direct platform," Guru <keyword id="1175" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hariharan">Hariharan</keyword>, chief executive officer (CEO) of CommerceIQ told Business Insider. He further explained that CommerceIQ’s clients use it as a data store for all the necessary data points across sales, marketing, supply chain and more. The company also applies its machine learning algorithms to figure out the trends, apt pricing and anomalies in terms of the business. “We are essentially a machine that plugs into the Amazon and Walmart machine, and drives the growth of these brands on these platforms,” Hariharan added. The company earns its revenue by renting out its softwares to its customers. It also claims that its software helps its clientele get a 40% boost in their e-commerce sales and 20% higher profits. Hariharan believes that the growth of D2C, which gained momentum over the last year, is going to be capped compared to indirect e-commerce competitors. Where does India come into play for CommerceIQ? CommerceIQ was founded in 2012 and has raised about $100 million to date across three funding rounds. It had raised $12 million in Series B and $8.5 million in Series A in 2014. Majority of CommerceIQ’s operations currently lie in the North American continent, however, it is looking to expand into European as well as Asian markets with the latest fundraise. It is also currently working on some pilot projects in India and plans to launch a holistic operation in the country by 2022, Prasoon Kumar, CommerceIQ’s vice president of engineering and head of India operations, told Business Insider. All these algorithms and softwares are built in CommerceIQ’s development centre in Bengaluru, <keyword id="6354780" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Karnataka">Karnataka</keyword> in India. The centre has a workforce of around 110 people who look into engineering, analytics, data science, machine learning and more. The Bengaluru office also handles product, customer operations and support. A part of the funding will also be used to double its workforce in the Bengaluru office in the next 18 months. “India is a key and strategic centre for us. We are going long in our investments in India,” Hariharan added. Besides this, it is also planning to expand its go-to-market by both organic and inorganic means. It will look into setting up operations across international markets in order to boost its sales. On the other hand, it is planning mergers and acquisitions (M&amp;As) to expand its product offerings as well as value for customers. Talking about CommerceIQ’s integration with its sales process, Surabh Pokhriyal, worldwide director of global digital commerce at Colgate-Palmolive, said automation of its indirect sales has helped the company move forward from manual processes and streamline its e-commerce operations, driving market share and profitability. 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E-commerce management platform CommerceIQ raises $60 million, looks to launch India operations by 2022

Lessons brands can learn from the winners of Kantar's Creative Effectiveness Awards

<ul><li>The year 2020 was a roller coaster ride for businesses of all kinds and sizes and negatively impacted <keyword id="47276" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Economic-growth">economic growth</keyword> worldwide. </li><li>However, after June 2020, one industry that continued to see stable cash flow and income was FMCG. </li><li>In today’s feature, we speak to leading FMCG brands on their outlook for 2021 as we move forward. </li></ul>The pandemic has taught the brandverse to be prepared for the unexpected. Owing to the fear of contracting the virus by going out, brands had to rethink and realign their strategies to reach out to consumers in new ways. Online shopping platforms opened up their services to deliver 24*7 and people started hoarding daily essentials, including FMCG products. So, many FMCG brands partnered with e-commerce platforms like Dunzo, Flipkart, Grofers, BigBasket, etc to deliver within the comfort of consumers’ homes. Consumer habits also evolved with COVID and ‘immunity’ became the buzzword in the FMCG industry. Marketers reverted by launching ready-to-eat meal options and immunity-based packaged goods. However, with COVID vaccine now a reality, consumer sentiment is already picking up and the economy is in revival mode. Going by the latest reports, 2021 will augur well for small retailers leading to an increased sales from local markets and <keyword id="6513856" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="kirana-stores">kirana stores</keyword>. According to <keyword id="346535" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nielsen-India">Nielsen India</keyword>, after an unprecedented decline of -19% in the Jan-Mar quarter, FMCG industry displayed signs of recovery in Q3’20 with a 1.6% growth (versus Q3 ‘19). In 2020, rural markets outperformed urban India and became critical for FMCG giants. Brands relied on rural markets to drive growth during the trying times. FMCG witnessed a double digit growth of 10.6% in Q3’20 in Rural India, while the bigger cities (&gt;1 Lakh population including metros and Town Class 1) played catch-up. The rural markets bounced back in Q3 handsomely on the back of support provided by the government as well as good agriculture, reverse migration and a lower unemployment rate. With immunity being the focus in the ‘new normal’, new launches have been made in the health and hygiene basket including categories like hand sanitisers, floor cleaners, toilet cleaners, antiseptic liquids. These new launches contributed to 37% (in value) of all new launches in the COVID period (Nielsen India). According to Kantar Worldpane, 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. While COVID-19 has curtailed economic growth in the FMCG sector, experts are now optimistic that the industry will see an appreciable improvement this year. Here are some of the trends they expect to see in 2021: R S Sodhi, MD, GCMMF (AMUL): <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="The biggest impact i" comment="inlineshare" text="The biggest impact in FMCG food is the shift among the consumers from loose and unbranded to trusting packed food and affordable brands in Tier II and III. There, people have come from loose to smaller packs and brands.">The biggest impact in FMCG food is the shift among the consumers from loose and unbranded to trusting packed food and affordable brands in Tier II and III. There, people have come from loose to smaller packs and brands.</cmsannotation> I don't think the demand in high end consumer products will grow as much now. There'll be a tremendous increase in demand for branded FMCG products that are affordable, available in smaller packs and mainly cater to Tier II III cities. For the past two years, at Amul, we have been trying to ensure we reach the towns that have over 10,000 population, which helps us cover the 15 to 20 bigger villages around those towns. Currently, we are working with 10,000 distributors. We have already covered 50% of these 10,000 population towns in India and in another one year, we'll cover all the towns. We're mainly investing in Tier II and III cities, opening our own branches and depots all over India. We recently opened a centre in Leh. Anil Viswanathan, senior director, marketing (chocolates), insights and analytics, <keyword id="2200852" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mondelez-India">Mondelez India</keyword>: The pandemic has accelerated the growth of snacking. As per Mondelēz International’s recently released second annual State of Snacking report, 9 in 10 Indian adults (88%) say they are snacking more or the same (22%) during the pandemic than before it, with millennials being especially likely to say they prefer snacks over meals (85%). A majority expect this trend to continue, saying they plan to continue eating small snacks throughout the day, as opposed to fewer large meals (82%), and that snacking will be part of their “new normal” even after the pandemic ends (81%). Ultimately, 8 in 10 believe “the current pandemic will have a long-term impact on how we consume snacks as a society” (81%). This unprecedented year has also brought about a significant behavioral change especially on how consumers are purchasing snacks. A majority say they have started to buy snacks online more often than they do in-store or offline (74%), with 8 in 10 planning to continue shopping for snacks online once the pandemic is over (81%). A similar percentage also say the pandemic has opened their eyes to so many more ways to get snacks than they knew existed before (80%), including half who have discovered snacks to try on social media (50%). It was also very heartening to note that, even while at home this year, Indians are social snackers. With health and safety continuing to be a priority, consumers are trying to strike a balance between indulging and being mindful (80%), and in doing so; they (80%) are relying on trusted snacking brands like Cadbury, OREO, and Bournvita, seeking assurance of safety and superior quality. At Mondelez India, we understand the role our products play in our consumers’ life and the aim is to leverage these trends to empower them with more choice, creating greater shopping opportunities and innovating, while keeping our promise of consumer-centricity intact, throughout our growth journey. Sudhir Langer, CEO, Raymond Consumer Care: Conscious Communication Today’s young ‘woke’ consumers were already moving away from the excesses of consumerism and leaning towards sustainable conscious brands before the pandemic and lockdowns hit their lives. The all-round strain of the pandemic from volatile job markets and a possible looming global recession to health and environment concerns; along with the way lockdowns were framed as health versus economy predicaments—as if one has to be sacrificed for the other—has left many questioning the very basis of our consumer-driven economy. I feel, the months in lockdown have only strengthened that introspection and has further fueled the young consumers’ move towards purpose and value, making them think-twice before buying by taking in to consideration the long-term impact of their spends not only on their finances, but on their own beliefs, on society and on the planet. So, with conscious consumption here to stay, when consumers buy, it is going to be as much for brand values as it is for product payoff. Keeping this in mind a big communication trend I see emerging as we move into 2021 is brands engaging more purposefully with deeper more sentient conversations. These could include brands talking about their environmental and sustainability efforts, community initiatives, health impact and most importantly value addition. Fortunately for us this is not a shift to adapt to; but a way of operating. We have always believed in empowering, enabling and operating consciously. Hence, it’s not only our communication like our recent Park Avenue Germ Protect soap film about our protagonist helping his community but at every level we are constantly taking steps to enhance efficiencies for a better world like our soon to be launched sustainable and eco-friendly packaging. Sumit Mathur, Director Marketing Kellogg South Asia: The pandemic is a black swan event that brought several changes at the economic and societal levels. Consumers had to face economic stress which made them more discretionary in their consumption choices. Our virtual connects with over 450 consumers amidst the lockdown made it clear that items which they do not deem to be too essential are unlikely to find a place in their shopping carts. Come 2021, only brands solving a real consumer problem or adding value to their lives will be on top of their minds. It has become increasingly important for brands to feel the pulse of the consumer and provide authentic solutions to stay relevant. Kellogg’s has paid attention to the consumer’s shifting needs and adapted with agility to ensure it solves consumers’ nutritional demands in the most convenient manner and this will continue to be our focus in the coming year.

FMCG: The trends to watch out for in 2021

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="John Gress/Reuters" title_caption="Sanjay Khosla is the former president of developing markets at Kraft and is currently a senior advisor at Boston Consulting Group." class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5419e5076bb3f7ae0b8e964c-960/sanjay-khosla.jpg"></a>John Gress/ReutersSanjay Khosla is the former president of developing markets at Kraft and is currently a senior advisor at Boston Consulting Group.</div></div></div>
<a href="http://www.sanjaykhosla.com/">Sanjay Khosla</a> knows how to achieve massive revenue growth. And perhaps more importantly, he knows how to do so while lowering costs and raising profits.
As president of developing markets for Kraft Foods (now Mondelez International) from 2007 to 2013, Khosla helped to increase revenue from $5 billion to $16 billion in five years while increasing cash flow, make Oreo and Tang billion-dollar brands in new markets, and acquire major international brands like Cadbury and Danone biscuits.
Today, in addition to sitting on the boards of Best Buy and Zoetis, he is a senior adviser with the Boston Consulting Group and a senior fellow at Northwestern University's <a href="http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/">Kellogg School of Management</a>. He's consolidated his growth insights into the Focus7 model, which he explains in his new book "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fewer-Bigger-Bolder-Mindless-Expansion-ebook/dp/B00G3L6N56/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1410985004&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=fewer+bigger+bolder">Fewer, Bigger, Bolder: From Mindless Expansion to Focused Growth</a>," cowritten with Kellogg professor <a href="http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/faculty/directory/sawhney_mohanbir.aspx">Mohanbir Sawhney</a>.
We've summarized the seven-step process, which Khosla tells us is meant to act as a repeating cycle.
<h3>1. Discovery: Search for growth.</h3>
Finding your opportunity to scale a company doesn't need to be a complicated process. It's often a simple insight that gets things rolling. Netflix was founded to address Blockbuster customers' frustrations with late fees. Unilever's Lipton Tea had a surge in sales when the division realized that it should compete against a wide variety of beverages and not just other tea brands.
When searching for growth opportunities, it's important not to begin with a conclusion and search for evidence to support it. At Kraft, Khosla led a workshop initiative where he gathered the input of vendors, consultants, investment bankers, and consumers in six different markers so that they could figure out along the way what wasn't working and where cash and resources should be flowing instead.
<h3>2. Strategy: Pick your bets.</h3>
Khosla says that you should consider your opportunities through eight lenses to determine which would be most valuable for your company, and then pick a few to focus on:
<ul>
<li>Offerings - What products or services could you be presenting differently?</li>
<li>Brands - How are you presenting these offerings? How can you extend a brand?</li>
<li>Customers - What are their needs and desires?</li>
<li>Partners - Should you collaborate rather than compete with a certain company's service?</li>
<li>Channels - How are your customers receiving products and interacting with your company?</li>
<li>Markets - How do the cultures of your markets differ?</li>
<li>Monetization - How can you make more money for employees and shareholders?</li>
<li>Processes - How does your business operate? What is the resulting customer experience?</li>
</ul>
At Kraft, Khosla and his team decided to discontinue products in markets where they weren't working and instead focus on five categories, 10 brands, and 10 markets.
<h3>3. Rallying cry: Rouse the troops.</h3>
Once you've determined where and how you're going to grow, you'll need to create a hook that will get your employees putting forth their best effort to make the vision a reality.
"The rallying cry can be a phrase, a color, a number, an acronym, a symbol - something simple yet vivid that brings the strategy to life for everyone in the organization," Khosla and Sawhney write.
Ray Kroc bought McDonald's in 1954 with the goal of turning it into a popular franchise, which of course he accomplished, and then some. To inspire his growing business, he used the acronym "QSC&amp;V" - standing for quality, service, cleanliness, and value - and ingrained it into his employees' memories. The acronym has never left <a href="http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/our_company/mission_and_values.html">McDonald's official mission and values statement</a>.
<h3>4. People: Unleash potential.</h3>
Next, you need to determine who will lead your initiative with passion and energy. If necessary, move money, people, and resources away from non-priorities to this project.
Khosla says that in "extraordinary cases" the most effective strategy you can take is giving a select team a blank check to achieve a very clearly defined goal within a specific timeframe. At Kraft, Khosla gave his Indian team the budget they asked for and set a deadline of just under 11 months to make Cadbury a half-billion-dollar business in India.
"At first, people thought we had lost our minds. But that fear turned to inspiration, once employees realized that we'd been given the freedom and resources to take our business to a new level," Khosla writes.
By the end of the year, the team had surpassed its $500 million goal and did so under budget.
Khosla says that it is necessary to keep a close eye on your teams and that you should be ready to end the project if checkpoint goals are missed.
<h3>5. Execution: Simplify and delegate.</h3>
To execute your plan effectively, cut bureaucracy by trimming layers in decision making.
Before Khosla joined Kraft, virtually no one in China was buying one of the company's iconic products, the Oreo cookie. Khosla noticed that the root of this problem was management's restrictions on R&amp;D. The researchers quickly learned that Chinese consumers had different taste preferences from Westerners, but management prohibited product and marketing experimentation.
Instead of taking Oreos off the market in China, Khosla decided to simplify the decision-making process and gave the researchers and the rest of the China team the freedom to execute without constant executive approval. The China team developed a less-sweet cookie as well as other offerings tailored to Chinese consumers, like green tea-flavored creams.
Within six years, Oreo became the No. 1 cookie in the country, helping take Oreo revenues in developing markets from under $200 million in 2006 to $1 billion in 2012.
<h3>6. Organization: Align and collaborate.</h3>
Khosla says that a common mistake he's seen as a consultant is managers thinking that radical reorganization can be a solution to all problems, whether it's slowed-down sales or a loss of market share. Often the solution is instead a reallocation of energy and resources, and reorganization should be undertaken with extreme caution.
He recommends opening up communication in your growing company by creating collaborative networks across teams that normally would not be in contact with each other but are working toward similar goals. For example, Microsoft has a Digital Leads community comprised of digital and social media experts representing different subsidiaries around the world who periodically discuss what has been working for them and what can benefit the company as a whole.
<h3>7. Metrics: Measure and communicate.</h3>
You need to measure what you're trying to grow, keeping it as simple as possible. If you're trying to grow the top line, focus on market share and revenue; if you're trying to grow the bottom line, focus on cost reduction, productivity, and operational efficiency, Khosla writes.
And metrics shouldn't be just a series of numbers - make them connect with your team via stories.
In October 2012, Khosla organized a conference entirely dedicated to telling stories about the year's successes and failures. Rather than a series of PowerPoint presentations with charts and data, the gathered teams spent two and a half days finding creative ways to communicate their progress and setbacks, some even showing up on stage in costumes. Khosla writes that he was afraid the freedom he gave the teams could be taken too far, but it resulted in something far more memorable and instructive than another routine conference.

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