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The upcoming episode of the cooking-based reality show '<keyword id="448395" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="MasterChef-India" source="Orion">MasterChef India</keyword>' features a unique blend of flavours. During the course of the episode, contestant Kriti Dhiman, a 23-year-old home baker from Gobindgarh, Punjab, steals the spotlight with her '<keyword id="19276646" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="black-garlic-ice-cream" source="Orion">black garlic ice cream</keyword>.' Kriti chooses her favourite ingredient - dates, and makes it the base for a delectable date pudding. However, the judges throw a curveball at her by asking her to choose one out of three secret ingredients presented by them. She picks black garlic, and transforms her choice into a velvety black garlic ice cream, which leaves all three judges in absolute awe of her culinary brilliance. Chef <keyword id="973254" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="ranveer-brar" source="Orion">Ranveer Brar</keyword>, who serves in the judges panel, heaps praise on Kriti's dish. With a resounding bang of his signature spatula, he says: "Swaad Aa Gaya." He goes on to say: "Kriti's creation transcends the ordinary. It's a symphony of flavours that are a pure delight to the taste buds. Her choice to incorporate black garlic into her ice cream is nothing short of mind-blowing. It takes courage to experiment with flavours at this level, and her risk has paid off in the most delicious way possible. This is the kind of innovation that sets MasterChef India's contestants apart." With <keyword id="19276645" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="chefs-vikas-khanna" source="Orion">Chefs Vikas Khanna</keyword>, Ranveer Brar, and <keyword id="334991" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="pooja-dhingra" source="Orion">Pooja Dhingra</keyword> at the helm, this digital-exclusive season of the cooking based reality show boasts a gastronomic extravaganza. 'MasterChef India' streams on Sony LIV.

The dish that impressed Chef Ranveer Brar is black garlic ice-cream

<ul><li>From inventory to delivery, the home chef business is fraught with many issues and uncertainties. </li><li>Finding a reliable delivery vendor requires a lot of patience and multiple attempts before honing in on one.</li><li>No longer is it just the biriyani or butter chicken, the sheer variety available often puts the best restaurants to shame.</li></ul> Not so long ago, the only reason people ordered food was to take a break from boring old 'ghar ka khana' (homemade food). However, the pandemic brought with it a rekindling of love for the same items most of us wanted to get away from. That said, the past year has also seen an evolution of sorts of the kind of cuisines home chefs have embraced and have to offer. No longer is it just the biriyani or butter chicken, the sheer variety available often puts the best restaurants to shame. From homemade shepherd's pie to pork belly with tingmo to creatively decorated blueberry-vanilla in American buttercream cake, the offerings are beautifully varied. The business models are diverse — from <keyword id="2067878" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Home-cooks">home cooks</keyword> sharing their daily menus on their residential colony WhatsApp groups to operating entirely out of social media channels like Facebook and Instagram. Then there are those who are happy to get rid of the added burden of marketing, delivery etc., all together and prefer to outsource it to companies like <keyword id="8248012" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Homefoodi">Homefoodi</keyword> or <keyword id="10926000" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Conosh">Conosh</keyword>. "For me, the moment you put numbers into something you love, it takes the fun out of it. I am lucky enough to be able to concentrate on the fun part of cooking while my husband helps to bring some method to this madness by taking care of everything else, for now. But given how painful the business and backend side of it can be, I would definitely be more than happy to outsource that part of the operations," says Tarannum Sehgal, whose full-time role is in a Michelin Kitchen in South of France, but she started her venture T-Pop! In Delhi to bide her time while she waits for her restaurant to open in April. Conosh, a company co-owned by three friends Anshumala, Neha and Vaibhav, is basically a conduit between home chefs and foodies. Before the pandemic hit, the primary way they would do so was by setting up pop-up kitchens in the homes of chefs, but since that was no longer possible in 2020, they tweaked their offerings to include marketing and delivery services to home chefs as well as offering workshops with master chefs like <keyword id="1426431" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gary-Mehigan">Gary Mehigan</keyword>, Sashi Chelia, <keyword id="973254" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ranveer-Brar">Ranveer Brar</keyword>, and <keyword id="4829" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kunal-Kapur">Kunal Kapur</keyword> to home chefs who were keen on sharpening their skills. Conosh now has over 800 chefs and has delivered to over 15,000 customers in Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru. While the idea of starting a home kitchen sounds ideal, the journey is far from easy. From inventory to delivery, the home chef business is fraught with many issues and uncertainties. Some of which were either exasperated or even solved during the pandemic. <div type="image" title="Double cooked pork belly" msid="81494745" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Double cooked pork belly&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> The kitchen-to-mouth conundrum Delivery is a key element most home chefs have trouble negotiating. And while there were a plethora of companies who started offering delivery services at competitive prices during the pandemic, finding a reliable vendor requires a lot of patience and multiple attempts before honing in on one. Nicole Juneja and her mum Kusuma Juneja started their venture, Mood, back in 2018. Initially, they operated purely on the takeaway model, but the pandemic forced them to change their stance and start delivering food. "While the lockdown helped us grow our business, in fact, it was our best year ever, a key challenge we faced was trying to figure out the logistics, which is primarily the deliveries. It's hard to find a reliable partner," says Juneja. <div type="image" title="Vanilla fairy cakes" msid="81494875" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Vanilla fairy cakes&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Can't have your cake and eat it too Business Insider spoke to Anshumala, one of the co-founders of Conosh, who tells us that while the pandemic saw a surge in both home chefs and consumers, the one thing the consumers often gripe over is the price. "Diners particularly talk about the prices and they compare it to restaurant food. However, it cannot be directly compared to restaurant food for a variety of reasons. The first and the most obvious ones are obviously because these guys are working on a much smaller scale, and they're making everything fresh so they don't have the economies of scale like restaurant kitchens. Also, as an example, we have a home chef called Sumitra who specialises in Andhra Brahmin food in Bangalore and she travels to Vishakhapatnam to get some of her ingredients in order to maintain the authenticity of the food she offers. So, of course, the cost of her offering will be higher than a restaurant's." Recipe for growth — limit your orders "While the lockdown definitely helped us expand our business, increasing our scale makes you realise the limitations of a home kitchen. And you do have to set an upper limit for orders and things like that, just because there's only that much space and equipment," Juneja tells us. Along with that, there was the issue of little or no additional help in terms of staff, especially during the lockdown that made operations so much harder for home chefs. <div type="image" title="Christmas rum fruit cake" msid="81494895" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Christmas rum fruit cake&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> The not-so-palatable cost? Touching upon the point raised by Anshumala, the mere fact that home chefs operate on a smaller scale, their cost of ingredients is also much higher. Plus, what sets them apart is the fact that they use the best and most authentic ingredients that don't come cheap. "While the cost to deliver items may have reduced a notch, the material and packaging costs have also shot up, which, in turn, has led me to charge more. Plus, earlier, I used to go to wholesale markets to get the raw materials that I can no longer do thanks to the pandemic, which has impacted my costs," says Shweta Andrews, founder of Bakes Ahoy, a business specialising in artisanal and premium baked goods. Fill out a few forms before you do the filling In November 2020, the government made it mandatory for all home chefs who have a turnover of ₹12 lakh and above to have a Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (<keyword id="154680" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="FSSAI">FSSAI</keyword>) registration number. Failure to do so could result in a fine of ₹5 lakhs or face jail time. But while most imagined this would be a huge pain, it really isn't. All you have to do is log into the website, submit a few documents, and pay a nominal sum and within 2-4 weeks, the job is done. However, in June 2020, FSSAI launched a new cloud-based food safety compliance online platform called <a target="_blank" href="https://foscos.fssai.gov.in/" class="editor-rtfLink">Food Safety Compliance System (FoSCoS)</a>, which will eventually replace the current Food Licensing and Registration System (FLRS). "FoSCoS is conceptualised to provide one point stop for all engagement of an FBO [Food Business Operators] with the department for any regulatory compliance transaction," according to the government <a target="_blank" href="https://fssai.gov.in/upload/press_release/2020/06/5ed4be98c59aaPress_Release_FoSCoS_01_06_2020.pdf" class="editor-rtfLink">press release</a>. This system will be launched in a phased manner, and Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Goa, Delhi, Odisha, Manipur, Chandigarh, Puducherry and Ladakh are a part of the first phase. If you live in these states, it will be prudent to register with FoSCoS at a nominal fee of ₹100 per year even if your turnover is not as much under the 'Petty Food Business Operators' section. Feeling the heat With thousands joining the army of home chefs, the competition has multiplied, leading to everyone trying out new methods to woo clients -- from sending personalised notes to offering special Onam Sadya meal boxes with all the fixins' including a banana leaf and directions on how to arrange the food items. "Because the competition is so stiff, I continuously have to come up with new ideas and designs for cakes, which is a good thing because I learn more and improve my skills," however, Andrews adds, "now that there are thousands of home bakers in the market, I now have to put in money on Instagram and Facebook to promote myself."

Many home chef businesses are tasting success in India, but it's not a cakewalk

(Image credit: Ranveer Brar/Facebook) 
 
Thirty-eight-year-old chef <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=ranveer+brar&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Ranveer Brar</a>, who is best known for judging <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=masterchef+india&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Masterchef India</a>, hosting various TV shows including Food Tripping and Breakfast Xpress, is now taking social media by storm with his new culinary project. 
 In what is a first for an <keyword id="510530" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Indian-chef">Indian chef</keyword>, Brar is premiering the first season of his one-of-a-kind food and travel video show titled <keyword id="3513659" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="RanveerOnTheRoad">#RanveerOnTheRoad</keyword> on <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=twitter&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Twitter.</a> 
 
This season will see Brar travelling through <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=australia&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Australia </a>and discovering local cuisine and their legacy for his viewers. 
 The show which is in collaboration with <keyword id="749437" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Twitter-India">Twitter India</keyword> and Tourism Australia will consist of a total of 40 episodes, each not more than three minutes long, spread through a period of 15 weeks. 
 
“I want to share my joy of travel and discovery through the show. The idea is to showcase unseen, unheard aspects of places and people through a chef's eyes,” said Brar, while describing what he aims to achieve from the show. 
 From bustling markets in <keyword id="11008" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Adelaide">Adelaide</keyword> and <keyword id="5629" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sydney">Sydney</keyword>, to sipping wines at the vineyards of <keyword id="449992" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Barossa-Valley">Barossa Valley</keyword>, each episode will unearth a hidden food story that’s as much about gastronomy, flavours and history, as it is about the heart and soul of the place and the people behind them. 
 
These bite-sized videos will be tweeted by Brar to his whopping 347k followers every Tuesday and Thursday at 11 am starting from July 21. The chef will also be online for half an hour after the launch of every episode to answer his followers’ queries and share behind-the-scenes stories from the destination and its people. 
 
 
 (Image credit: Ranveer Brar/Twitter) 
 
 
On the decision behind choosing Australia for the first season, Brar said that it was ‘the diversity, the produce and the respect for ingredients’ that stood out for him. In the first season, he will also be seen talking to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=masterchef+australia&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Masterchef Australia</a> judge Matt Preston and cooking with the runner-up of Season 1 of the show, Poh Ling Yeow. 
 
Infact, Brar is excited to give his viewers some memorable food and wine stories, intense conversations around food and an extensive study of Australian food. 
 Echoing his sentiments, <keyword id="3513661" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Keya-Madhvani">Keya Madhvani</keyword>, Head of Lifestyle and Culture Partnerships, Twitter India says the micro-blogging site enjoys collaborating with Brar to bring interesting content on the platform. 
 
 
 (Image credit: Ranveer Brar/Twitter) 
 
 
“We first worked with chef Ranveer earlier this year in March for the #TasteOfAus trip to Australia in collaboration with Tourism Australia. He sees phenomenal engagement and enthusiasm on Twitter with his 300,000+ followers and fans, so we worked with him to fine-tune this concept of a video food and travel show, and it has finally come together in an incredibly unique and compelling way. This is a first of its kind experiment across the globe, as far as an episodic video show on Twitter goes, and it’s something we’re very excited about,” she added. 
 
Elaborating on the reason behind launching this first-of-a-kind Twitter video food show, Madhvani states that though tweets can say a lot in 140 characters, but videos can say even more- especially with food. 
 
“In the last year, video consumption on Twitter in India has grown by 400%, and globally we’ve seen a 150x increase of people sharing video on the platform- so the timing made sense.” 
 
 
Watch Episode 1 here: 
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
	
		The first episode explores the dreams behind <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Nazaarey?src=hash">#Nazaarey</a>... Find out more in the video <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ranveerontheroad?src=hash">#Ranveerontheroad</a> <a href="https://t.co/bZaqw8rQ0u">https://t.co/bZaqw8rQ0u</a>
	— Ranveer Brar (@ranveerbrar) <a href="https://twitter.com/ranveerbrar/status/756109748756295680">July 21, 2016</a> 
	&#xa0;</blockquote>
Watch Episode 2 here: 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
	
		'The distance between dreams &amp; reality is action'- <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Nazaarey?src=hash">#Nazaarey</a> story continues in Ep2, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ranveerontheroad?src=hash">#Ranveerontheroad</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Melbourne_in">@Melbourne_in</a><a href="https://t.co/uMS3zqkD1q">https</a><a href="https://t.co/uMS3zqkD1q">://t.co/uMS3zqkD1q</a>
	— Ranveer Brar (@ranveerbrar) <a href="https://twitter.com/ranveerbrar/status/757809698552680448">July 26, 2016</a></blockquote>
 
 
To watch the episodes, all you have to do is head over to <a href="https://twitter.com/ranveerbrar">@ranveerbrar</a> on Twitter. Brar is directing and editing the episodes himself, his Sydney-based friend, Charulatha Menon is shooting them. In the upcoming seasons of #RanveerOnTheRoad, Brar will be travelling to Mauritius and Turkey.

Meet Ranveer Brar, the first Indian chef to have his own food and travel show on Twitter

Food is a political stuff. Though the basic role of food is to fill the tummy, give the body its share of nutrients and proteins, modern world has discovered more ways of using food as a means to more important ends. 
 
Haven’t we all heard of power lunch? Working lunch? A business brunch or networking at fine dining places? Food, for sure, brings a lot more people together than business alone can. Food has this unique characteristic of moving from the basic premise of a meeting, and creating a short cut into people’s emotional worlds. Food is a lot emotional stuff too. 
 
From being a significant part of human existence, food has gained many shades to itself. Apart from serving its functional purpose, food has turned a political tool, a decisive element in the society and now, into a form of art. 
 
As the journey of the food got exciting, humans who turned into ‘people’ realized it could work more than its share of brief. 
 
It was as though, the magic capacity of food was unleashed over the world. How else would you explain the ‘fine dining’ occasions helping create business deals, run empires and forge bonds? 
 
Over a period of time, after globalization left the borders open for everyone; food also underwent a massive change. People tried cuisines that were unheard of, and surprisingly, realized they took a liking to something so foreign and vivid. 
 
To understand how Americans love Chinese takeaways and UK loves its butter chicken, you need to understand how cheese has become almost inseparable from wine evenings all over the world. 
 
Meals at restaurant weren’t anything like what mothers prepared at home. In fact, meals at restaurant were never meant to taste like home. Hence, homes began to replicate taste of ‘restaurant’ in their kitchens. With time, gourmet cuisine upped the game by a few notches. 
 
With that, meals became more than what they were. Food moved beyond being a matter of taste and nutrition. It assumed the form of art. 
As of today, when gourmet meals are ‘curated’ and created plate by plate, they remain a mark of exclusivity and craftsmanship. And it’s nice to see when artisans are still in awe of their work. After the crafted meal has made its way into the stomach and intestines of its eater, a chef reinvents his art; betters it and adds his creative juices to make the experience even more enjoyable with subsequent time. 
 
The palates long for even more exclusive taste. 
 
Having relished the taste of such art form that has evolved for better; demand for curated meals has only increased in the recent past. Hence it is little surprise that Mumbai launched India’s first home delivery of restaurant style meals. The venture has tasted good success too. 
 Indians are hungry for varied cuisines. They love their share of pasta with biryani, if need be, even working a combo of burritos and pulao depending on the weather. ‘<keyword id="3199820" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="haute-chef">Haute Chef</keyword>’ as a concept is pitted at changing the dynamics of marriage between Indian food and international cuisine. 
 Going by the fact that experience makes human existence complete, these meals, created by celebrity <keyword id="2752932" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Chef-Ranveer-Brar">Chef Ranveer Brar</keyword>, have the unique aspect of being able to have a hands on experience of creating these dishes, with perfectly measured ingredients. This truly is the USP of Haute Chef, says CEO Vishal Shah. 
 
For Chef Brar, this experiment of creating an experience that was lost in the tide of time. 
 
“Future of food is bright in India, because our people have a taste for many varieties of cuisines. The situation right now, pertaining to food, is extremely conducive owing to the fact that we have capital, technology and the market to create niche products. Ours is a vibrant scene because food for us, is nothing less than the culture itself” he says. 
 
Haute Chef has an interesting line of dishes with Chicken Cafreal, Veg Crudites, Akhrot Aioli, Biryani Galette, Desi Ratatouille Makhani, Achaari Watermelon and Tahini Raita so on and so forth. 
 
In a time-pressed world, CEO Vishal Shah really took a huge risk despite the skepticism of meal kits working in a market that is so accustomed to the ready-to-eat meals. 
 
“Indian food market is rapidly evolving. Our niche segment is as exclusive as our line of products. This is a very promising aspect. It is catering to our idea of bringing artisan meal experience into people’s kitchens, and allow them to rediscover the joy of rustling up magic,” he adds. Magic, it truly is; the food we mean. 
 
(Image: Indiatimes)

Curated meals are magical, an art that is satiating taste buds

<ul><li>Armed with a cookbook that splits in half, a ‘made-for-earpods,’ Spotify recipe podcast for couples, and timecodes to split YouTube recipes -- <keyword id="9731725" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="swiggy-instamart">Swiggy Instamart</keyword> is simplifying <keyword id="11085606" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="kitchen-equality">kitchen equality</keyword> like never before.</li><li>The campaign is conceptualised and executed by <keyword id="2805202" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dentsu-Webchutney">Dentsu Webchutney</keyword>.</li></ul>Swiggy Instamart with Dentsu Webchutney launched #TheBetterHalfCookbook in February and disrupted a nearly two-thousand-year-old way of cooking with a unique idea to make kitchens equal: cooking together. The Better Half cookbook gave partners an equal responsibility to split the recipe and cook the meal. Each partner has to follow only their side of the instructions to see their meal come together, together. <div type="Youtube" id="KCevjAO4KGQ" title="The Better Half Cookbook by Swiggy Instamart" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/KCevjAO4KGQ/mqdefault.jpg"></div> So far, the cookbooks were available for customers in only Bengaluru and Gurugram, cities where Swiggy Instamart, the grocery delivery service, is currently operational. While #TheBetterHalfCookbook was just the start to making cooking more equal, and faster, Swiggy gave the internet a taste, an eye, and an ear for equality. They have now introduced the most innovative way to use a podcast to promote kitchen equality, giving the world an all-new way to listen to recipes. Called “The Better Half Earpodcast”- this unique format (nicknamed ‘.we’ files to promote sharing) enables two homechefs to listen to their side of the instruction by splitting their earpods. Each earpod plays only one side of the instructions to cook the recipe with your better half in just half the time. Gurbaksh Singh and GD Prasad, Chief Innovation Officer &amp; VP- Account Management, Dentsu Webchutney said: “The idea of splitting the recipe goes across mediums. We’re proud to be the first brand worldwide to innovate using earpods- through the ‘The Better Half Earpodcast’. We hacked how a single audio file can disperse sound across two speakers simultaneously- giving a seamless real-time cooking experience for two people together, through a single file on Spotify.” YouTube recipes, now made progressive Instamart isn’t paying food influencers the big bucks to promote this new way of recipe writing, instead, they’re busy fixing every food influencer’s old recipes! Like the user that comments the ‘lyrics’ to a song, Instamart is also leaving a comment on the most trending recipes video across YouTube- rewriting the recipe for ‘two people to cook it together’. Including those of Nisha Madhuika, Ranveer Brar, Kunal Kapur, and Pooja Dhingra among others, proving that any recipe can be better half’d if you’re ready to cook with your better half. From baked sev puri, jute leaf fritters, Korean street sandwich to honey garlic shrimp. <div type="Youtube" id="weWKswuEnQA" title="Sprouts Poha Recipe | वजन कम करने वाला हेल्दी नाश्ता | Poha Recipe | Sprouts Recipe | Kabitaskitcen" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/weWKswuEnQA/mqdefault.jpg"></div> Shikha Gupta, Creative Director, Swiggy, impresses on us that the comments aren’t a paid partnership. “It’s possible for you to be a fan of a brand, even if it’s not possible to be a customer right now. Even though Instamart isn’t operational outside Bengaluru and Gurgaon, the idea of ‘cooking together’ deserves to be practised across India, and the world. Introducing audiences outside our core markets to these recipes is a selfless act, with long term bets: one we’re very proud of.” “There are multiple ways of using influencers. You don’t just need them to promote your idea. Sometimes, if your idea is worth it- you could use it to promote their content too. By simply leaving a comment, we’re being less intrusive- and giving users the option to cook their favorite recipes (that they’re already watching)- in a progressive way. Like dishes have a meat/vegetarian/vegan version… our aim is for every recipe on the internet to have a ‘Better Half’ version. And we’re getting there… one book, one podcast &amp; one comment at a time,” says PG Aditiya, NCD, Dentsu Webchutney. A genius way of leveraging food influencers and their clout, this move is big on platform insight, zero on budget. Are we now seeing the newest trend in recipes &amp; food writing? Only time will tell.

A podcast, a recipe book and YouTube timecodes split in half, here's how Swiggy Instamart is trying to make cooking a shared, more equal experience

<ul><li>The ban on TikTok has helped many Indian video apps come to the forefront. </li><li>Homegrown app Public is now aiming to get 100 million+ users and be available in all Indian languages by the end of 2020. People use the app to raise and discuss their concerns with local authorities in video format. </li><li>Over 1000 politicians have joined the app like Hema Malini, Varun Dhawan, Kamal Nath, C.P. Joshi, Chandrabhan Singh, Bhopinder S Hooda, Deepender Singh Hooda, Om Prakash Dhankar, and Dr Alok Ranjan, to name a few. </li><li>Azhar Iqubal, Founder and CEO, Public shares his action plan with us, talks about evolving revenue model and what makes Public stand out in the clutter of video apps. </li></ul>Launched in April 2019, homegrown short-form video app Public has been on an exponential growth trajectory. Within six months of the launch, it became one of the fastest-growing Indian social apps and ranked 1 on Play store for providing local updates in a video format. After the whole boycott Chinese product sentiment emerged in June, Public saw its users sky-rocketing. It added 50 million plus users that month. While many TikTok-clones cropped up to eat into its space, Public claims to stand out in the clutter for offering informative videos through real-time updates, unlike TikTok which was an entertainment app. <keyword id="9617663" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="public-app">Public app</keyword> acts as a bridge between local authorities and common people. It allows its users to share their opinion on the status quo, ask questions directly to the concerned authority or raise a complaint against an issue they are facing in their city. Another thing that has helped Public stand out in the clutter is the brains behind it, Azhar Iqubal. He is well-known in the industry for another short-form news app, InShorts. He is now focusing on taking his short-form video app to the forefront and is aiming to get 100 million plus users by the end of 2020 and be available in all Indian languages. Telling us the reasons behind this success, Iqubal, Founder and CEO, Public said, “We attribute this success solely to our team for recognizing the gaps that existed in the social media space and offering a product that addresses it perfectly. Our past or future success has little to do with the ban of other apps as we are on track to reach the numbers irrespective.” Iqubal also said that the idea behind launching Public app was not to offer just any video-sharing platform ‘but one that makes a difference and helps people stay informed.’ Target Audience Public’s user base is a mix of diverse sets of audiences from metros and Tier III cities. It has about 5,000 influencers ranging from top politicians to local authorities to budding influencers. Indian Youth Congress, Hema Malini, Bhopinder S Hooda, Ranveer Brar and Sadhguru are some prominent public figures on the platform. “We have users in the biggest of metros to the remotest of cities, and Public app serves a completely different purpose for them, than entertainment focused apps – that is, to create and consume informative video content. Several of our users at local and national levels have emerged as influencers on the platform by providing content related to current affairs, politics, local updates, interesting facts and general knowledge,” shared Iqubal. On its way to monetisation The app has reached here mainly through word-of-mouth and on the back of the ‘Vocal for Local’ trend. It is now working on a way to launch non-intrusive ads on its platform like InShorts. “We have not yet started monetising Public, but it is on the charts and we are going to start soon through advertisements. Our major focus would be to deliver innovative and non-intrusive ad formats to users and the best in class UI experience. For advertisers, we are committed to providing a brand safe environment, quality content and reliable brand affinity uplift metrics. Once we start advertising on the platform, we will welcome like-minded brands who want to connect with influencers to reach out to consumers,” said Iqubal. Building user loyalty Iqubal isn’t worried about the ban lifting up and TikTok coming back. He believes in his product offering. “Creating and consuming informational content is a need that will continue as it is human nature to be inquisitive about our surroundings. With Public app, the sense of proximity is much higher amongst users, and therefore we expect the surge to continue. I am confident that users that are looking to consume, share credible and informative content will continue to stay on the app, despite any external factors,” said he.

Public app aims to get 100 million users by end of 2020 on the back of the Atma Nirbhar Bharat movement

<ul><li>With an aim of giving its users a premium, ad-free experience, <keyword id="7091983" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="jiosaavn">JioSaavn</keyword> launched its premium subscription offering JioSaavn Plus.</li><li><keyword id="136845" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mihir-Shah">Mihir Shah</keyword>, Vice President of Consumer Revenue at JioSaavn claims that its paid loyalty base continues to grow at a triple digit growth rate year-on-year. He tells us about the factors that have led to this growth.</li></ul>JioSaavn, the <keyword id="2435252" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="20" keywordseo="audio-streaming">audio streaming</keyword> app from the house of Mukesh Ambani’s <keyword id="6355199" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="reliance-industries">Reliance Industries</keyword> recently launched a new video product, <keyword id="11427128" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="jiosaavn-tv">JioSaavn TV</keyword>. The move is aimed at turning the app into ‘a one-stop entertainment hub with the highest quality streaming technology’, no longer just restricted to audio. Launched in 2007, JioSaavn has been witnessing good growth in terms of its subscription base. Over the years, it has tried its hand at various features to improve user experience and build differentiation in the category. Last year, during the lockdown, it launched a live concert IP, JioSaavn Anywhere, to bring artists closer to their fans. In November last year, with its launch of JioSaavn Plus, the platform claims to have catapulted itself into being one of ‘India’s top OTT subscription services’. Mihir Shah, Vice President of Consumer Revenue at JioSaavn claims that its paid loyalty base continues to grow at a triple digit growth rate year-on-year. In a recent conversation with Shah, we tried to understand how it is wooing more consumers and turning them into paid customers and what platform has to offer for marketers. Excerpts: Q) It’s been six months since the launch of JioSaavn Plus. How has the reception been so far? What kind of growth have you been witnessing? JioSaavn Pro is our marquee subscription product which offers the most features compared to any other music subscription service in the market today. JioSaavn Pro offers ad-free listening, downloads, high quality streaming, one-click JioTunes (caller tunes), exclusive rewards on music and lifestyle brands and exclusive content. We unbundled Pro into feature-based subscription packs under the JioSaavn Plus umbrella and today offer two variants of the pack - a subscription-only pack for ad-free streaming and another one only for unlimited JioTunes. The launch of Plus has catapulted us into one of India’s top OTT subscription services. We’ve seen significant growth in our subscriber base (JioSaavn Pro and JioSaavn Plus). Millions of users are purchasing a subscription and our paid-loyalty base continues to grow at a triple digit growth rate year on year. Over the course of the last year, we have seen tremendous growth in acquiring first-time paying subscribers, a significant spike in subscriber retention rates and healthy upgrade rates from Plus to Pro. Given our subscription plans are long-term duration (monthly, annual) we continue to maintain healthy ARPU rates. Q) What are the factors that have contributed to consumers subscribing to JioSaavn Plus over a few other subscription-based platforms in the segment? We’ve had a first-mover advantage in India starting out over a decade ago. JioSaavn has consistently built on our value propositions and customer-experience. We have thrived because we understand what our users want and the nuances of the marketplace. We introduced JioSaavn Plus in November of 2020 understanding the requirement of our paid-consumers and tailor-made the best plans for them. We made a conscious decision of launching feature-based subscriptions rather than duration-based subscriptions catering to the jobs-to-be-done in a customer’s life. Q) What are a few ways in which you are giving your consumers a differentiated experience? With JioSaavn Pro we’ve created value. We’ve built-in multi entertainment and lifestyle experiences with something for everyone. Innovation in the audio space has allowed us to stay current and ahead of the most established global and domestic players. Everything from our diverse content catalogue to our consumer-first product offerings has been the differentiator for us. What we’ve built is so much more than a music streaming platform. We’ve curated our experiences to foster and advance culture, creators and artists. With Jio’s extensive reach, a data-driven platform and original regional and language content diversity, we’ve evolved into tastemakers in the Indian audio industry. Q) Considering subscription would mean the platform is ad-free, how do brands stand to gain from investing on the platform? Depending on the context in which brands wish to reach out to our users, we offer multiple solutions to make that connection happen. JioSaavn has a well-stacked suite of ad experiences that span across multiple formats such as audio, display, and video. On the content front, we have seen an increasing influx of brands associating with us on playlists and podcasts in the form of curation or custom creation, as the experience enables them to tell a compelling story to our listeners. Apart from in-app media and content integrations, brand partnerships may also extend to off-line channels. For example, Nestle KitKat partnered with us to run a multi-channel activation which also included JioSaavn Pro branding on 25 Million KitKat packs and in-store promotions for a special co-branded offer. Brands also find value in being associated with our Pro Rewards product to engage with our subscriber audience base. Pro Rewards offers our premium subscribers offers and rewards on brands related to music and lifestyle. Brands like Puma, Flipkart, HealthifyMe, Tinder, Zomato, etc leverage Pro Rewards to reach out to our premium audiences by offering platform exclusives thus creating a win-win situation for both brands and our paid subscribers. On a product front, we also do strategic API integrations with brands where there are synergies between both products to offer the best experience to our customers. An example is our partnership with Triller. With the Triller integration we have expanded our short video catalogue which is an extension of our popular format - Shorties. The activation of our in-product integration has showcased a rise in Triller videos being consumed in Tier II and III markets across the country. Q) How are you wooing consumers from smaller cities to come on board as paying consumers? Given the host of features our subscription offers, we have something for every type of user. Some features may appeal more to a discerning user of music who cares about the best music listening experience while some features may appeal more to a user who is looking for a more tangible/quantifiable experience from their music streaming platform. These users can be in Tier I, II or III towns, it doesn’t matter where they are. What matters is what value they are seeking from our platform. Q) What are your strategies towards converting people already using your platform to paid users? We feel confident that we know what the Indian consumer cares about when paying for a subscription and it is this deep-rooted customer knowledge that forms the basis of anything we do to convert our free users into paid users. Based on insights from our users, we recently launched Pro Academy where our Pro subscribers can invest more time in their passion by learning from their favorite celebrities. With Pro Academy, customers can learn from celebrities like Shaan, Neha Kakkar, Ranveer Brar and Dabboo Ratnani, among others. We will continue to build unique product experiences for our subscribers, focus on penetration of our feature-based subscription packs, invest into our content catalog backed by data and make our communication more intelligent and timely to our highly engaged audiences. Q) How have you marketed the offering so far? How have you been communicating with your consumers? On the platform, we leverage our suite of ad products like audio and display to continue to drive awareness of our subscription products. Off platform, we cast a wide net with social media and digital touch points and influencers and partner tie ups. Q) What was the thought behind shifting from live/ticketing access to consumer offers? During the pandemic, live concerts and performances came to a halt. But users’ need to connect with artists and feel their music continue on. We saw a need gap and decided to launch Live concerts for Pro subscribers. Since April of 2020, we have hosted multiple Pro only live events with artists like B Praak, Amaal Mallik, Zaeden, Ritwiz, Tienas and Madboy Mink and will continue to invest in this space featuring both mainstream and independent artists. We will focus on both live shows as well as consumer offers relevant to music and lifestyle as that’s a big part of our growth strategy. Q) What is your target revenue/growth target for this financial year? We are going to continue our growth trajectory and we see ourselves on path to triple digit growth rates year on year.

Our paid loyalty base continues to grow at a triple digit growth rate year-on-year: Mihir Shah, JioSaavn

<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

<keyword id="8959" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="MTV">MTV</keyword>’s first ever café <keyword id="3148540" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="FLYPMTV">FLYP@MTV</keyword>, which opened its doors to Delhi this Christmas eve in Connaught Place, has left us absolutely dumbfounded with its mindblowing tech innovations! For the first time, we have a café in India with some of the best technology which you may not have encountered while partying or hanging out in the most happening places in the country, we bet. It starts with the moment you enter FLYP@MTV. A 55 inches television placed right at the entrance of the café runs you through the occupancy inside the outlet, the demographics (which means you get know who are inside - gender and profession-wise), live events taking place and profile of the week. 
 Once you are inside, a 32" touch-screen TV with an interactive world map welcomes you to choose countries from the highlighted selection. When a country is selected, the selfie function opens up; digital background, headgear and dishes (of the selected country) appear and photos are clicked along with your photo/selfie. These pictures will be posted on FLYP <keyword id="6354576" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Facebook">Facebook</keyword> Page! Isn’t that super cool? 
 
As you occupy one of the tables here comes the community/Chef’s recommendations hologram. Yes Hologram! Now, what’s that for? A 22" Hologram on 22" touch screen is displayed for presenting chef’s most popular dishes, for you to visualize the dishes in a hologram and then select using the touch screen. Did we just forget to mention the chef, the exclusive menu detailed with fusion and original in-house recipes has been created by celebrity chef Ranveer Brar. 
 
There’s more, wait! You will have portable devices with bottoms and sliders for available seating, calling the waiter, calling for cheque, searching profiles of people in the space, countdown timer for arrival of food, mini-display for upcoming song info, voting for the upcoming song to be played or not, controllers to play games on video wall, controlling ambient light and music volume in the table area, poking another person in the space or sending them a drink! 
 Business Insider got chatting with Mr. Saugato Bhowmik, Senior VP, Consumer Products, <keyword id="640183" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Viacom-18">Viacom 18</keyword> Media to know more about this café: 
 
How did the idea of an MTV café, and the concept of WORK, CHILL, PLAY come by? 
 
The entire idea behind the concept of WORK, CHILL, PLAY at FLYP@MTV was to create an experiential space where 
the youth of the country can come in and experience of DNA of MTV. The fun, quirkiness, boldness, attitude, stature, the overall ethos of MTV is something that we want our TG to experience in a format that they do not get bored with. 
 
FLYP@MTV is an extension of MTV’s philosophy to kill boring. The youth gets bored very easily today and it is important as a brand for us to keep them engaged and connected with us through different offerings 
 
MTV has ventured into multiple formats and have mastered the brand extensions through creative efforts; be it co-creating quality shows and campaigns or creating exciting properties or consumer merchandise and we feel this concept of WORK, CHILL &amp; PLAY with a quirky curated Food &amp; beverage menu will offer the youth multiple options to stay entertained through the entire day 
 
How do you want to position yourself in the hospitality space, especially when you have opened in CP – the hub of cafes in Delhi? 
 
Our positioning is simple and straightforward- we want to kill boring. We want to be known as a progressive destination to work, chill and play. The youth today is vibrant and loves to flip from work mode to surf mode to lounge mode and to party mode and in different order. Keeping this in mind, we have designed a place which is so much more than a café. FLYP@MTV is consistent with the DNA of MTV DNA – Experimental, Informal, Irreverent and Witty. The youth’s taste in music, style, products, food, technology etc. has all been kept in mind while working on the offerings of the café. Each element in the café gets its inspiration from various themes associated with MTV. 
 
Technology seems to be a a big part of this place. What went behind deciding on using tech innovations at FLYP @ MTV? 
 
The USP of FLYP@MTV is the engagement and interactive elements we have incorporated. For example, since we are a co-working space, it was essential for us to ensure that our consumers benefit from the each other so we have placed tablets at all tables at the café where in the consumers can check the different kinds of people in café as the same time as them and connect with them by sending a request on tablet first and upon acceptance meeting them in person next. Our talent record room is a never-seen-before element where anyone can record a song and upload it after reviewing audio and video file of the song. Usage of innovative technology like hologram on the touch screen showcasing the menu, registering a feedback on the feedback wall and a MTV Virtual Museum for the customer to explore MTV world in the previous years through oculus and controllers are some of the features that promise to take technology to a different level. 
 
What’s the short term and long term goals? 
In the short term, we want to be the must-visit destination in Delhi for people looking for inspiration, networking opportunities, a stage to showcase their talent and the best place to hang out at! MTV is known for anticipating the pulse of the youth ahead of the curve and with this café, we want to continue to set and fuel trends and create a gateway to new experiences for the consumers. In the long term, we want to continue to lead the change from on TV culture to an on-ground experience and expand into markets like Bangalore and Mumbai next followed by expansion in cities like Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and even Jaipur. Our plan is to open at least 10 cafes in the next 5 years. 
 
What’s the kind of response you are looking at? 
The response so far since the opening has been overwhelming. To continue the momentum, we aim to engage with the hugely growing young urban population in the capital-NCR region and present them with newer opportunities to explore and experience. We have created experiences to ensure enough reasons for FLYP@MTV to become a cult work place and the must party hangout. For an experiential aspect, the café promises to be a learning hub for its consumers, allowing them to attend art, music and other workshops organized in-house without any extra charges. The food and cocktail menu which has been curated by the celebrated Chef Ranveer Brar has been detailed with fusion and original house recipes and an explosive events calendar has also been planned for the months ahead to keep up with the party quotient. We want more and more people to walk into our doors and become regulars eventually.

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