Aakriti Bhalla

2 weeks ago | the-ken.com | Aakriti Bhalla

Aakriti is a business reporter spotting trends in consumerism. She works at the intersection of the food & beverages, consumer and retail industry. When Ashni and Avni Biyani opened their first Broadway store in Delhi's Ambience mall in September, it was a bitter-sweet moment. The multi-brand store-which sells everything from apparel to health products, and even houses the sisters' gourmet supermarket chain and cafe Foodstories-sat right next to Reliance's retail chain Smart Bazaar.

1 month ago | the-ken.com | Aakriti Bhalla

Aakriti is a business reporter spotting trends in consumerism. She works at the intersection of the food & beverages, consumer and retail industry. When 40-year-old Kiran Shah first proposed the idea of selling ice-creams via dark stores instead of ice-cream parlors, his family was perplexed. Apsara Ice Creams, their family chain, had 100 parlours across the country, and its quintessential guava ice-cream with chilli salt was famous all over Mumbai. Why move online then, they asked him.

1 month ago | the-ken.com | Aakriti Bhalla

Aakriti is a business reporter spotting trends in consumerism. She works at the intersection of the food & beverages, consumer and retail industry. A strange thing is happening at your neighbourhood kirana . Pepsi bottles are getting fatter. The Rs 20 Pepsi now holds 400 ml, up from 250 ml-60% more cola for the same price. It's not a quirky promotion. It's a panic move. Pepsi's largest bottler in India, Varun Beverages, is sweating.

2 months ago | the-ken.com | Rahel Philipose |Suprita Anupam |Aakriti Bhalla |Rohin Dharmakumar

One of the largest deals to acquire a D2C brand took place last week. India’s largest manufacturer of consumer good, Hindustan Unilever acquired the skincare company Minimalist, a 90% shareholding for nearly 3000 crore rupees. Homegrown startup beauty brands have been on a roll in India. Scores and scores of new age skincare brands have cropped up since the pandemic and all of them harp on the science of it. And their whole appeal is transparency.

2 months ago | the-ken.com | Suprita Anupam |Aakriti Bhalla

“Would you like to create generational wealth?”That was the pitch a Zepto HR manager made to a vice-president (VP)-level candidate during a recruitment call in 2024. “Think Rs 50 crore to Rs 100 crore in just four years,” the HR added, with the tone of someone offering a once-in-a-lifetime lottery ticket. The candidate, who declined to be named for professional reasons, didn’t even show up for the interview. But the audacity of the pitch speaks volumes about the quick-commerce darling’s ambitions.