Brand Work
I work with leading global and Indian brands across food, beauty, fashion, health, and tech.
Designed research and strategy projects that shaped brand stories and consumer connections.
Leveraging emotional drivers for smartphone value proposition
Helped Google Pixel boost its appeal in India by uncovering through ethnographic research that smartphones are seen as status symbols tied to pride and aspirations. Leveraging these insights, we positioned the device as the choice for self-made, progressive users, emphasising its status, premium features, and unique design which led to a significant increase in sales and brand loyalty.
Adapting social media platform proposition for Indian users
Worked with a Facebook in India to boost engagement among women by uncovering key barriers through ethnographic research, particularly around privacy and cultural sensitivities. Based on these insights, we developed strategies that emphasised safety, strengthened privacy controls, and promoted culturally relevant content leading to safety product features and as a result higher engagement.
Uncovering cultural nuances for successful dating app launch
Created a launch strategy for a potential dating app for Facebook in India by immersing ourselves in the culture, hosting dinners with the target demographic, and running focus groups to uncover both emotional and functional benefits users sought. This led to shaping a market-specific strategy, including carefully chosen names that reflected the app’s value proposition, enabling a relevant market entry.
Mapping skincare journeys for enhanced consumer engagement
Explored women’s skincare journeys for Chanel Beauty by using digital diaries to capture attitudes toward premium products, routines, and brand preferences. These insights shaped display and merchandising strategies that aligned with consumer perceptions, strengthening the brand’s position in the premium beauty market.
Transforming a global dating app's appeal to women in India
For Tinder, we addressed the challenge of low female engagement in India by creating safe, anonymous online groups that encouraged open discussions on dating, sexuality, and cultural barriers. This led to a positioning strategy built around safety, social acceptance, and authenticity, resulting in a campaign that empowered women and helped destigmatise dating in the Indian context.
Decoding Indian youth’s media consumption for a VOD platform
To decode Indian youth’s media consumption for Hotstar, we used WhatsApp groups, gamified ethnographies, and friendship triads to study attitudes, viewing behaviours, and competitive dynamics. These findings highlighted key audience segments and provided the strategic direction needed to bolster market position and drive impactful marketing initiatives.
Illuminating India One and Two for a social media platform
For Pinterest, we differentiated marketing strategies for “India One” affluent and urban users and “India Two” aspiring, semi-urban and rural users by conducting ethnographic cultural safaris. These highlighted key lifestyle, cultural, and technological differences, enabling the creation of tailored strategies that improved marketing effectiveness, strengthened brand resonance, and expanded market share across both segments.
Defining core consumer groups for an athleisure brand
For Gymshark, we delved deep into core consumer segments by using social listening and longitudinal digital ethnographies to explore how image, identity, performance, and community intersect in fitness culture. Created a ‘Cultural Bible’, offering a holistic view of consumer cohorts and subcultural nuances, helping the brand better connect with their consumers and use these bibles as a strong anchor to build strategies across departments.
Redefining and branding a segment of the Indian population
Partnered with an impact investment fund to rebrand and showcase the economic potential of a pivotal segment of India’s population across healthcare, education, financial services, and livelihoods. Through field research and narrative development, we refined the segment’s identity and positioned its role in driving India’s growth. This informed an investment thesis and led to the launch of a platform amplifying the segment’s contributions bringing this segment to light amongst investors and media.
Defining healthy snacking through product innovation
Identified opportunities for a range of new healthy snacks with Kellogg's by conducting Jobs To Be Done workshops that uncovered unmet consumer needs and trends in diet and lifestyle. Opened up a diverse pipeline of innovative snack concepts that strategically differentiate the brand and fill market gaps.
Leading the way in suncare innovation for holistic wellness
For Hawaiin Tropic, we conducted virtual workshops exploring cultural trends, key brands, and consumer wellness preferences. This revealed whitespace opportunities focused on everyday enhancement, harmony with nature, and reimagined rituals, enabling the creation of natural, effective, and holistic suncare products that resonate deeply with consumers.
Mapping the future of diamonds for a global jewellery leader
Helped De Beers understand the future of luxury and diamonds among India’s Gen Z and Gen Alpha by conducting a comprehensive analysis of local market dynamics, trends, and consumer behaviours. Based on these insights, advised the brand on strategic positioning focused on lab-grown diamonds and anticipating future industry shifts.
New vertical entry strategy for a global food delivery platform
Partnered with Uber to redefine its market presence by exploring new service verticals beyond traditional delivery. Through longitudinal digital diaries, we uncovered consumer needs, occasions, and emotional contexts for groceries, convenience items, and alcohol delivery. This informed strategies that emphasised spontaneity and guilt-free on-demand options, positioning the new verticals as convenient choices to boost user engagement and market growth.
Market entry strategy for a home hygiene product
For Dettol entering the Indian market with a new variant, I led primary research with consumers and medical experts to understand perceptions of allergens and health impacts. This shaped product and communication strategies, positioning the variant to meet consumer needs effectively and address health concerns, enabling a successful market entry.
Sleep brand expands into home and lifestyle categories
A mattress-focused sleep brand was guided to expand into home and lifestyle categories by prioritising diversification opportunities using cultural insights. The brand purpose was reframed as helping consumers “make the most of their homes” and lives, creating a phased innovation pipeline from sleep to holistic living.
Rebranding and scaling a dental care startup for national growth
A dental care startup was supported in rebranding and scaling nationally through consumer research and narrative development that repositioned the brand as a trusted, modern oral health partner. This contributed to rapid expansion, reaching 300 clinics across cities and a projected ₹300 crore annual revenue.
Skincare-first brand expands into colour cosmetics
Helped a skincare-first beauty brand enter the colour cosmetics market by mapping consumer personas and uncovering emotional drivers and adoption barriers. The resulting proposition bridged skincare trust with colour cosmetics experimentation, allowing credible and differentiated entry into the new category which eventually grew to120+ SKUs across 15 categories in two years.
Identify differentiation opportunities in unorganised categories
Helped an FMCG startup understand grocery shopping and consumption behaviours in low-involvement, commoditised categories through ethnographies and in-home immersions. By exploring factors like visible cues, trust, hygiene, and sourcing at the point of purchase, we identified where consumers notice and shift behaviour with clearer differentiation. This revealed emerging “combination spaces” (bundles of food and non-food items consumed together) offering opportunities for visible differentiation. Recommendations on product, packaging, and brand messaging leveraged trust and clear narratives to influence consumer preferences and create standout value in unorganised markets.
Exploring jeans as a wardrobe essential for Indian women
The project for Lee Jeans, part of VF, aimed to test a new product range and understand key considerations for the brand’s target audience. By assisting in conducting group discussions with Indian women, we uncovered the role of fashion in their lives and examined their specific relationships with denim jeans. The research explored priorities around fit, material, features, and style, generating valuable insights that clarified consumer preferences and informed key decisions for product development and communication strategies.
Future proofing content strategy for a social media platform
The project focused on understanding the evolving content landscape in India for Pinterest. Through expert interviews, social listening and co-creation groups, we explored local content creator behaviours and collaborated to envision the future of content creation on the platform. The insights and key parameters identified for local content equipped Pinterest to craft more effective communication and content strategies, ensuring stronger alignment with the needs of creators and audiences in the region.
Optimising smartphone operating system through UX testing
The project focused on enhancing Google’s operating system with innovative features to improve usability and elevate the overall user experience. Through a series of qualitative virtual interviews with the India team, we uncovered consumer use cases, pain points, motivations, and barriers, which provided valuable insights into user behavior and needs. These findings directly informed recommendations for interface adjustments and feature enhancements, aimed at optimizing usability, expanding user scenarios, and empowering people with a more intuitive and convenient interface.
Product testing liquid electric products for the Indian market
The project for SC Johnson focused on conducting product testing for a new range of liquid electric products in India. Through in-depth interviews, we explored consumer perceptions of a safe home, concerns around mosquitoes, and gathered product feedback on the repellents. Formed recommendations for product modifications, ensuring a localised product launch that was closely aligned with consumer needs and preferences for greater market success in lower SEC's.
Reimagining the bourbon experience for a new generation
The project for Jim Beam addressed the challenge of enhancing the brand’s aspirational appeal and cultural relevance among Gen Z & Millennial drinkers worldwide taking a bet on the space of belonging. Partnering with Agent A, we conducted a cultural exploration across nine countries by engaging 19 diverse cultural experts uncovering significant barriers to human connection, such as rising loneliness, over-optimisation of daily life, and the pressures of perfection. We distilled the insights into brand tensions and an actionable playbook positioning the brand as a global cultural leader in spontaneity, real connection, and collective joy.
