Consumer Thought Leadership
Exploratory studies that decode emerging cultural, category, and consumer shifts. They act as knowledge banks that help consulting work with actionable consumer-first insights.
The Middle India Beauty Consumer
This research report delves into the evolving landscape of the beauty category in smaller Indian cities, focusing on the 18-25 y/o female cohort, known as the Middle India Makeup Initiate (MiMi). Through extensive ethnographic research, the study explores MiMi's beauty attitudes and behaviors, uncovering the nuanced interplay of societal norms, social media influence, and the role of maternal guidance in shaping their beauty preferences. It highlights key learnings, emphasising the significance of offline influences, the binary approach to beauty occasions, and the need for context-specific communication. This research provides valuable insights for founders, investors, and marketers seeking a deeper understanding of consumer behaviours in the rapidly expanding Indian D2C beauty ecosystem.
Gen Z’s Attitude Towards Health & Wellness
This research report explores Gen Z's distinctive approach to health and wellness, highlighting a paradox in their lives. Despite their inclination toward quick fixes in various aspects of they lives, Gen Z adopts a long-term and sustainable strategy for health and wellness. Through the lens of five diverse personas, the study examines how this generation breaks down and navigates the health and wellness landscape. The Wheel of Health & Wellness framework categorises outcomes into appearance, health, and overall well-being, offering a strategic perspective to understand and address the multifaceted product and solution needs of Gen Z. The study concludes by emphasising the importance for businesses to align their offerings with the diverse and nuanced objectives of this generation, providing strategic direction for future endeavours.
Lives Of Single Women In India
Indian society is largely patriarchal and places a high premium on the traditional roles of wife, mother and daughter. But things are changing and there was a segment of Indian women who began challenging traditional life paths to live a life of "freedom". I was part of a team that conducted in-depth interviews to explore lives of single women in India to understand their aspirations, frustrations and their relationship with Indian society. A snippet of the rich learnings from these interviews can be seen in the short video below.
Love In The Times Of Covid-19
Coming out of an article on Love in the times of Covid-19 I was invited to speak about the topic at the IIEX Asia Pacific 2020 conference discussing love and dating in India in the times of Covid-19. I uncovered insights, tensions, new behaviours, dating strategies and changes in mindsets around dating during the pandemic.
Superstitions & Gender Lifecycles
This research explores gendered conceptions linked to superstitions in India. Through conversations with women spanning various life stages, the influence of superstitions on the lives of Indian women emerges prominently. Their beliefs, attitudes, and tensions are deeply rooted in internalised cultural superstitions linked to distinct phases of a woman's life, shaping their behaviours during transitions from one life stage to the next.
Indian Urban Youth
India’s urban young aren’t the same as their western counterparts. To truly understand the up and coming generation my colleague and I conducted in-home ethnographies to explore the context that makes the young generation global at heart, yet local in spirit. We used affinitization and empathy maps to analyse how the tensions between traditional and modern impact their identity, aspirations, ideals, choices and lifestyle. The final product was a knowledge piece linked below.
Nostalgia - A stabalizing force
In an attempt to make sense of the 'new normal' I wrote a piece exploring the role of Nostalgia as a powerful tool to nurture and re-establish a sense of stability in a time which has uprooted and destabilised people’s lives. Leaning on academic literature review and desk research my article highlights the different facets of Nostalgia from 'Good Old Nostalgia', grounded in warmth of old memories to 'Newstalgia' that seeks to recreate and relive recent past memories.
Travel in the times of Covid
I conducted research illuminating 12 motivation “areas” that direct our behaviours, and can explain our choices. Using the wheel as a lens, I uncover people's motivations to travel in the times of covid-19. The article highlights that in pre-covid-19 days, people were largely motivated to travel to Embrace Change...the upper half of the wheel. However, in contrast, during the pandemic, people were looking towards travel to fulfil their internal needs to Maintain Stability...the bottom-left quadrant of the wheel.
Why Is Gen Z So Obsessed With The '90s?
Gen Z’s obsession with the ’90s stems from a desire for comfort and simplicity amid the fast, stressful digital age they live in. Though they didn’t experience the ’90s firsthand, they are drawn to its culture and aesthetics as a form of escape from modern pressures like social media anxiety and environmental worries. This nostalgia helps them find authenticity , creating meaningful connections between past and present as they shape their identity and future.
Gen Z's Finance Fundas: Rethinking Money, Work, and Wealth
This piece explores how Gen Z’s relationship with money is shaped by both family influences and digital content, resulting in a blend of inherited values and modern perspectives. Gen Z seeks security through multiple income streams and views saving as making money work, not just keeping cash idle. Spending for them is about identity and experiences rather than simple consumption. Despite access to financial advice, they face anxieties around sustaining their lifestyle and adapting to change. This creates opportunities for brands to deliver financial literacy and dynamic tools that help Gen Z confidently manage their evolving financial journey.