Tata Group Tops $30 Bn: India's 1st Homegrown Brand to Hit Global Branding Milestone

That’s a landmark moment for Indian enterprise, Vardaan. According to Brand Finance’s 2025 rankings, Tata Group has become the first Indian brand to surpass $30 billion in brand value, clocking in at $31.6 billion—a 10% rise from last year.

It’s not just about the numbers either: Tata also recorded the highest Sustainability Perceptions Value at $4.3 billion, reinforcing its reputation as a responsible global player.
Infosys followed with a 15% jump to $16.3 billion, maintaining its lead in IT services, while HDFC Group surged 37% to $14.2 billion, bolstered by its merger with HDFC Ltd. 

Meanwhile, Adani Group emerged as the fastest-growing brand, up a staggering 82%, and Taj Hotels retained its crown as India’s strongest brand with a Brand Strength Index of 92.2/100.

Brand Finance’s 2025 rankings rely on a robust methodology that combines financial modeling with brand perception metrics.

First, they calculate a Brand Strength Index, which measures factors like marketing investment, stakeholder equity, and overall business performance. This index is informed by large-scale global consumer surveys, giving a sense of how the brand is viewed across markets.

The core valuation technique used is the Royalty Relief Method. It estimates how much a company would pay to license its own brand if it didn’t own it—based on expected revenues, appropriate royalty rates for the sector, and a discounted cash flow model to reflect present value.

In addition to financials, the evaluation considers how much a company invests in building its brand—through advertising, partnerships, and public engagement. Consumer trust, familiarity, and overall reputation carry significant weight.

Finally, broader economic conditions are taken into account to contextualize a brand’s performance. This includes GDP trends, inflation, and sector-specific changes that might influence brand value.

Together, these layers paint a detailed picture of a brand’s financial strength and cultural relevance.

Brand valuations are calculated using a mix of financial analysis, consumer perception, and market dynamics. The three most common approaches are:

• Income Approach: Estimates the future earnings specifically attributable to the brand and discounts them to present value.
• Market Approach: Compares the brand to similar ones that have been sold or valued in the market.
• Cost Approach: Considers how much it would cost to recreate the brand from scratch, including marketing, design, and customer acquisition efforts.

Beyond the math, analysts also factor in brand strength—things like customer loyalty, awareness, reputation, and emotional connection. That’s why a brand like Tata commands such a premium: it’s not just about revenue, but trust, legacy, and perceived value.

Nike’s Amazon Return After 6-Years Signals a Shift from D2C Ambitions

Nike is making a comeback on Amazon after a six-year hiatus, said a report by The Information. The sneaker giant originally pulled its products from the platform in 2019 to focus on direct-to-consumer sales and maintain tighter control over its brand experience. However, with shifting market dynamics and a dip in sales, Nike is reestablishing its direct relationship with Amazon to expand its reach.

Starting in June, Nike will also be raising prices on select adult apparel and footwear, though children's products and certain iconic items like Air Force 1s will remain unchanged. The move is part of a broader strategy under CEO Elliott Hill to regain market share and optimize distribution channels.

Amazon, in turn, will begin sourcing a wider range of Nike products directly, reducing reliance on third-party sellers. This marks a significant shift in Nike's retail strategy.

It is to be noted that before pulling out in 2019, Nike struggled with unauthorized third-party sellers flooding Amazon with counterfeits or unverified products. Now, by selling directly (via Amazon), Nike can maintain better control over pricing, branding, and authenticity.

Nike will now sell directly on Amazon, rather than relying on third-party sellers. Previously, Nike was a "gated" brand, meaning its products were highly restricted to prevent counterfeits. Amazon has informed some third-party sellers that they will no longer be allowed to sell overlapping Nike products after July 19, 2025. This move ensures Nike maintains tighter control over its brand presence. 

Nike previously emphasized DTC channels like its own website and retail stores for higher profit margins and brand control. Selling on Amazon again signals a shift—perhaps acknowledging that exclusive reliance on DTC wasn’t sustainable long-term.

Nike aggressively pushed its D2C model, prioritizing its own website, apps, and flagship stores while cutting ties with wholesale partners. While this boosted profit margins, it also alienated retailers and limited Nike’s reach.

Nike’s direct-to-consumer (D2C) strategy, once a cornerstone of its growth, has undergone a significant recalibration. Here’s what might have happened:

1. Over-Reliance on D2C Channels

Nike aggressively pushed its D2C model, prioritizing its own website, apps, and flagship stores while cutting ties with wholesale partners. While this boosted profit margins, it also alienated retailers and limited Nike’s reach.

2. Market Saturation & Slower Growth

Despite initial success, Nike’s D2C sales began to plateau. The brand struggled to maintain the same level of growth, especially as economic conditions shifted and consumer spending patterns evolved.

3. Challenges in Customer Acquisition Costs

Nike’s heavy investment in digital marketing and personalized experiences increased customer acquisition costs. While D2C offers higher margins, it also demands significant spending on logistics, advertising, and customer engagement.

4. Return to Wholesale & Amazon

Recognizing the limitations of an exclusive D2C approach, Nike is now rebalancing its strategy. The brand is rekindling partnerships with major retailers and returning to Amazon to regain lost market share and improve accessibility.

5. Renewed Focus on Brand Building

Nike is shifting back to long-term brand storytelling rather than just performance-driven marketing. The company is emphasizing emotional connections with consumers, reinforcing its iconic status rather than relying solely on direct sales.

Other major brands like Adidas and Under Armour will closely watch how Nike performs on Amazon. If successful, this might encourage more premium brands to embrace Amazon, despite initial hesitations about price dilution or brand perception.

Beside these, Nike is also partnering with Printemps, a luxury department store, and launching AI-powered conversational search to enhance its online shopping experience.

Nike’s evolution highlights the delicate balance between direct sales and wholesale partnerships. Do you think this shift will strengthen Nike’s position, or does it signal a retreat from its ambitious D2C vision? Do comment below....

10 Indian Lifestyle Brands That Are Here With Unique Offerings!

Lifestyle brands work to create an emotional link between the goods or services they offer with a particular lifestyle perception. It was earlier limited to clothing stuff, drinks, or perhaps food, but now the very category of lifestyle products is wider with the digital spread. Not just is this trend redefining daily choices and consumer behaviour but also catching on faster than expected. Right from how a person avails a product or a service to adopting new healthcare options. It will be safe to say that with a little more time, we might be able to completely cut the connection with the age-old approach and methods.

Here is the list of some Indian brands with distinctive and unique offerings: -

Avni

The start-up has developed environmentally friendly items like cotton disposable pads and reusable, organic sanitary pads. This company is revolutionizing how women experience their menstrual cycles. Women's perceptions of safety are changing thanks to their awareness of goods, which are influenced by both modern science and Ayurveda. Sujata Pawar and Apurv Agarwal founded Avni in 2020, the startup has been named Avni, which means Earth as a symbolic womanly personification of the mother of all life which offers cutting-edge and environmentally friendly period care products like sanitary pads and panty liners. Their products are washable, reusable, and environmentally safe.

Yes Madam

Yes Madam is India's Most Affordable Home Salon and a tech-enabled platform for beauty and wellness that brings salon and spa services to customers' homes. With over 1 million+ customers, 2000+ beauty professionals, and a presence across 35+ cities of India, the home salon brand strives to be the one-stop-Salon and Spa for a consumer. Yes Madam, India's Leading Salon at Home, was established in 2016 by Mayank and Aditya Arya and is currently operating in over 30 Indian cities. The brand has significantly impacted the beauty and salon industry with its mono-dosages and unique pricing model that starts at RS 6 per minute. Their goal is to provide top-notch salon and wellness services at clients' homes using top-notch personnel and industry-leading goods.

HotNot

Hotnot is the first-ever fashion social media platform where users can dictate fashion trends and save their favorites. It was founded in 2021 by Frederick Devarampati. With in-house styling tips and recommendations from fashion creators, Hotnot offers a new and convenient online shopping experience. From following the latest trends to shopping for your favorite looks by creators and influencers you love, this app is designed to give you the power to not just follow those trends but also to dictate them.

Zouk

Bringing together the contemporary and the traditional, Zouk weaves subtle elegance into your lifestyle. Handcrafted, Cruelty-free, and Proudly Indian, Zouk brings vibrant Indian culture to the modern world. Zouk is a proud Indian and 100% vegan brand founded by Disha Singh. The company manufactures laptop bags, handbags, women's office bags, female wallets, small wallets, sling bags, bucket bags, backpacks, and travel pouches for both sexes. They also produce vegan leather purses and other vegan items out of Ikat and Jute Khadi fabrics where expert craftspeople make each bag individually. They exclusively sell online and offer to ship to every part of India. Office workers, stay-at-home moms, and college students can all benefit from choosing the products.

Aastey

Aastey is a size-inclusive sustainable activewear brand for all women. From creating India’s first sustainable and size-inclusive leggings to reaching a community of more than 60,00+ women across cities, Aastey is making waves in the athleisure space.

Launched amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, Mumbai-based Aastey is the country’s first D2C (direct-to-consumer) startup to crack the manufacturing of recycled polyester apparel, according to its founders. The startup offers a wide range of options from leggings and sports bras, to yoga mats, eye masks, tote bags, and more. A Sanskrit word, Aastey means to be fully present in every moment. Apart from its own website, it also sells on Amazon and Myntra.

Nicobar

Nicobar is a contemporary lifestyle brand that combines Indian aesthetics with modern design. They offer a range of clothing, home decor, and travel accessories inspired by nature, simplicity, and comfort. Nicobar is a brand that focuses on well-designed products that channel the modern Indian way of living, harmoniously blending form with functionality, and creativity with culture.

The brand has engaged with local artisans and the design community to build a contemporary product line across fashion, home, and travel accessories. Their products fall within the verticals of house & home, men’s fashion, women’s fashion, accessories, and jewellery. Within these, some of the items on offer are dining, barware, décor, dresses, and overlays for women, saris, and dupattas, kurtas and jackets for men, trousers, scarves, clutches, pins and brooches, and silver jewellery among others.

Tjori

Tjori is an Indian brand that focuses on promoting traditional craftsmanship and sustainable practices. They offer a wide range of clothing, accessories, skincare, and home decor products inspired by Indian heritage and crafted by artisans. Tjori was launched online in 2012 and retails from its dedicated e-commerce site as well as its Instagram Shop.

Tjori is a multi-category, online-first artisanal ethnic brand that includes apparel, wellness, home, and mother and child products. The brand focuses on handmade products and the goodness of traditional Indian ingredients. The brand retails a range of womenswear such as kurtas, dresses, and tops as well as footwear, bags, accessories, jewellery, children’s wear, and home décor.

At present, Tjori caters to 195 countries across the globe through digital marketing and its e-commerce website. They help deliver the orders through our courier service partner, FedX.

The Mad Dresser

The Mad Dresser founded in 2020 offers an online personal shopping and styling service for women. They provide a new convenient way of shopping. Founded by the sister trio Tanvi Gupta, Vanshika Gupta, and Prachi Gupta with its headquarters in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, and following the B2C business model. The TMD Box is a surprise box of Western wear delivered at your doorstep. It is curated by their team of in-house stylists. They select clothes based on your preferences from hundreds of brands and thousands of styles. They pick items for you that would suit your body type and help you move out of your comfort zone. They are here to make shopping simpler, easier, and immersive.

Stumbl

Launched in December 2022 by Maruthy Ramgandhi, Ayyappan Lakshmanan, and Abhishekk Handa, the company claims to have served more than 10,000 young women to date, with 20 percent becoming repeat customers. The company’s vision is to be the No.1 fashion platform for women of today. A platform that will give them the fastest and most reliable access to the latest fashion trends. Building this new, highly engaged shopping experience with social interaction at its core, providing our users with shoppable mood boards. Think of Instagram or Pinterest with shop-as-you-scroll functionality that marries discovery and commerce.

HeSpoke Originals

Founded in 2020 by Prem Shah & Sonal Jain, the fastest fast-fashion D2C menswear brand fulfilling a need for constant newness. We launch new Styles Designed Digitally in Metaverse Technology, Faster & Guilt-Free. With a robust design-to-sales cycle of 300 hrs, we've faster market validation. HeSpoke is launching new styles every 300 hours. Having an edge over others by reduced time to market, faster market validation, increased product innovation, and a smaller environmental footprint. There will be a time when what you see at the fashion ramp today would be available to shop at HeSpoke within minutes.

COVID-19 Accelerates Brand Safety Risk to 5-Times - Report

Helps save more than $ 200 million in ad frauds with an average savings run rate of 22% per client

Gurugram, 21st July 2021: mFilterIt, the leading global Fraud Detection & Prevention Company aims to sensitize the marketers and brand custodians on an industry wide challenge : Brand safety risk increases five folds owing to Covid19 pandemic.

With online channels gaining relevance and digital becoming the mainstream interface in this Covid era, India alone has witnessed 65% of businesses losing money on account of online fraud & brand infringements. This not only impacts the reputation and value of the brand but also hitting the funnels and revenues for brand custodians and advertisers alike.

The rise in 24*7 online culture has further exacerbated the issue of brand safety as the shift in consumer behaviour, from offline to online mode, has made it clear that brands need to steer away from advertising in unsafe environments, not get caught in whirlwind of fake scenarios . Brand’s safety is brand’s responsibility where trust is no longer a compliance but a brand differentiator in today’s digitally evolved era.

Work From Home becoming a part of our regular practice has opened us up to less-controlled work environments and has led to an increase in vulnerabilities. Fake customer care, job offers, copy-cat websites, fake discounts, and content piracy are among the highest types of frauds that have topped the charts in India. The scamsters and hackers representing notable brands, convince the users to send in their personal details leading to committing financial fraud or malicious activity. The sectors that have been a victim of these frauds are BFSI, FMCG, Ecommerce, retail, automobiles, and entertainment (OTT platforms).

‘Brand Unsafe’ content has been on an increase on social media platforms. The three leading categories of content taken down by the social media platforms Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are – Spam, Adult & Explicit Content, and Hate Speech & Acts of Aggression. In an encouraging trend, led by the awareness, brands are increasingly deploying mFilterIt solutions backed by Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Social Listening to shield against the surging risks.

mFilterIt has enabled its serving brands to resolve ad fraud leaks and saved over $ 200 million with an average savings run rate of 22% per client. It is today the fastest growing Indian company that serves local and global brands and is present across the globe serving some of the biggest clients like Unilever, Amazon, Flipkart, HDFC, Cred, ITC etc.

Amit Relan, Co-Founder and Director said, “Covid 19 has led to several changes in how organizations operate and how consumers access information. The marketers, brand owners, and advertisers should work together and change this adversity into an opportunity to create a new normal that cleanses the ecosystem and puts an end to brand erosion. By using Martech solutions, deploying forces backed by AI and ML we have helped hundreds of brands to help increase their KPIs and campaign performance. It has instilled the confidence in our clients to approach inorganic freely and pragmatically."

Founded in 2015, mFilterIt is one of the world’s fastest-growing top Ad Fraud Detection & Prevention service companies. It is a new-age company that caters to protecting digital integrity across platforms. mFilterIt believes in the power of deep tech and data science to create transformational growth in our customers.

Today, the company works with more than 130 clients across 15 countries in the globe which includes Amazon, Flipkart, Unilever, HDFC, ITC, Oyo, Cred, Starzplay, Careem, and many more esteemed clients. The company has 2.5 Billion device coverage and validates 350+ Million transactions daily.

mFilterIt believes in harvesting the power of data science and deep tech to enable all stakeholders’ confidence in the digital ecosystem and manufacture transformational growth for their clients. They are an extended arm of 6d Technologies, a tech enterprise catering to 68+ countries across 6 continents.

Taj Named Strongest Hotel Brand In The World

~ Recognized by the world's leading brand valuation consultancy – Brand Finance

MUMBAI, India, June 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), South Asia's largest hospitality company, announced that its iconic brand, Taj, has been rated the Strongest Hotel Brand in the World by Brand Finance, the world's leading brand valuation consultancy in its annual 'Hotels 50 2021' report. This report recognizes the most valuable and strongest hotel brands across the globe.

Mr. Puneet Chhatwal, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Indian Hotels Company, said, "This is a proud moment for the Indian hospitality industry on the global stage. Taj being rated as the World's Strongest Hotel Brand is a testament to the unwavering trust our guests have consistently placed in us and the warmth and sincere care our employees have embodied day-after-day. We will continue our endeavor to elevate the world class experiences of luxury hospitality and deliver the magic of Tajness to all our stakeholders."

Taj received an overall Brand Strength Index of 89.3 out of 100, with a corresponding AAA rating for customer familiarity, employee satisfaction and corporate reputation as well as its world-class customer service.

David Haigh, CEO, Brand Finance, said, "We are excited to announce Taj as the Strongest Hotel Brand in the World. A brand with a century old legacy and a custodian of the revered Indian hospitality has stood resilient inspite of the challenges posed by the ongoing pandemic. Global travelers have relied upon and tested brands in different ways and Taj has emerged on top."

The Hotel 50 2021 report also highlighted the company's successful implementation of its R.E.S.E.T 2020 strategy, which provided a transformative framework, helping the Taj brand surmount pandemic related challenges.

To know more, click here to access the full report by Brand Finance.

About The Indian Hotels Company Limited

The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) and its subsidiaries bring together a group of brands and businesses that offer a fusion of warm Indian hospitality and world-class service. IHCL has a portfolio of 221 hotels including 55 under development globally across 4 continents, 12 countries and in over 100 locations. These include Taj – the iconic brand for the most discerning travelers, SeleQtions, a named collection of hotels, Vivanta, sophisticated upscale hotels and Ginger, which is revolutionizing the lean luxe segment.

Micromax Unveils Its New Brand Avatar - ‘in’

focused on delivering disruptive products for performance seeking gamers and content creators, ‘in’ is set to represent India in the smartphone segment

Micromax Informatics Ltd., India’s very own consumer electronics brand, today unveiled a new sub brand- ‘in’, as it makes a comeback in the smartphone segment. The announcement comes on the heels of the PLI approvals sanctioned by the Government of India, moving a step closer to realising the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat. 

Mr. Rahul Sharma, Co-founder, Micromax launched the ‘in’ brand earlier today on the company’s digital handles. On the brand introduction of ‘in’, he said, “We are delighted to make a comeback in the India market with our sub brand ‘in’. When you have the word India or ‘in’ on you, it gives you a sense of responsibility.The weight of a billion hopes. But bigger than anything is the pride it gives. Our endeavour is to bring India on the global smartphone map again with 'in' mobiles. 

India is one the top five mobile gaming markets in the world, and with the ‘in’ brand we will provide a bona fide choice that will allow consumers to edge ahead with high performance oriented products, without infringing on their privacy.” 

The new avatar is inspired by the fun, bold and aspirational Indian millennials, who are looking for performance oriented products for their digital journey on the go and are set to drive India’s success story. The brand colour and overall visual identity is inspired by India’s blue colours - the blue that we are recognized by. With its brand promise to bring uncompromised performance and a secure user experience, Micromax plans to holistically build and grow the smartphone ecosystem, where Indian consumers can truly benefit.



To begin the strategic re-entry into the smartphone segment, Micromax plans to invest INR 500 crore and will build products from ground-up for the new-age Indian consumer. It will be introducing a new range of smartphones under the ‘in’ brand.

Micromax has state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities across 2 locations in India including Bhiwadi and Hyderabad. The brand has a capacity of producing over 2 million phones per month. Furthermore, the brand is working on strengthening its already established retail and distribution network. Currently it has a retail presence of more 10K+ outlets and over 1000+ service centres across India.

Micromax has many firsts to its credit including the Longest Battery Phone, Dual SIM Phone, Qwerty Device, Gaming Device, Women’s Line of Devices, Universal Remote Control Phone, MTV Phone, Dockable Bluetooth Device and Edutainment Tablet.