Internet Kitchens Start-Up TTSF Cloud One Raises $5.3 Million In Seed Funding Round

* The Internet first Kitchen entity has raised $5.3mn USD

* The Seed funding round is led by Times of India Group’s, Brand Capital

TTSF Cloud One, an Internet First Multi Brand Cloud Kitchen entity co-founded by the creators of India’s 1st premium Thickshake brand, The ThickShake Factory, today announced that it has raised $5.3 million in a Seed Funding round led by Brand Capital - the strategic investment arm of Bennett Coleman & Co Ltd. (BCCL) of The Times of India Group. Previous investments of BCCL include Flipkart, Byju’s, BigBasket, Thyrocare, Dunzo & Rebel Foods.

TTSF Cloud One plans to extend its reach to scale up tech infrastructure & brand building.

Yeshwanth Nag Mocherla, Co-Founder, TTSF Cloud One said, “The Indian food tech space is at the cusp of disruption right now with largely unorganized brands operating in the market.  We are now aiming to create, license, acquire & operate several brands using our technology stack which will enable our eco-system brands to rapidly scale like never before & consolidate some categories. We believe with economies of scale, it is very much possible to build an extremely interesting play within a short period of time. We understand what it takes to scale a food brand across multiple cities and countries via our experience with The Thickshake Factory having built 125 physical stores in India & the US across 25+ cities over the last 8 years, being bootstrapped & profitable. We are aiming to operationalize 50 cloud kitchens, operating at-least 350 Internet restaurants by the financial year end.”

Ashwin Mocherla, Co- founder, TTSF Cloud One commented that, “We are extremely thrilled to welcome BCCL, The Times of India group on this journey and are looking forward to create a strong portfolio of brands which will stand out with great fundamentals intact – serving great quality, tasty and affordable food to the people of India. We want to tap into the opportunity of making Food service brands operate like FMCG brands creating scale at a level which wasn’t possible previously. Now, due to Digitalization of India, post COVID and a mature E-commerce ecosystem in place even in the food sector, it is possible.”

TTSF Cloud One’s focus will be on usage of technology, creation of its own brands as well as brand acquisitions and expanding its footprint across tier 1 and tier 2 cities in India. 

Bank Of Baroda Signs MoU With NeML To Become A Clearing Bank For NeML

Bank of Baroda, India’s premium public sector bank, has signed a MoU with NCDEX e Markets Ltd to become a “Clearing Bank” for handling financial transactions for NeML market place and procurement/ auction platform.  The MOU was signed today by Mr. Mrugank Paranjape; MD & CEO NeML and Mr. Jagdish Tungaria; General Manager, Bank of Baroda.  

NCDEX e Markets Limited (NeML) is the leading Indian electronic web based, online, commodities spot market and Services Company. It combines best features of financial markets and spot markets. 

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Jagdish Tungaria, Zonal Head, Mumbai Zone, Bank of Baroda said, “This tie-up opens up multiple opportunities for both institutions. The Bank will partner with Agriculture marketing federations and other procurement agencies across the country and increase its presence in agri e-commerce through its wide network across the country.  

Mrugank Paranjape – MD and CEO of NCDEX e Markets Ltd., said “We welcome Bank of Baroda as our clearing bank partner. The well spread network and technology prowess of Bank of Baroda will help NeML members across the country to further their agriculture businesses. “ 

About Bank of Baroda:  

Founded on 20th July, 1908 by Sir Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III, Bank of Baroda is one of the leading commercial Bank in India. At 63.97% stake it’s majorly owned by Govt of India. Bank serves its global customer base of over 140 Mn through over 46,000 touchpoints spread across 19 countries in 5 continent. Through Its state of the art digital banking platforms it provides all the banking products and services in a seamless and hassle freeway. Recently launched bob World mobile app provides customers with saving, investing, borrowing and shopping experience, all under one single app. The app also serves non customers by enabling account opening through video KYC.    Bringing about a vision that matches the diverse clientele base and to instill a sense of the trust and security has been the paramount factor for Bank of Baroda. Its moving well in that direction and bob World has been a testimony for its roadmap towards Digital Transformation. 

Indians Prioritize Travel: Survey Shows 70% Respondents Are Willing To Spend Over INR 10,000 Per Person On Travel During Nov-Dec 2021

The world of travel and tourism has a new order in place, post-pandemic. With the spotlight now on consumers and their fast-evolving cares, it is important to understand what makes them tick, where their inhibitions lie and what their expectations are anticipated to be. Consumer-centricity is the only way forward, the industry agrees. 

With the aim of providing a birds-eye view of consumer behaviour, InterMiles, a leading loyalty and rewards programme, has published results of their third travel survey in the ‘Consumer Sentiment Index Report (Travel) 3.0’. Based on responses received from 2,276 InterMilers across India during mid-October 2021, the report showcases insights and changing consumption patterns of the evolved Indian traveller.

Key Insights from the InterMiles Consumer Sentiment Index (Travel) 3.0:

Close to 2 in 3 respondents look at firming up travel plans for November and December 2021, as they seek to escape WFH monotony and reconnect with loved ones

Rampant vaccinations and a decrease in the number of Covid-19 infections have boosted consumer confidence in travel. A whopping 95% respondents are either firming up travel plans (65%) or are contemplating travel (30%) during November and December 2021.

This comes as good news to the travel fraternity, who consider the Diwali and year-end period to be the second busiest period for travel, immediately after summer holidays. As like prior to the pandemic, religious festivities and year-end celebrations are estimated to play a major role in driving these numbers. Only a miniscule (5%) percentage of respondents are keen on staying indoors.

Why are they looking to travel? After a year and a half of tedious WFH routines and no separation between personal and professional lives, Indian travellers are keen on getting away from their homes – which also doubled up as their office! 34% respondents stated that they are looking to travel as they need a change of scenario and want to overcome WFH fatigue by connecting with nature. Staying home has also reignited the need for some adventure in 23% respondents, with them stating that they will travel to explore new domestic (14%) and international (9%) destinations.

Physical separation from loved ones during the pandemic has put a strong re-emphasis on relationships, with 31% respondents looking to travel to reconnect with loved ones, as they look to travel to either visit family & friends or go back to their hometowns. A small slice (12%) will travel to attend religious events or local festivities.

Bucketed as an essential expenditure, travel commands greater attention from consumer wallets

Given its role in re-energizing and re-motivating a population fatigued by the pandemic, by promoting mental health and wellness, travel is no longer grouped under non-essential expenditures. Additionally, with millennials choosing to invest in experiences rather than assets, it comes as no surprise that over 70% of the members surveyed are willing to spend over INR 10,000 (per person) on a trip.

15% members are willing to loosen purse strings even further and spend over INR 50,000 (per person) solely on travel.

Flights continue to be the preferred mode of transportation

Around 55% respondents planning to travel in Nov-Dec 2021, said they would opt for flights to get to their destination. This is in continuity to a similar trend observed during the InterMiles Consumer Sentiment Index (Travel) 2.0 released in March 2021 – where majority travellers stated that they felt more comfortable travelling by flights, as opposed to any other mode of transport. Self-drives – which emerged as a popular travel trend last year – continues to be popular with 20% respondents choosing to either travel by rented or personal vehicles.

It is encouraging to see that there is restored confidence in certain modes of public transportation – especially trains – with almost 1 in 4 respondents stating that they would actively opt for trains to get to their destination. This is in contrast to the survey released by InterMiles in March 2021, when majority respondents were not comfortable with any mode of public transport including taxis, autos, trains and buses. This increase in confidence can be attributed to the fact that the pandemic is now being considered an endemic, boosting the need to return to certain levels normalcy albeit with precautions and safety measures in place.

Safety considerations and pandemic protocols remain #1 when planning travel

Factors considered while choosing a destination

The traveller consideration list has evolved significantly during the pandemic – pushing health & safety to be primary factors when it comes to choosing a destination as well as accommodation properties. During the course of the survey, close to 50% respondents cited different aspects of safety as the most important factor while choosing a destination. Major deciding factors included Covid-19 protocols (26%), the number of current Covid-19 cases at the destination (13%) and the ability to have an isolated getaway (10%). It is interesting to note that respondents are more skewed towards gauging the safety ranking of a destination, by taking health protocols into consideration as opposed to the number of infections.

Experiences offered by the destination (22%), accessibility (14%) and value for money (13%) follow on the traveller priority list while scouting for destinations. 

Factors considered while choosing accomodation

Close to 1 in 2 respondents (45%) stated that safety & hygiene standards by the accommodation property was the most important deciding factor, while choosing a stay option. Price (16%), experiences offered (13%), accessibility to attractions (11%) and accessibility to transport hubs (9%) follow at a distance on the priority list.

With borders consistently remaining open for a while, reduced situational volatility and confidence in travel restored, flexibility no longer seems to be a major factor of concern while choosing a destination – only 6% respondents consider the flexibility to shift dates or cancel at no cost, to be the most important factor while choosing an accommodation option. This is in sharp contrast to the InterMiles Consumer Sentiment Index 2.0 released in March 2021, where potential travellers enlisted flexibility with regards to change date and last-minute free cancellations as a huge draw.

Vaccinate, test and mask-up please!

Post-pandemic, travellers do not believe that less is more, with them actively seeking out destinations that have strategic safety & hygiene measures in place. Vaccinations are working like a charm when it comes to boosting traveller confidence. This is evident as close to one 1 in 3 travellers state that they are comfortable travelling to destinations that allow only fully vaccinated travellers.

Another 27% respondents say that they would have most confidence in destinations that mandate negative RT-PCR tests, in addition to complete vaccinations. Furthermore, 16% state that in addition to the above stated criteria, they will be most comfortable with destinations that have short quarantine periods.

What masking protocols are consumers most likely to follow during travel?

Respondents seem to be divided on the correct masking protocol, during travel. However, a majority (32%) lean towards wearing single masks.

These are closely followed by those who prefer to don a single mask + face shield (28%), double masks (23%) and double masks + face shields (17%).

Increased dependency on technology in travel

With the onset of the pandemic, technology was predictably slated to play a huge role in reducing person-to-person contact. The InterMiles survey reaffirms its part in restoring consumer confidence, as a whopping 42% respondents say that contactless technologies boost confidence while travelling – these include contactless payments (22%) and digital IDs (19%).

Having a constant eye on travel developments via mobile applications also helps increase confidence in 24% travellers.

Along with dedicating attention to the latest travel news, travellers have also evolved to keep constantly keep a tab on physical health and again, technology comes to the rescue! 42% survey respondents said that they were likely to pack a smart band or watch that can track their fitness when travelling. Rather than tag around individual oximeters (29%) and thermometers (26%), majority travellers prefer smart bands and watches which are usually capable of monitoring both, temperature and Sp02 levels.

In addition to technology that monitors health, travellers also exercise adequate precaution – they state personal sanitizers (68%) and personal water bottles (60%) have now become absolutely essential travel accessories.

About the InterMiles Consumer Sentiment Index (Travel) 3.0:

The InterMiles Consumer Sentiment Index was introduced to identify trends that matter and enrich the industry’s understanding around the always evolving consumer need and behavior. This survey was conducted between 11th to 16th October 2021.

The programme which has a 10mn plus member base, is committed towards understanding the pulse of consumers across various travel & lifestyle categories. Data collected through these surveys will not only enable InterMiles as a programme to create unique and compelling value propositions for its members, it will also create meaningful business opportunities for its partners. 

The member base for the InterMiles Consumer Sentiment Index (Travel) 3.0 comprises of members having diverse payment, lifestyle and travel preferences.

Honda 2Wheelers India Resumes The Hunt For Next-Generation Iconic Indian Rider

* Round 2 of 2021 Talent Hunt reaches Bengaluru to explore t­­­­­he young racing talent

* The Level 1 saw participation from 14 aspiring as well as experienced riders

* 6 young boys and 1 young girl promoted to Level 2 selection process

Giving wings to the next generation of riders who want to enter the world of professional racing, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. resumed the hunt for young racing talent by conducting round 2 of IDEMITSU Honda India Talent Hunt 2021 at the Aruani Grid in Bengaluru.­­­­­

Since its launch in 2018, the IDEMITSU Honda India Talent Hunt has gained success as a unique platform that identifies the best of young Indian riders and develops them for a racing career, spanning national and international road racing and endurance championships.

The second round of IDEMITSU Honda India Talent Hunt 2021 in Bengaluru saw participation of 14 amateur riders from 8 cities (Bengaluru in Karnataka; Tirupur and Karur in Tamil Nadu; Kolhapur in Maharashtra; Kannur, Kottayam, Thrissur and Perintalmanna in Kerala). The round saw riders coming in from age as young as 11 years going up to 17 years. Interestingly, the round also saw a 11-year-old young girl break the ranks. The participants included both aspiring as well as experienced young riders who are looking for a platform to fulfil their dream of becoming an iconic rider.

Sharing an overview on the participation in Bengaluru, Mr. Prabhu Nagaraj, Senior Vice President – Brand & Communication, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. said, “The IDEMITSU Honda India Talent Hunt is a platform developed by Honda that gives an avenue to aspiring and budding racers from all over India to unleash their potential on racetrack. We kicked-off the 2021 hunt for next-gen racing sensation earlier this year in Chennai and shortlisted two riders who are now showcasing their racing talent in IDEMITSU Honda India Talent Cup CBR150R. Moving ahead with this round in Bengaluru, we have shortlisted 7 candidates for phase 2 and the best of 7 will get an opportunity to ride and compete in CBR150R class of talent up. It is just the start of their professional racing career. In long term, Honda’s focus is to put young Indian talent on multiple National & International platforms like Asia Talent Cup, Asia Road Racing Championship, Endurance championships. I am confident that these budding riders will change the scenario of motorsports in India and make the nation proud both at national as well as international level.”

In Level 1, all 14 candidates went through rigorous 3 levels of tests. First being a grueling physical fitness session followed by judging the young guns’ riding skills and maneuverability on the racetrack. This was followed by a one-on-one interview with candidates and their parents/guardians to understand both their motorsport passion and family support to become the next iconic rider from India.

After shortlisting 7 candidates including 1 female in phase 1, these top candidates of the Talent Hunt of Bengaluru were trained and given opportunity to ride on the track in Level II. It is from this pool of talent that Honda will pick up the best talent for future development. These final riders will now get an opportunity to race in the IDEMITSU Honda India Talent Cup CBR 150R category. 

MADAME Showcases Its Colours At The Delhi Times Fashion Week, Unveils Autumn/Winter Collection

MADAME, India’s leading western wear fashion brand, participated in the prestigious Delhi Times Fashion Week held at Roseate House, Aeroticty in the national capital. The brand showcased its premium Autumn/Winter collection in a fashion show on October 21.

The Delhi Times Fashion Week is hosted by the Times Group every year and the event witness’s participation from the most renowned fashion brands and designers during the event. This year, the sixth season of the event was organized for three days and opened by designer Rocky S.

MADAME’s Autumn/Winter collection served as an important highlight on day two of the event because of its subtle and neon hues, quality fabrics, and comfy attire. The ready-to-wear collection is designed to bring in a chic, practical, casual, and comfortable fashion for people sprucing up for Fall/Winter season.

“We are happy to have received a lot of appreciation for our latest collection. This reaffirms our faith in what we are doing and serves as proof of why we enjoy the loyalty of the customers from across the country,” said Akhil Jain, Executive Director of MADAME.

About MADAME:

Launched in the year 1993, MADAME opened its first store in 2002 and since then has made its presence in over 150 exclusive brand outlets across India and 600 multi-brand outlets. The brand was awarded the ‘Most Admired Retailer of The Year: Fashion and Lifestyle’ at the Images North India Retails awards in 2018. With rigorous expansion plans on the horizon, the brand has witnessed a demand surge, especially in Tier II cities, having already opened 8 new stores in 2021 and plans to open 5 more in the remaining months.

Vi And Ericsson Partner To Showcase The Power Of 5G To Transform Healthcare In India

As part of the ongoing 5G trials in India, Vodafone Idea Ltd. (VIL) and Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) have partnered to showcase the power of 5G to revolutionize the healthcare sector in India by showing how 5G connectivity can enable access to healthcare in remote parts of the country.

The 5G trial network set up by Vi on Govt allocated 3.5 GHz mid band & 26 GHz mmWave band in Pune, deploys Ericsson Radios and Ericsson Dual Mode Core based on cloud native technology comprising of 5G SA, 5G NSA & LTE packet core functions.

Based on the high data speed, low latency and reliability of 5G, a doctor located in an urban center can actually carry out an ultrasound scan on a patient who is in a remote rural location. This is being trialed by Vi using Ericsson’s 5G infrastructure to showcase the power of 5G to reach healthcare to remote parts of the country.

States Jagbir Singh, CTO, Vi, “Vi has developed a 5G ready network which builds on India’s fastest Vi GIGAnet network verified by Ookla. With our 5G trials now, we are leveraging the power of 5G to provide healthcare access to remote parts of the country, amongst a range of other use cases for enterprises and consumers. Speed and latency are critical to 5G services, and therefore, our focus has been to achieve throughputs which can effectively enable relevant 5G use cases for the Digital India  of tomorrow.”

As part of the ongoing demonstrations, Vi and Ericsson also demonstrated the Enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) and fixed wireless access (FWA) applications with 5G. “Enhanced mobile broadband and Fixed Wireless Access are expected to be the early use-cases for 5G in India. Over time, we expect more enterprise related use cases to come up leveraging the benefits of 5G in sectors like healthcare, manufacturing, education etc. The flexible Dual Mode Core set by Ericsson with Vi in Pune is helping enterprises leverage the network to deploy use cases like Remote video monitoring, Telemedicine, Digital twin, AR/VR etc. during the ongoing trials.” states Amarjeet Singh, Vice President, Ericsson.

With the launch of 5G, the digital transformation of enterprises in India will be further accelerated. 5G opens up opportunities for service providers beyond consumers to explore new revenue streams. Ericsson’s 5G Business Compass report estimates the total 5G-enabled B2B opportunity for Indian operators, across 10 industries, would be $17 billion USD by 2030. The top industries that are expected to leverage 5G for their digitalization include healthcare, manufacturing, energy and utilities, automotive and public safety.

About Vodafone Idea Limited

Vodafone Idea Limited is an Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone Group partnership. It is India’s leading telecom service provider. The Company provides pan India Voice and Data services across 2G, 3G and 4G platform. With the large spectrum portfolio to support the growing demand for data and voice, the company is committed to deliver delightful customer experiences and contribute towards creating a truly ‘Digital India’ by enabling millions of citizens to connect and build a better tomorrow. The Company is developing infrastructure to introduce newer and smarter technologies, making both retail and enterprise customers future ready with innovative offerings, conveniently accessible through an ecosystem of digital channels as well as extensive on-ground presence. The Company is listed on National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in India.

The company offers products and services to its customers in India under the TM Brand name “Vi”.

For more information, please visit: www.MyVi.in and www.vodafoneidea.com

About Ericsson:

Ericsson enables communications service providers to capture the full value of connectivity. The company’s portfolio spans the business areas Networks, Digital Services, Managed Services and Emerging Business. It is designed to help our customers go digital, increase efficiency and find new revenue streams. Ericsson’s innovation investments have delivered the benefits of mobility and mobile broadband to billions of people globally. Ericsson stock is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and on Nasdaq New York. www.ericsson.com

Intel Partners With Glance To Showcase Its Latest Processor On Millions Of Smartphone Lock Screens Throughout India

* Glance’s innovative campaign helps Intel reach nearly 24 million users through captivating visuals, and engaging storytelling on the lock screen.

Glance, one of Southeast Asia’s largest lock screen content platforms, partnered with technology giant Intel, to launch an innovative campaign for the latter’s 11th Gen Intel Core processors on Glance’s platform available on smartphone lock screens. With over 150 million Indians spending an average of 22 minutes on Glance daily, the campaign has enabled Intel to generate product awareness and discovery among PC shoppers, through impactful storytelling, surfaced on the lock screens of millions of smartphones across the country. 

The objective of the campaign was to drive home the uniqueness of the 11th Gen Intel Core processors and to reach out to people actively looking for PCs, in an engaging manner. Intel’s intention was to go beyond the clutter of social media and to utilize the power of the lock screen to reach the right consumers. With its AI-powered content discovery and personalization, Glance ensured that the message was delivered to accurate sub-sets of potential consumers. Millions of lock screens were lit up with a burst of the Intel blue, alongside crisp communication and a strong call to action. The striking imagery of PCs integrated with the 11th Gen processor ruled the spotlight, grabbing eyeballs on the mobile’s front page. One tap led users directly to Intel’s retail site, driving web traffic for the brand, while also simplifying the consumer journey immensely.

The success of the campaign came through in its user engagement numbers, with the campaign recording an impressive reach of 23.8 million users and 61.16 million impressions. According to Brand Lift Insights research done by Kantar India, 79% of the users found the ads to be relevant and non-intrusive to their inherent experience on Glance and 54% of the audience found the ads to be enjoyable. The research also showed that 67% of the users associated the ad with the brand thus reflecting a high recall value owing to the captivating visuals and communication. 

“Brands are increasingly looking for newer, faster and innovative ways of reaching their consumers. We believe Glance, with its novel lock screen real estate and over 150 million active users, adds immense value. We are excited to have partnered with Intel for the launch of their 11th Gen Intel Core processor, contributing to their business success, and look forward to working with them on many more such campaigns in the future,” said Devika Sharma, Director - Sales, Glance.

Recently, Glance launched Glance LIVE, a live content streaming service on smartphone lock screens. Glance LIVE aims to bring users the best of live content from some of India’s top content partners, across categories like entertainment, sports, current affairs, gaming, music, and commerce.

About Glance   

Founded in 2019, Glance is a consumer internet company that has created two of India’s largest digital content platforms, Glance and Roposo. Glance enables an estimated 175 million users across India and Southeast Asia to experience the ‘live internet’ on the lock screen of their smart phones. Roposo, a live entertainment commerce app, is India’s first dedicated destination for creator-led, live streaming commerce. Glance also owns full-stack e-commerce company Shop101 and is a majority shareholder in Glance Collective, which co-creates consumer brands across categories with leading celebrities and creators. Funded by Google and Mithril Partners, Glance is an unconsolidated subsidiary of InMobi. For more information visit glance.com   

About Intel

Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) is an industry leader, creating world-changing technology that enables global progress and enriches lives. Inspired by Moore’s Law, we continuously work to advance the design and manufacturing of semiconductors to help address our customers’ greatest challenges. By embedding intelligence in the cloud, network, edge and every kind of computing device, we unleash the potential of data to transform business and society for the better. To learn more about Intel’s innovations, go to newsroom.intel.com and intel.com.

© Intel Corporation. Intel, the Intel logo and other Intel marks are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries. Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.