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The NEW Shop ropes in Rajkummar Rao as brand ambassador: unveils expansion plans for 10000+ convenience stores by 2030

NEW DELHI, Jan. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — The NEW Shop, India’s largest convenience retail company has appointed Bollywood actor Rajkummar Rao as the brand ambassador. In a series of campaigns to expand its footprints across the country, the actor will be featured in a variety of digital and print platforms such as social media, OTT, OOH, and IVR messaging to connect with prospective consumers through physical The New Shop stores and in-app services.

Within two years of its inception, The NEW Shop has expanded to over 100 stores with 70+ franchised stores in the last 18 months, while surpassing the ARR mark of INR 100 crores in the past year. Navigating the unexplored convenience retail sector in India, the company’s omnichannel presence and hyperlocal services offer a “next-gen everyday shopping” experience to a wide variety of demographic. With its plans to expand and open new stores in the near future, the company wants to go beyond conventional strategies of consumer engagement through collaboration with Rajkummar Rao.

Sharing her excitement on the recent development, Aastha Almast, Co-Founder and Head of Business, at The NEW Shop, said, “We are proud to have come a long way since our inception. We are growing rapidly across India through franchise partnerships, but we intend to create 10,000 successful independent stores by 2030. We have so far seen a phenomenal response to our franchise model; thus we want to spread the word even more about this idea. We believe that now is the right time to bring on board a brand ambassador and strengthen our brand-building initiatives.”

While carving a niche as an actor in Bollywood can be quite daunting, Rajkummar Rao has proven to the world over time and time again that talent is not only a product of merit but a combination of perseverance and diligence. What sets him apart is the unconventionality with which he has navigated through the industry by setting his own rules and striking a chord with the audience. His risks have been nothing less than entrepreneurial, which resonates with the company’s organic growth and breaking systemic barriers by providing round-the-clock quality services to consumers.

In continuation on the same, Aastha further added, “It is quite admirable how Rajkummar Rao has overcome all obstacles to become a renowned Bollywood star. Despite coming from a humble background, he has made his mark through honesty, hard work, dedication, and persistent efforts. And for this reason, audiences connect with him immensely. We are honored to be associated with a celebrity that personifies the entrepreneurial spirit of taking risks and overcoming obstacles with courage and determination. Due to his business savvy and hard-working demeanor, he is the ideal brand ambassador for our brand and franchise partners. We thank Rajkummar Rao for believing in us and being a part of our growth journey.”

India is the third-largest consumer market in the world with its largest ever adolescent and youth population. A uniform, state-of-the-art convenience retail service that is available everywhere in the country at reasonable prices and catering to millions of Indian customers with regard to time and location is an exciting space for creating business opportunities. The franchise model aims to offer around 70 million traditional shopkeepers, aspiring entrepreneurs and small businesses to enable them to build a successful business in convenience retail driven by technology and consumer needs. 

Expressing his happiness, Rajkummar Rao said, “I am thrilled to be partnering with The NEW Shop, a youthful and energetic brand exhibiting rapid growth. I identify with the co-founders’ determination to create a brand, ensuring its sustainability, and profitability; and I believe this comes from their prior entrepreneurial experiences. By encouraging our nation’s workforce to become future entrepreneurs, the brand is on a mission to strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Simultaneously, it strives to provide consumers with standardized round-the-clock convenience in the truest sense and makes consistent progress toward reaching the zenith. I am excited to be a part of the brand’s journey and look forward to contributing to its success in all ways possible.”

The NEW Shop offers a wide range of quick-consumption goods, including groceries, OTC, FMCG, and fresh food and beverages. It also offers add-on services such as printing, ATMs, courier, EV charging stations, freshly prepared food, etc. With its aim to provide services in busy transit hubs, office buildings, schools, and densely populated neighborhoods; the company serves clients across all touchpoints, including physical retail, e-commerce (via its website and app), as well as through marketplaces like Zomato, Swiggy, and Dunzo, owing to its tech-enabled hybrid omnichannel strategy. Customers can use the app to order delivery to their doorstep, visit the nearest store, or even opt for in-store pickup. With a new feather added to the hat, the company’s focus in 2023 is to establish a strong pan-India presence and grow 10x capturing more territorial presence in 20+ cities.

About The New Shop

The New Shop is India’s largest omnichannel convenience retail platform with instant hyperlocal deliveries solving for quick, standardized, and 24×7 access in India. It offers franchise-as-a-service to upgrade 70 million aspiring entrepreneurs, traditional shopkeepers and small businesses (eg, local sweetshops, QSRs, dhabas, milk shops, printers and photocopiers, grocery shops, and courier shops) to help them build a successful retail business in convenience retail fueled by the modern consumer’s need. The New Shop provides location selection, Information Technology, and marketing services, licensing and compliance, brand partnerships, training, financing, branding, and omnichannel support to all its franchise partners. The company sets up stores in high-density neighborhoods, mass transit hubs, and educational institutions that offer and deliver fresh food cafe services, supermarket, and grocery services, stationery, over-the-counter medicines, neighborhood services like printing, ATM, courier, and other necessities all under one roof.

The New Shop is the brainchild of Aastha Almast (Co-founder and Head of Business), Charak Almast (Co-founder and Head of Operations), and Mani Dev Gyawali (Co-founder and Head of Technology). All the stores have a sleek and contemporary design and are equipped with state-of-the-art technology that makes shopping a seamless and enjoyable, convenient experience. So far, The New Shop has 100+ operating outlets in India, spreading across 10 metro and tier 2 & 3 cities such as Delhi & NCR, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ludhiana, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Meerut, Rohtak, and Agra.

Find The New Shop on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenewshopofficial

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Thenewshopofficial

Linkedin: https://in.linkedin.com/company/thenewshopofficial

Twitter: https://twitter.com/the_new_shop

For media enquiries contact:

Bhuvana K

+91-9869788246

Bhuvaneshwari@value360india.com

Dolly Prajesh

+91-8130887592

Dolly@value360india.com

Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbAi6M_B1YQ

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Reliance Digital Launches ‘Baaptaa’, a Father’s Day Campaign Celebrating the Many Expressions of Fatherhood

MUMBAI, India, June 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Reliance Digital has launched ‘Baaptaa’, a Father’s Day campaign to celebrate the many expressions of fatherhood. Built around a simple cultural observation, while “Maa ki Mamta” has long been a part of India’s collective vocabulary, there has never been a word that captures the distinct ways fathers express love, the campaign introduces ‘Baaptaa’ as a tribute to the many shades of fatherhood.

Conceptualised as an original music-led campaign, Baaptaa celebrates fathers not as idealised figures, but as they are experienced in everyday life, protective, dependable, emotional, quirky, practical, occasionally embarrassing, and always present. Through a relatable narrative, the campaign acknowledges the countless ways fathers care for their families, often through actions rather than words.

Watch Video: https://youtu.be/9XyUsJB33Ds?si=PM67vhxrzth1JEkz 

At the heart of the campaign is an original music video told from a father’s perspective, capturing the different roles he plays across life’s moments and milestones. The film brings to life the humour, warmth and unspoken affection that characterise father-child relationships, while giving a name to a form of love that many recognise but few have articulated.

The campaign stems from a simple insight: while motherhood has often found expression through familiar phrases and popular references, the unique language of fatherhood has remained largely undefined. Baaptaa seeks to fill that gap by creating a term that reflects the everyday gestures, practical wisdom and quiet sacrifices that fathers make.

Father’s Day communication often leans into familiar emotional territory, but Reliance Digital’s campaign celebrates fathers in a way that feels more culturally authentic and relatable. The idea for ‘Baaptaa’ came from a simple observation — mother’s love has been immortalised in a number of heartfelt, emotional songs, there needed to be an anthem dedicated to dad’s love. And thus was born Baaptaa – a love language that is often awkward, practical, protective, humorous and deeply felt, even if rarely verbalised. It’s a celebration of fatherhood in all its wonderfully imperfect forms immortalized by a song that you won’t be able to stop humming.

Shop for the widest range of electronics at Reliance Digital and thank your father for his Baaptaa.

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Harper Collins Publishers India is Delighted to Announce the Recent Publication of ‘People We Love’ by Preeti Shenoy

NEW DELHI, June 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — HarperCollins Publishers India is delighted to share the recent publication of People We Love by bestselling author Preeti Shenoy. At once tender and sharp, this collection of stories offers intimate, truthful and relatable portraits of the people we cherish, the ones we lose, and the people we become.

ABOUT THE BOOK

The people we love never truly leave our story…

In these tender yet piercing stories, Preeti Shenoy returns to some of her most beloved characters to reveal who they were before they appeared in her bestselling novels It’s All in the Planets and The One You Cannot Have.

Aniket, a coder, carries the weight of a longing for Trisha that he cannot bring himself to act on. Nidhi abandons her corporate life to teach pottery, only to discover that clay is far more forgiving than the people she loves. A quiz competition sparks an unlikely romance between Aman and Shruti, one that must withstand parental disapproval and class divides. And Anjali, a journalist, is so busy chasing stories that she almost misses the one unfolding in her own life.

Set against the pulse of contemporary India, People We Love explores the tug-of-war between duty and desire, family and freedom, who we are and who we dare to be. Intimate and deeply felt, these are stories about love that stays, leaves and almost slips away … love that quietly and irrevocably shapes the people we become.

Preeti Shenoy, author, says, “People We Love is a collection of three long stories, prequels to my bestsellers It’s All in the Planets and The One You Cannot Have. If you have read those books, you already know how these characters’ stories unfold. But what you don’t know yet is where it all began, the loves they carried, the choices they made, and the people they were before life shaped them into who you met on those pages. Writing these prequels felt like returning to a home I hadn’t realised I missed, and discovering rooms I had never been in before.”

Rashmi Menon, Associate Publisher – HarperCollins India, adds, “Preeti Shenoy has an extraordinary gift for finding the heartbeat of ordinary lives. People We Love is a warm, wise and deeply humane collection of short stories that reunites readers with favourite characters from her bestselling novels It’s All in the Planets and The One You Cannot Have, weaving them into fresh, deeply satisfying narratives. These characters feel like people you know, and their journeys will move, comfort and surprise you. This uplifting, thought–provoking collection reminds us why we turn to stories in the first place. We couldn’t be more excited to share it with our readers.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Preeti Shenoy is among the highest-selling authors in India. She was featured on the Forbes longlist of the most influential celebrities in India. Her books include When Love Came Calling, Wake Up Life, Is Calling, Life Is What You Make It, The Rule Breakers, A Hundred Little Flames, It’s All in the Planets, Why We Love the Way We Do, The Secret Wish List, The One You Cannot Have and many others. Her work has been translated into many Indian languages. Preeti is also a motivational speaker, an avid fitness enthusiast, and an artist specializing in portraiture and illustrated journalling. Preeti lives in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

ABOUT HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS INDIA

At HarperCollins Publishers India, we believe in telling the best stories and ensuring they reach the widest readership. We publish around 250 new books every year across 10 imprints, adding to a diverse catalogue of more than 3,000 titles in print and digital formats, with an array of genres and voices that ensure there is a book for every reader. Our authors have won some of the most prestigious literary awards, and we are proud to publish many acclaimed writers, alongside new and emerging voices shaping contemporary literature. We are also the publishers of The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga, winner of the Booker Prize 2008, and Girl in White Cotton by Avni Doshi, shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2020, and HarperCollins India itself has been awarded “Publisher of the Year” several times. In addition, we represent some of the finest global publishers such as Harvard University Press, Lonely Planet, Oneworld, Nosy Crow, Usborne, and National Geographic Children, bringing Indian readers access to world-class books and ideas. We are also proud to be certified as a Great Place to Work for two consecutive years, a recognition of our culture, people, and values that make HarperCollins India a truly inspiring workplace. 

PRESS CONTACT:

Nandini Tripathi, Manager – Marketing (Commercial)

Email: nandini.tripathi@harpercollins.co.in | Mobile: +91 9718928839

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Fulfilling PM Modi’s Dream of Atmanirbhar Bharat: India’s AI Writing Startup Kreativespace Incubated at IIT Kharagpur

  1. Kreativespace, an Indian AI-powered writing platform founded by Vinet Kakadea, has been incubated at IIT Kharagpur and recognized by SVNIT University, Ministry of Education under Bodhan AI Conclave also through the NVIDIA Inception Program, AWS Startup Program, and DPIIT under Startup India.
  2. The platform unifies 8 AI-powered writing tools, along with AI Humanizer and Message AI feature being the latest addition into a single ecosystem, so you can generate and refine content all in one place.
  3. The company reports more than 50,000+ signed-up users, 75,000+ anonymous users, and roughly 100,000 monthly website visitors, positioning itself as the only Indian company operating at scale in the global AI writing market.

SURAT, India, June 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Kreativespace, an AI-powered writing platform, is building out its position as the only homegrown alternative in a market long dominated by international tools such as Grammarly and QuillBot. Founded by Vinet Kakadea and incubated at IIT Kharagpur, the company has aligned its growth with the broader push behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India) initiative, which encourages indigenous technology development capable of competing on a global scale.

Kreativespace Incubated at IIT Kharagpur

As AI adoption accelerates across India’s education, research, and enterprise sectors, Kreativespace is among a small group of Indian startups building writing technology designed to compete directly with established international platforms.

Kreativespace’s progress has been recognized by several institutions central to India’s startup and technology ecosystem. The company has been incubated at IIT Kharagpur, selected under SSIP 2.0 through SVNIT University, and chosen by the Ministry of Education to present its work at the Bodhan AI Conclave. It has also been accepted into the NVIDIA Inception Program and the AWS Startup Program, and holds DPIIT recognition under the Startup India initiative.

Where many writing-tool users rely on separate subscriptions for content generation to refinement for grammar correction, paraphrasing, plagiarism checking, citation generation, and editing, Kreativespace brings these functions into a single platform as a super-app for AI writing tools. The company says its approach centers on affordability and accessibility alongside performance, aiming to make advanced AI writing assistance available to a wider range of users regardless of geography or budget.

The idea for Kreativespace took shape while founder Vinet Kakadea was studying at New York University and Marymount University in the United States, where he experienced firsthand how students, researchers, and professionals often need multiple paid subscriptions to cover writing-related tasks. That fragmented experience led him to build a super-app offering each of these capabilities together, at a more accessible price point.

Kreativespace combines 8 AI-powered writing tools with AI Humanizer and Message AI feature being the latest addition, allowing users to generate, rewrite, refine, and humanize content without moving between separate platforms. The product is available via web platform, mobile apps on the App Store and Google Play, browser extensions for Chrome, Mozilla, and Edge, and a Google Docs add-on.

Vinet Kakadea, Founder of Kreativespace, said, “Kreativespace’s vision is to digitalize the entire Indian education ecosystem to support PM Modi’s Atmanirbhar Bharat scheme.”

About Kreativespace

Kreativespace with the Motto of Making Writing Accessible for Everyone: Kreativespace is an AI-powered writing platform built to make AI writing tools accessible, affordable, and effective for students, researchers, educators, professionals, content creators, startups, and enterprises. Founded by Vinet Kakadea, the company is incubated at IIT Kharagpur and has been recognized by AWS Startup Program, the NVIDIA Inception Program, and DPIIT under Startup India. For more information, visit kreativespace.com.

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