As Valentine’s Day approaches, brands are leveraging the spirit of love to craft innovative and inclusive marketing strategies, resonating with India’s increasingly individualistic consumers. Embracing diversity and self-expression, companies are tapping into the desire for personalized experiences, driving sales by offering products that align with the values and interests of a youthful demographic, says  GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Indian consumers today are more individualistic than ever before and feel more empowered for self-expression, creating opportunities for consumer goods companies to offer “identity-related” products that can feel more personal to consumers. This trend is driven by socio-demographic shifts, with consumers looking for value through more personalized solutions, as well as choosing products that are more aligned with their interests, which 41% of Indians agree is an essential feature in product* when making purchase decisions.

Parthasaradhi Reddy, Consumer Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Consumers often execute their self-expression and self-branding through the purchase decisions they make and tend to gravitate towards products that can allow them to show a sense of personality, as well as aligning with individual values and self-worth. As many as 31% of Indians surveyed admit their food & drinks choice is always influenced by how well the product is tailored to their personality*.

“Brands are responding to these changing consumer attitudes by actively incorporating these trends into new product development, in a conscious effort to meet the enhanced needs of consumers and generate a competitive advantage.”

For instance, Cadbury 5 star’s campaign takes a dig at the fatigue around relationships by attempting to erase Valentine’s Day by traveling back into time with “Time Travel Vessel” campaign featuring Indian scientist, Nambi Narayanan. Similarly, The Man Company’s #CountingLove campaign attempts to transcend the conventional form of celebrating romance by embracing the love through laughter, vulnerability, shared experiences and imperfect emotions.

Tim Hill, Key Account Director, GlobalData Singapore, adds: “By embracing inclusivity, and diversity, companies are creating more targeted and personalized experiences for shoppers, thereby winning hearts in a bid to boost sales around Valentine’s season.”

Reddy continues: “With India being a young country where the median age is 29.6 years^, the market represents a litany of opportunities for brands to appeal to these young, novelty-seeking consumers who are increasingly embracing products from brands that tend to break traditional notions and align with the interests of younger demographics.”

Brands such as Cadbury’s Silk stepped up its Valentine’s Day marketing efforts by collaborating with Zoya Akhtar, an acclaimed filmmaker, to launch user-generated content (UGC) campaign that uses AI to transform user submission into personalized videos creating a deep connection with the brand with a visual treat celebrating individual stories.

Hill concludes: “While the desire for personal and specialized products is high among consumers, they also find new experiences associated with product purchases to be essential as affirmed by 40% of Gen X, 41% of Gen Y, and 35%  of Gen Z consumers in India*.”

*GlobalData 2023 Q4 Consumer Survey – India, published in December 2023, 500 respondents

^GlobalData Macroeconomic Indicators, accessed in February 2024