Brands I Can’t Do Without

Whether we like it or not, some brands carve their own niche in our lives.  It could be brands your peers recommended or simply your curiosity.  May be it is a particular brand of jeans that you prefer, or cosmetics from that one brand you trust or the coffee from a particular place that you can’t stop having. 

A brand like Dunkin’ Donuts has that kind of addictive quality.  It is an American brand as everyone knows which gives it the cult status in India.  When the first store opened at Delhi’s Connaught Place, people queued up to get in.  It was brought to India by Jubliant Foodworks in 2012 and since then, it has been giving a tough competition to brands like Café Coffee Day, Barista Coffee Co and Starbucks.  I got introduced to it when Dunkin’ Donuts opened a store in the same building where I was working.  I don’t mind going down three floors to get myself a perfect cup of coffee because it is perfect.  The consistency in the products is what makes Dunkin’ my favorite.  Coffee, donuts or sandwiches or burgers, it tastes the same like the first day I tried it.  It is a western brand, has aspirational value for the youth in India but for me it works because it means quality and consistency.

From food we move on to the other most important thing in a woman’s life, or may be the first most important thing; clothes.  Due to the long summers in India, I prefer cottons.  Jeans and other synthetic materials look good but in the heat, they don’t feel good.  Also, ethnic clothes are loose in fitting compared to western wear; they are more comfortable to wear in the long Indian summer.  One brand which I got re-introduced is a home grown apparel brand: Westside.  Run by Trent India, a Tata Group company, Westside is known for ethnic clothing which includes salwar suits (tunics and loose pants), kurtas (tunics), cotton shirts etc.  Ethnic clothes are a must have in every woman’s wardrobe in India.  Be it festivals, weddings, or traditional get-togethers, ethnic clothes are always favored over jeans.  At Westside, the prints and fabric are clutter breaking.  I had long ago given up this brand because it didn’t synch with my style choices but lately it is back on my good books.  Quality, pricing, variety, sizes Westside offers everything that I want now.  The brand is a lot like me.  Contemporary yet rooted, and speaks for itself.

Beauty products are the all-weather best friends for women and the brand that I swear by is The Body Shop Plc.  My best friend introduced me to its products and there has been no looking back since then.  Initially it was only the body butter but then foot cream, perfumes and shower gel got added in that list.  It is expensive but it lasts really long.  It is a total value for money.  The products use natural ingredients and are safe.  Once you buy them, you are very much likely to buy them again.  The Indian market also has some eco-friendly brands but they are hard to find.  The Body Shop products can be bought easily online or at the many stores across the country.  Summers or winters or spring, I don’t have to worry about my skin one bit now, thanks to the awesomeness of The Body Shop products.

2015 made me evolve as a consumer and some these brands are likely to stick with me for a long time.