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Pune Startup Launches Premium, Safety-First Toddler Toy Brand Woot Hoot, Targeting India’s ₹1,900 Crore Market

Gaming industry veteran Alok Kumar today announced the launch of Woot Hoot, a premium, safety-first toddler toy brand built to bring European-inspired quality standards to Indian families without the high price tag. 

Designed for children aged 6 months to 3 years, Woot Hoot aims to transform India’s toy market by blending rigorous safety standards with joyful, sensory-rich play.

The startup, founded in 2023, addresses growing concerns among Indian parents about toy safety, durability, and developmental value. With India’s toddler toy market projected to cross ₹1,900 crore, Woot Hoot enters with a differentiated promise: world-class safety, smart design, and affordability all made in India.

Each Woot Hoot product is thoughtfully crafted to support a specific stage of early childhood development. All toys are made using baby-safe, BPA-free materials such as food-grade PVC, and durable ABS plastic complying with European EN71 and Indian BIS safety standards.

Our goal is simple,” said Alok Kumar, Founder & CEO of Woot Hoot. “To offer every Indian child toys that are as safe as they are fun. After a decade in gaming technology and becoming a parent myself, I saw firsthand the lack of high-quality, safe, affordable toys in India. Woot Hoot was born from that gap. Designing toys requires the same level of attention as digital products except here, lives and development are at stake. We’ve built every toy with that same engineering mindset.” he said.

Woot Hoot’s debut range includes thoughtfully designed toys tailored to every stage of early development. Cuddle Cubes are soft, washable sensory blocks featuring fruits, numbers, and animals, perfect for stacking and learning (2+ years). Cuddle Cruisers, India’s first soft car toys, come with smooth edges and gentle whistle sounds for safe, tactile fun (6+ months). Ring-a-Roos offer chunky, stackable silicone rings with cute animal toppers, ideal for teething and color recognition (6+ months). For toddlers 18 months and up, Jungle Buddies deliver squishy, animal-shaped surprises with lights, sounds, and textures to delight the senses. Rounding out the lineup, Woot Wheels are durable ABS construction vehicles with bump-and-go action, lights, and music to fuel imaginative play (18+ months).

Woot Hoot is led and backed by Tech Precision and Industry Experts which includes  Alok Kumar, a gaming industry veteran with over a decade of experience at Hike and June Gaming, bringing a strong focus on precision, safety, and user experience to toy design.  

He is supported by a seasoned team, Manish Jawalgi (Sales Director, ex-Drafter Robotics), Atul Kumar (Production Lead, ex-Embibe & SmartCoin), and Anupam Yadav (Business Ops, ex-Vectus Industries) bringing deep expertise across automation, quality control, and retail operations.

Distribution and Expansion

Woot Hoot products are currently available at website and through select retail and distribution partners nationwide. The brand plans to scale via modern trade, and partnerships with premium parenting and baby care platforms.

With a manufacturing base in India and strict adherence to global safety protocols, Woot Hoot is committed to making premium-quality toys accessible for Indian families across metro and tier 2/3 cities.

About Woot Hoot

Founded in 2023, Woot Hoot creates thoughtfully designed, safety-certified toys for infants and toddlers. Every toy is made in India, using international-grade materials and development-focused design. At Woot Hoot, playtime is more than fun—it’s safe, sensory-rich, and smart.

D2C
by Vivek Kumar

Shiseido, the iconic Japanese beauty brand, has unveiled its new and improved Ultimune Power Infusing Serum in the Indian market. The launch is accompanied by a  striking new campaign film featuring the brand’s Indian ambassador and acclaimed  Bollywood actress Tamannaah Bhatia.  The latest campaign film featuring Tamannaah marks a significant evolution in  Shiseido’s brand storytelling in the country. Through this campaign, Shiseido highlights  its philosophy of regeneration as a source of strength, confidence, and timeless beauty.  With Ultimune, regeneration becomes a source of confidence, allowing one to  transcend age and fully embrace who they are. With her radiant presence, Tamannaah  embodies this philosophy, reflecting vitality, resilience, and the empowerment that  comes from within  New ULTIMUNE Power Infusing Serum is the result of SHISEIDO’s world leading  research on skin’s innate strength, which has been ongoing for over 30 years. This  deeply hydrating aging care serum features exclusive patented Power Fermented  Camellia+. Absorbing into 30 million surface cells, it strengthens skin’s moisture barrier  and helps to slow the skin aging cycle and reduce visible aging signs. This powerhouse  formula improves 11 signs of aging, including uneven skin tone, enlarged pores,  wrinkles, and redness.  Kadambari Lakhani, CEO and Director, Baccarose Perfumes & Beauty Products Pvt.  Ltd., says, “At Baccarose, we are proud to partner with Shiseido to bring the  transformative Ultimune Power Infusing Serum to India. This launch not only introduces  cutting-edge skin regeneration technology to Indian consumers but also underscores  our shared vision of empowerment through beauty. With Tamannaah Bhatia as the face  of Shiseido in India, this campaign celebrates confidence and the beauty of embracing  every chapter of oneself.”  With this campaign and product launch, Shiseido continues to strengthen its presence  in the Indian market, reaffirming its dedication to redefining beauty standards with  science, artistry, and innovation. The new Ultimune Power Infusing Serum is now available at Shiseido stores and leading  retailers including Parcos, Sephora, Tira, Myntra and Shoppers Stop, starting at INR  6,500 

D2C
by Vivek Kumar

Lavie Luxe, the premium extension of India’s beloved handbag brand Lavie, introduces three sophisticated new designs—Wella, Rumi, and Addie, crafted to complement the modern woman’s professional and lifestyle needs. Designed with a seamless blend of structure, polish, and functionality, these handbags are an elegant addition to everyday office wear while transitioning effortlessly into after-hours style. Each piece in this launch reflects Lavie Luxe’s signature craftsmanship, premium detailing, and versatile design language. The Wella satchel embodies understated elegance with its refined silhouette and structured build, making it an ideal choice for a day at work or important business meetings. Rumi brings timeless sophistication with its sleek compartments and detachable pouch, a perfect balance of style and utility for women on the go. Completing the collection is Addie, a large tote with dedicated compartments for essentials including a laptop sleeve and card holders—tailored for professionals who value both fashion and functionality. Available in versatile shades like off-white, black, powder blue, and maroon, these handbags are designed to complement a wide range of wardrobe choices, from tailored office wear to chic weekend ensembles. With this launch, Lavie Luxe continues to bridge the gap between high fashion and everyday practicality, offering handbags that are not only luxurious in appeal but also indispensable for the contemporary woman’s dynamic lifestyle.

D2C
by Vivek Kumar

inDrive, the world’s second most-downloaded ride-hailing app since 2022, today announced the first rollout of its SuperApp, starting in Kazakhstan. The move comes on the back of explosive growth in delivery: over 41 million deliveries completed globally in 2024, and over 14 million in Q2 2025, making it one of the fastest-scaling categories in the company’s portfolio. Building on this momentum, inDrive is venturing beyond mobility into multiple verticals, using delivery and grocery as anchor services and powerful cross-sell mechanisms across its ecosystem. inDrive’s strategy is underpinned by confident growth, even in a tough global market. To date, the company has completed more than 6.5 billion transactions and surpassed 360 million app downloads worldwide. It operates with a capital-efficient, low-CAC, high-retention model, which has already brought the company to EBITDA profitability, while continuing to deliver double-digit growth in the first half of this year. Built for Frontier Markets What sets inDrive apart is that it is designed for the world’s frontier markets, where the growth playbook looks very different from that of legacy global players. These regions are defined by fast-changing consumer behaviors, mobile-first populations, and a strong demand for services that are both affordable and fair. Grocery is a natural anchor in this context: a daily-needs vertical that drives repeat engagement, strengthens loyalty, and opens the door for cross-sell into mobility, courier, fintech, and beyond. At the heart of the rollout is inDrive.Groceries, a new service that allows users to order from more than 5,000 products with delivery in as little as 15 minutes. Early pilots have shown remarkable traction: an NPS of 83% and an average of five grocery orders per user per month — clear signs that grocery, as a high-frequency service, can anchor daily engagement and strengthen loyalty across the entire platform. The SuperApp is modular by design, built to adapt to the needs of each market rather than follow a one-size-fits-all blueprint. While grocery is leading the rollout in Kazakhstan, other verticals are driving adoption elsewhere. inDrive recently expanded inDrive.Money to Brazil, giving drivers and couriers access to digital loans of up to R$2,400. Similar services have already proven successful in Mexico, Colombia, and Peru. This flexible approach ensures that each market receives the services most relevant to local communities — whether that means loans, food, freight, or micromobility solutions. Evidence from early SuperApp rollouts shows the model’s potential. In a sample of 16 focus cities, people using more than one service generate two to four times higher GMV and show over 15 percentage points higher retention compared to single-vertical users.  Over the next 12 months, inDrive will roll out its SuperApp across key frontier economies including Kazakhstan, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Pakistan, Egypt, Brazil and Morocco. Each launch builds not only on local traction but also on the strong network effects of inDrive’s platform. This foundation allows inDrive to scale faster, with lower acquisition costs, and to deliver meaningful impact in markets where traditional super app models have struggled to take root. Unlike legacy super …