Why India’s smartest marketers are blurring category lines

Some of the most interesting ideas in digital marketing today are coming from places marketers didn’t previously look: the white space between unrelated categories. In an e-commerce landscape driven by lifestyle aspirations, cultural signals and digital-native behaviour, the lines between industries like food, fashion and finance are being intentionally blurred—not for novelty’s sake, but for strategic advantage.

As India’s e-commerce market matures, and consumer decisions grow increasingly values-driven, marketers across sectors are realising that convergence is not just a buzzword. It’s becoming a practical growth lever.

Cross-category collaboration—between brands, creators, platforms and even payment systems—is evolving from an occasional branding experiment into a powerful tool to deepen customer relationships, build cultural relevance, and even command a pricing premium.

This shift is being propelled by a combination of cultural, behavioural and technological changes. First, there is the rise of lifestyle-first consumption. Post-pandemic, consumers—particularly Gen Z and millennials—are viewing their purchases as an extension of their values and identity.

The right values

A global study notes that 84% of consumers want their values reflected in the brands they use. In India, that impulse is sharpened by sustainability and ethical concerns. A striking 72% of Gen Z shoppers prioritise sustainability when buying used goods, and nearly 10% are willing to pay more for ethically or sustainably made products.

Second, digital-native consumers no longer draw boundaries between brand touchpoints. Influenced by platforms like Instagram and TikTok, they expect narrative consistency across every interaction—whether they’re scrolling, shopping, or sipping coffee.

These consumers demand storytelling, aesthetics and authenticity in equal measure. They also want brands to reflect India’s cultural resurgence—where modern aspiration is increasingly interwoven with tradition. From food to fashion, the opportunity lies in tapping this cultural reclamation authentically.

Some brands are already putting this into play. When Sabyasachi Mukherjee frequently incorporates Bengali sweets like sandesh into his fashion shows, and celebrations, it wasn’t a side project—it was a deliberate brand move. It repositioned the designer from fashion to a broader curator of Bengali cultural heritage.

The business outcome? Greater brand elasticity and authority to price for value, not just product. This isn’t just about diversification—it’s about acquiring the right to operate across cultural moments, not just commercial categories.

Similarly, Paper Boat’s foray into apparel offers another lens. Their merchandise line, rooted in nostalgia rather than logo-slapping, underlines a critical point: cross-category extensions work when they create an ecosystem, not a one-off stunt.

According to marketers familiar with such executions, brand extensions like these can drive stronger brand recall, improve customer lifetime value, and organically fuel advocacy.

The intersection of collaboration

This convergence is not limited to brands. Content creators are participating too. Fashion influencers like Komal Pandey and Masoom Minawala are entering the food space—not only to diversify their monetisation, but to widen their narrative universe.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Komal Pandey (@komalpandeyofficial)

For brands, these kinds of collaborations tend to outperform traditional influencer tie-ups. Engagement rates are reportedly 45% higher when influencers operate outside their ‘native’ categories. It feels less transactional, and more authentic. No wonder 35% of marketers now say influencer marketing delivers a better ROI than other channels.

This raises key questions for brand custodians. The traditional approach to positioning—being the category leader—is losing relevance. What’s replacing it is a focus on lifestyle consistency. Brands must now ask: What cultural territory do we own? Not what product category do we lead?

Consider Chai Point. By repositioning chai as a symbol of the modern Indian professional, it has claimed a new cultural space—and is reportedly able to charge 40% more than generic tea vendors.

To do this effectively, marketers need to rethink their creative playbook. Fashion brands are increasingly using food-styled content for authenticity, while food brands are borrowing fashion aesthetics to elevate their storytelling. This strategy only works if there’s consistency in the visual language, coherence in the brand’s narratives, and a deep cultural insight anchoring the crossover. Without these, the risk of appearing inauthentic—or worse, opportunistic—is high.

Going beyond reach

Influencer marketing, too, demands recalibration. As creators fluidly move between sectors, brands must prioritise those who can integrate cross-category storytelling naturally.

The success metrics are no longer limited to reach and engagement. Instead, relevance across cultural cohorts, real-world lifestyle fit, and alignment with the brand’s cultural domain are better indicators.

Technology is fuelling this convergence in practical ways. UPI’s frictionless microtransaction capabilities, for instance, are enabling new product bundling experiments. Snapdeal’s integration of Happilo snacks with fashion purchases—arguably an odd pairing—nonetheless delivered results: average order value rose 22%, and customer retention improved by 15%.

Social commerce adds another layer. Its format encourages discovery across categories simultaneously, rather than keeping the consumer confined within one vertical.

The implication for brands? Optimise for discovery-led browsing, not just conversion. Build content journeys that allow the consumer to traverse from skincare to snacks to sneakers—without cognitive dissonance.

That said, not all convergence is good convergence. Brand dilution is a real risk when lines are crossed without a coherent cultural anchor. The key is to define brand filters—clear values, aesthetic principles and storytelling guidelines that help distinguish legitimate extensions from distractions. If a consumer starts to question what the brand stands for, you’ve gone too far.

Poorly executed cross-category strategies can also create confusion. If consumers can’t understand how a brand belongs in both sectors, the attempt becomes self-defeating. The fix lies in narrative clarity. Rather than treat each product or vertical as a separate business unit, brands need to explain why the crossover makes cultural—and emotional—sense.

Conduct cultural territory audits

For marketers looking to operationalise this approach, the steps are clear. Brand strategists must conduct cultural territory audits—not to map competitors, but to understand where the brand meaningfully intersects with broader lifestyles. This should be followed by the creation of cross-category content calendars that reflect those lived realities.

Creative teams, meanwhile, should focus on building aesthetic systems that are category-agnostic but brand-specific. Mastery of narrative bridging—the ability to link different product experiences into a single, believable story—is essential. Investing in cultural research will help ground these stories in truths, not trends.

Media planners have their work cut out too. Platform convergence demands media strategies that optimise for cross-category discovery.

Targeting should shift from purchase intent to lifestyle moments—whether it’s a post-gym snack search or an officewear inspiration scroll. Most importantly, measurement systems need to evolve to account for brand equity shifts across new cultural contexts—not just sales spikes.

The broader trend is clear: India’s digital-first consumers aren’t buying in silos anymore. Their baskets—and their brains—are making connections across categories. Brands that understand this shift, and can move with cultural credibility, stand to win not by selling more products, but by telling more consistent stories.

In the decade ahead, the winners won’t be those with the widest portfolio. They’ll be those who can bridge categories without breaking character—and own cultural relevance across every scroll, sip or swipe.

- Chandan Bagwe, founder and director, C Com Digital.