Brands make a beeline to ride Ayush Hu Mai's Croissant-Prashant reel wave

In the past few weeks, several brands and companies, such as Britannia Industries, Netflix India, Lenskart, mCaffeine, Swiggy, The Skin Story, and Myntra, have rushed to tap into the recent fame of an Instagram user named Ayush Hu Mai after his viral Croissant-Prashant reel.

 

Britannia Industries was the first to jump on the viral Croissant-Prashant reel and even renamed its Britannia Treat Instagram account to Britannia.Prashant, after a reel by Ayush Hu Mai, in which he mispronounced croissant as Prashant. Since then, a wave of brands, with the recent ones being Yes Madam (which provides salon services at home), WanderOn (a travel-tech startup), Veirdo (a clothing lifestyle brand), and Gritzo (a nutritional drink for children), have collaborated with Ayush Hu Mai for a similar trend.

 

According to Shekhar Agarwal, general manager, marketing, Britannia Industries, rebranding its social media identity to ‘Britannia Prashant’ was not merely a marketing move but a strategic decision to transform a viral moment into something meaningful for the brand, as packaged croissants are still in their early stages in India. He noted that consumers had also started asking for a ‘Britannia Prashant’ product.

 

“So, we made it happen. The limited-edition collectible tin pack is not just about packaging; it is about cementing Britannia Treat Croissant as a brand that listens, responds, and delivers experiences that matter. We have seen a surge in conversations, user-generated content, and strong engagement across social media,” he added.

 

The ‘Croissant Pronunciation Challenge’ was not the first time the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company engaged in interactive product promotion. Last year, it had initiated a ‘Croissant Internship,’ a one-day internship for the post of croissant pronunciation expert.

 

According to industry experts, influencers have now evolved from simply being product endorsers to shaping the marketing initiative of the brand. KV Sridhar, global chief creative officer, Nihilent, said that Britannia Industries was among the first FMCG brands to embrace social media more extensively than most of its competitors, and the company has used this for several of its brands.

 

“This move (of Britannia Industries) in connecting with younger audiences is more than what any other FMCG brand is doing. Other FMCG brands are trying to understand performance marketing, quick commerce, and digital marketing, whereas these guys (Britannia Industries) have penetrated down to influencer marketing,” he added.

 

Sridhar further said that as long as the brand’s narrative fits naturally with the influencer, brands will use this moment to align with their marketing initiative to create more awareness of their products and the customers’ intent to buy them.

 

Agarwal agrees with Sridhar that for FMCG brands, especially in impulse-driven categories, moment marketing is not just about short-term visibility, but it also helps build lasting consumer connections and drives long-term growth.

 

Mehul Gupta, co-founder and chief executive officer, SoCheers, a digital-first creative agency, said that brands are now actively embedding themselves into influencer moments, ensuring their relevance extends beyond a single viral post.

 

“Earlier, brands handed influencers a script and a product brief. Today, influencers are writing the script. Initially, brands primarily focused on large-scale celebrity endorsements. However, the landscape has shifted towards authenticity and relatability, leading to a rise in micro- and nano-influencers who often have higher engagement rates within their niche communities,” said Gupta.

 

On the contrary, Sandeep Goyal, chairman of Rediffusion, an advertising agency, believes that many such marketing initiatives are planned gimmickry aimed at gaining virality on social media.

 

“A lot of the influencers and their influence is overrated. There is no research that their endorsement moves the needle on consumer choice or impacts sales. But such social media initiatives impress the board and create a buzz amongst peers. So, it is a win-win for all, especially the chosen influencer,” said Goyal.