Bhatia joins ‘Make in India’ brand team in new startup

NEW DELHI: Promoter of Interglobe Aviation (IndiGo Airlines) Rahul Bhatia, and Lightspeed India Partners MD Bejul Somaia have joined Make in India brand experts — former Wieden + Kennedy directors, V Sunil and Mohit Dhar Jayal — to launch a startup, Motherland Ventures.
The new company will design and sell lifestyle consumer products, including customized holiday experiences, luggage. Currently, the team is working on an urban regeneration project in Jodhpur by renovating old step wells and havelis to boost tourism.
Motherland started off as US advertising agency Wieden + Kennedy’s creative magazine, covering Indian pop culture.Under the new leadership, Motherland Ventures will launch an online portal to sell products and follow it up with brick-and-mortar stores later. “Well designed and well produced Indian products are rare,” Sunil told TOI.
“We are working on a couple of things at the moment. We may design luggage, a toy plane or a real aircraft. But the sensibility of our products will be very Indian.”
Sunil and Jayal, who quit Wieden + Kennedy in January, helped build brands such as Royal Enfield, Incredible !ndia and Make in India. “Along with other investors, we are restoring some old havelis and the step well in Jodhpur. From hotels to shopping centres and flying clubs to polo, we want to make it a cool place for everybody, including tourists,” said Sunil, who is one of the faces behind Kochi Biennale.
In a natural extension of its main brand, Motherland will also be involved in culture-related projects such as publishing, film, art and music.