This report is authored by our strategy and consumer insight leads, backed by culture makers with deep experience in branding and innovation.
Archit Agarwal is a food creator and co-founder of The LOST Table, a Gurgaon supper club that has hosted 350+ guests with a 1,500-person waitlist. Through @architlost and his blog Life of Simple Treats, he reaches 10,000+ monthly readers. Featured in TOI, Harper’s Bazaar, Mint, and The Economic Times, he continues to influence India’s growing supper-club culture.
He shares why consumers are seeking intimate, home-grown supper clubs and what sets them apart from regular dining - personal connection, storytelling, and a curated sense of community. He also highlights how these experiences are reshaping the idea of premium food in India, shifting it toward authenticity and shared discovery.
Kaustubh talks about how brands are upgrading entertainment experiences through better technology, design, and consistency. Drawing from his theatre reviews, he highlights what makes an experience feel world-class today - immersive formats, high-quality sound and projection, and improved audience comfort. He also notes how premium entertainment in India is shifting toward more tech-driven, elevated viewing experiences.
Kaustubh Debnath is an Associate Product Manager at Lumio, a smart TV and home entertainment startup. He runs the YouTube channel KDCloudy, where he reviews India’s movie theatres and explores film technology. Kaustubh has visited 50+ large-format theatres and built a community of 18k+ subscribers.
Smitha Menon is a food and travel journalist and the creator of the Big Food Energy podcast, spotlighting innovative food businesses across India and beyond. She is South-east Asia’s only 50 Best Taste Hunter for the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, Bars & Hotels. Previously, she was Culinary Editor at Condé Nast Traveller India, where she built the F&B vertical and launched India’s Top Restaurant Awards.
She speaks about how brands are increasingly leaning into artistry and craftsmanship to create deeper value for consumers. She highlights how people today reward skill, care, and originality - seeing craftsmanship as a signal of authenticity and cultural richness. She also reflects on why craftsmanship now defines premium experiences, offering a sense of rarity, story, and human touch that mass production can’t replicate.
Yash has helped build India’s leading cannabis-based health and wellness ecosystem. A former media and advertising professional, he leads brand strategy, marketing, and business growth while shaping BOHECO’s D2C wellness narrative. His work focuses on purpose-driven impact that supports farmers, patients, and grassroots communities.
Yash Kotak reflects on how calm, wellness, and mindfulness are reshaping the idea of “premium” today. Drawing from his work at BOHECO, he explains how post-pandemic lifestyles have shifted consumer expectations - from luxury as excess to luxury as balance, intention, and wellbeing. Yash highlights why wellness now sits at the heart of premium experiences and how mindfulness became a key marker of what feels truly high-value and meaningful.
