Brands
Divorced singles choose emotional safety over grand Valentine’s gestures: Rebounce
Rebounce survey shows steady love and clear intentions win hearts this Valentine’s
MUMBAI: Valentine’s Day is usually about flowers, fancy dates, and dramatic declarations of love. But for India’s divorced singles, it seems less is more. A recent survey by Rebounce, the matchmaking app for second chances, finds that 49 per cent of divorced and separated singles now prioritise consistent emotional safety over flashy displays of affection.
Rebounce founder and CEO Ravi Mittal said, “Our users have lived through loss and learned hard lessons. They are drawn to consistency, emotional reliability, and genuine intention. Grand gestures may sparkle for a day, but steady care lasts a lifetime.”
The survey polled 5,748 divorced, separated, and widowed individuals across metro and suburban India, aged 27 to 45, including single parents and those without children.
Singles looking for a second chance are no longer impressed by sudden bursts of affection. Nine in ten users said the emotional drop after a Valentine’s high is not worth it. Around 39% of men and women said regular communication, predictable behaviour, and emotional availability are the gifts they really crave, both on special days and ordinary ones.
Supriya, 36, from Delhi, said, “Being too nice on Valentine’s Day and indifferent the rest of the year reminds me of my first marriage, which ended badly. Steady effort, even if understated, is the new romantic currency.”
Nearly half of female users aged 30 to 40 said they value transparency about a partner’s intentions over extravagant gifts. Sulagna, 33, an IT professional, shared, “I’ve already tried the let’s-figure-it-out approach and it failed. Now, upfront conversations and clarity about intentions are all I ask.”
For many divorced singles, grand gestures lose meaning if they are not backed by everyday effort. Among 3,627 respondents from tier 1 and 2 cities, six in eight said lavish gifts mean little if emotional neglect is the norm the rest of the year. Jayadweep, 39, a single dad, said, “Small daily efforts, like asking how I am or remembering little things like my medicine, matter far more than expensive gifts on Valentine’s Day.”
For singles giving love a second chance, it seems steady care, honesty, and emotional reliability are the ultimate acts of romance, no roses or fireworks required.
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
