Instagram partners with Kareena Kapoor Khan to support small businesses

Instagram today announced a unique partnership with actor Kareena Kapoor Khan to engage with her thriving Instagram community, and to support small businesses in the country. The actor, who is passionate about gardening, is supporting an Ahmedabad-based small business, myBageecha, and is encouraging others also to discover and support a small business of their choice. 

Kareena joined Instagram earlier this year and uses her account to show her personal moments with friends and family, as well as behind the scenes from her shoots. Nature and plants form the backdrop of many of her posts, and her love for gardening led her to discover myBageecha on Instagram. myBageecha has a range of gardening products, know-how, and services, and uses Instagram to not just develop a passionate community of plant lovers but also to reach new, potential customers across India. Kareena’s support for myBageecha will be a vital opportunity for them to gain access to a national audience through the actor's Instagram community. 

Archana Vohra, Director, Small and Medium Business, Facebook India said, ‘Instagram today has evolved into a cultural hub, and a place for more than a billion people around the world to discover and connect with inspirational people such as Kareena Kapoor Khan, and businesses like myBageecha. The partnership with Kareena is not just a unique growth opportunity for myBageecha but it also lends strong support for all small businesses, especially in challenging times like these. We’re thankful to Kareena for her interest in helping India’s small businesses and are confident of the business impact it’ll help deliver for myBageecha as well as for others.”

Kareena will promote the brand on Instagram using branded content ads, a format that gives advertisers the ability to promote creators' organic branded content posts as feed and stories ads, thereby reaching new audiences and measuring impact. Talking about this unique partnership Kareena Kapoor Khan said, “Every day I discover something new and special through Instagram and my community there. My love for gardening led me to myBageecha, a wonderful small business that is helping make India and its homes greener. With Instagram, I now have an opportunity to support myBageecha and I couldn’t be more glad. Many more small businesses in India need support and I've made my start. I’ll also be gifting my loved ones something green and beautiful this festive season and I hope you do too.”

MyBageecha has been using Instagram to reach its audience organically, as well as through sponsored ads. It accredits a 3x growth in their sales after setting up their Instagram account and starting advertising on the platform. While commenting on this partnership, Saumitra Kabra, Co-founder, myBageecha, said, “Instagram gives us the unique vantage point of being located in a non-metro city, and yet having access to a country wide market through its many features. During the pandemic, the platform has been instrumental in helping us connect with our customers and reach new audiences to ensure business continuity. Now with this unique opportunity of an association with Kareena Kapoor Khan, we’re hoping to gain more reach, visibility, and reputation. We’re extremely thankful for this!”

This partnership is part of Instagram’s recent ‘Love Runs Deep’ campaign, that aims to redefine the way brands can authentically tell their stories while engaging with influencers. The  campaign is built on the insight that Instagram is a natural home for partnerships between people, celebrities, influencers and brands, a relationship that can be leveraged for business impact. 

Facebook has also rolled out a series of programs and initiatives since the pandemic to aid the economic recovery of small businesses. The accelerated digital adoption as a result of the pandemic has made it critical for small businesses to swiftly pivot from offline to online in order to navigate the crisis and grow. This week the company announced a dedicated offline to online SMB Guide as well as other new resources to help make this journey frictionless for small businesses using Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The Guide is free and publicly available for all businesses, and Facebook is also proactively reaching out to 9 million small businesses across the country to ensure that it reaches those who need it the most. 

Mindshare is the agency partner, and Versis is the talent partner with creative support from MissMalini Entertainment