Puma announces Shanaya Kapoor as Gen Z ambassador

Sports brand PUMA India has onboarded budding actor Shanaya Kapoor as its new brand ambassador to deepen its connect with Gen Z consumers in the country. Shanaya will front PUMA’s athleisure and performance wear, taking the sports brand a step closer to its next generation of shoppers and boosting its commitment towards connecting with youth culture.

Shanaya is set to star in two massive Indian film productions. She will make her debut with a Telegu-Malayalam film with renowned actor Mohanlal. She will also make her OTT debut in Karan Johar's Student of the Year 3 franchise.

As part of her association with PUMA, Shanaya also announced her debut on the popular multimedia messaging app Snapchat. Through her public account, Shanaya will engage with her Snapchat audience and give exclusive and unfiltered glimpses of her life, and her partnership with PUMA. 

●       India has the biggest user base on Snapchat in the world with over 200 million monthly users
●       About 90% of its users are between the ages of 18-24 years, the highest for any social media platform
●       The transient nature of the content appeals to its young users, allowing them to be authentic and unfiltered 

Shanaya (23) already has 1.8 million followers on Instagram. Despite her not being on Snapchat up until now, several public accounts on the platform actively decode her style, and track her fitness and dance routines through Spotlight Snaps.

Commenting on the occasion, Shanaya Kapoor said, “I have always been a daredevil. I regularly play basketball and now dabbling in tennis and badminton. I am excited to show this side of me through my association with PUMA. I feel so happy that PUMA appreciated me for who I am.” 

Shanaya added, “I love PUMA’s sport style vibe. As an active person, I find it extremely important to feel comfortable yet fashion-forward. I have so many ideas for projects and campaigns that I’ll be taking part in and will bring them to life with my PUMA family this year.” 

Commenting on the association, Shreya Sachdev, Head of Marketing at PUMA India, said, “Gen Z are digital natives. Their influences on entertainment, shopping, education, fitness, food, and wellbeing are shaped and cultured differently. This cohort requires a distinct language of expression. As a brand, PUMA looks forward to connecting authentically with them through our association with Shanaya.” 

Shreya added, “Shanaya Kapoor is a sports lover and a fitness enthusiast. Her distinct style perfectly resonates with our brand’s fashion-forward ethos. She is quirky, fun and self-aware. We are excited to showcase this undiscovered side of Shanaya to her followers.” 

With this association, Shanaya joins PUMA’s arsenal of brand ambassadors such as Kareena Kapoor Khan, Anushka Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur, MC Mary Kom and Avani Lekhara. 

Gen Z - born between the mid-90s and early-mid 2000s (or aged 15-24 years) - is the new wave of consumers in the country. With earlier access to smart phones, they are social media active and driven by the firm belief that “You Only Live Once.” According to a Bain & Company report on E-Retail in 2022, one in three online shoppers in India is Gen Z.