Staff Reporter –
ITC Ltd.’s Sunrise Pure, the market leader in the branded spices category in West Bengal, is thrilled to announce the launch of Aajker Annapurna – Season 3, a culinary extravaganza that will be broadcasted on popular OTT platform – ZEE5. After two years of remarkable and consecutive success, Aajker Annapurna returns to rekindle the culinary passion and entrepreneurial aspirations of women in West Bengal.
The campaign, centered around Sunrise Pure’s dedication to fostering entrepreneurial ambitions of women looking to establish culinary ventures, introduces a fresh element to the initiative. This year the brand anticipates over 20,000+ entries from all over West Bengal. Further to encourage participation, this year the registration process has been simplified with the help of a WhatsApp chatbot. The chatbot provides culinary enthusiasts with 900+ customized recipes. Participants are to use these recipes, prepare the dish and share pictures of their creations. In addition to this, with each prepared dish submission, participants will have the opportunity to earn Sunrise coins, a higher number of coins will increase their chance to qualify for the second round.
Speaking about this initiative, Mr. Piyush Mishra, Business Head, Sunrise, ITC Ltd, said, “We are delighted to bring back Aajker Annapurna Season 3. The previous seasons’ achievements underscore Sunrise Pure’s dedicated support for empowering women in West Bengal, helping them turn their culinary talents into flourishing enterprises. This upcoming season is poised to deliver an even more magnificent culinary experience. The incredible feedback we’ve received thus far has been truly heartwarming, and we eagerly anticipate another year of success.”
Participants can register by sending a text ‘Hi’ on ‘9433566414’, follow directions by the bot and submit their dishes for participating in Aajker Annapurna Season 3. Participants will earn ‘one’ sunrise coin per valid dish. Participants are required to earn as many coins as possible by the deadline to increase their chances of making it to the next round. The last date for submitting your entries is 22ndNovember 2023.
Those who qualify for the next rounds will be given culinary, Audio video making and entrepreneurial training by experts at ITC hotel and their recipe videos will be featured on Sunrise’s YT channel. Participants will be judged on merit and creativity they showcase by a panel of experts. The winner of the contest will receive a cash prize of 1.5 lacs.
In the previous season, the Annapurna team received over 10,000 entries. Ms. Shahala Ahmed, who won the title of ‘Aajker Annapurna’ is today a successful entrepreneur and runs her own business.
About ITC Sunrise Pure: Sunrise Pure, acquired by ITC Ltd. in 2021, is a market leader in West Bengal in the fast-growing spices category, with a strong heritage and legacy dating back over 100 years. Sunrise Pure has been enhancing the taste of meals in Bengali households with its high-quality spices, including the quintessential Mustard Powder, Shorshe Posto, Shukto, and Shahi Garam Masala. Today the brand has a variety of products under Basic Spices, Blended Spices, Whole Spices and Papad. It is available across retail outlets in West Bengal and is available digitally through leading E-commerce websites like ITCStore.in, Amazon, Flipkart and BigBasket.