KitKat crackers, Gandhi cigarettes: Indian kirana shelves expose brand dilution gaps

Counterfeit goods mimicking trademarks like KitKat and personalities like Gandhi, Modi and Tendulkar are surfacing on cigarettes, tea, soaps and Diwali crackers across Indian kirana stores, exposing trademark dilution and personality-rights enforcement gaps for brand owners.

— Source publishedFri, 15 May, 2026, 09:08 IST·First seen Fri, 15 May, 2026, 09:47 IST·Source ET BrandEquity

What happened

Nestlé KitKat · Indian kirana shelves and Diwali markets feature counterfeit goods mimicking trademarks like KitKat (crackers) and using personalities like

Why this matters

Scope bolt-on partnerships or stakes in India brand-protection, anti-counterfeit tech and IP-enforcement service providers while regulatory and litigation tailwinds around personality rights are still early.

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