In an industry increasingly driven by algorithms, dashboards, and rapidly shifting digital trends, building a brand that feels human, consistent, and culturally relevant has become harder. For lifestyle and apparel brands operating in crowded online marketplaces, the challenge is no longer just visibility, but meaningful connection.

Petal Gangurde, chief - brand and culture, XYXX, has been at the forefront of shaping the homegrown men’s lifestyle brand with an aim to be one of the country’s top omnichannel innerwear players.

In conversation with us in our February issue, Gangurde discussed building relevance in a digital-first world, why celebrity endorsements are losing their edge for emerging premium brands, and how in-house creative teams are shaping modern brand storytelling.

Traditional media, as she sees it, has nearly vanished from the brand-building playbook. “Traditional media, as we knew it, barely exists anymore. There’s some advertising on OTT, but largely, everything has moved digital,” Gangurde shared, pointing to a landscape that shifts by the day. What worked for XYXX even a year ago, she explained, may not work now. The rules are fluid, and brands have to be equally agile.

She described a move away from platform-led communities to interest-led consumption. “Someone is just as likely to consume content from a niche influencer as a big one,” she said, underlining how authority now comes from relevance, not follower count. AI, she added, has accelerated this shift. “Everyone moved into high-production mode. We used AI extensively to scale content because, frankly, there were limited options if you didn’t," shared Gangurde.

For XYXX, AI is primarily a tool for experimentation and scale, especially in product content that has delivered strong engagement and conversion.

At the heart of the strategy is a simple belief. “Connection is currency,” she remarked. Humour and originality are central to that approach. Campaigns like History in Briefs were designed as digital-first IP, formatted for Shorts and Instagram, with influencer-inspired characters and micro-details to make the storytelling feel authentic. The business result, she noted, was clear: winter products sold out during peak season, driven purely by product-led marketing.

Gangurde acknowledges that innerwear remains the brand’s strongest association. In a low-involvement category, constant engagement is necessary. “A man might spend five seconds deciding about this area of his life in a year,” she said, explaining why behaviour-led, snackable storytelling works. Internally, the team calls it 'peak male content'. If it resonates within the office, it likely works online.

On AI-generated influencers and virtual try-ons, she is cautious. “I don’t think that kind of AI content builds long-term retention,” she said, arguing that audiences can detect artificiality. Instead, she sees discovery-led search across YouTube, ChatGPT, LLMs, Quora and Reddit becoming more influential than traditional SEO. “YouTube Shorts is becoming the new-age TV,” she added, while insisting that human storytelling still holds value.

The conversation then turned into celebrity endorsements. “KL Rahul is no longer associated with us as a brand ambassador,” she said, confirming that the three-year partnership ended without renewal, though Rahul remains an investor. “We realised that celebrity endorsements are becoming less effective for brands like ours. Measuring their impact is difficult.”

In a digital ecosystem where campaigns are constant and fleeting, she believes celebrity value gets diluted and does not necessarily translate into conversion at scale.

The brand is not actively seeking another face. “We’d rather let the product speak for itself," Gangurde stated.

On category expansion, she recalls scepticism when XYXX moved into outerwear. “Almost everyone told us it wouldn’t work,” she said. Instead of launching a separate brand, the team opted for small seasonal drops, doubling down only after achieving product-market fit. Benchmarking against global players like Uniqlo and Lululemon helped sharpen a technical apparel narrative, while maintaining price advantage and brand consistency.

A significant part of XYXX’s model is in-house capability. While the brand has worked with agencies such as Talented and The Womb on select projects, most output today is internal. “A brand of our scale needs constant attention, especially in digital, where trends move fast,” she shared, explaining why the company invested early in building creative, UI-UX, content and influencer teams internally. She also points to structural challenges within agencies, from superficial insights to limited retainer depth and shrinking experimentation budgets.

Ultimately, culture drives output. “We’re extremely democratic and flat,” Gangurde said. With a young team contributing across scripts, shoots, packaging and listings, the work is collaborative and experimental. High internal mobility and tenure reflect that environment. For Gangurde, consistency in storytelling, product clarity and cultural relevance, rather than celebrity sheen, will define the next phase of growth.

This conversation first appeared in our February issue. Click here to buy the copy and unlock the whole conversation.