This is one tie-up that seems to have come quite effortlessly for the company. With Raksha Bandhan round the corner, the Pune market is flooded with Zoozoo rakhis; and they are selling like hot cakes, too.

With rakhis getting increasingly new-age and taking up the hottest trends as their themes since the past few years, Vodafone’s ingenious Zoozoo phenomenon is dominating the scene this season, especially when it comes to kids. Close on heels are Bal Hanuman, Ghajini and Singh is Kinng rakhis.

Says Kishore Mukund, proprietor, Om Ganesh Raksha Bandhan, “Bal Hanuman in Indian Cricket team’s uniform with lights and Zoozoos with lights are high on demand this year. Apart from this, we also have other cartoon characters like Shinchan, Bal Ganesha and many more. Last year, the WWF fighter of Indian origin Khali was a rage among the kids.”

Other than a plethora of cartoon characters like the above and Ben Ten, Mr Bean and Spiderman, there are some more creative ones like a miniature hair blower and guitar with lights.

While kids can pamper themselves with lights and cartoon character rakhis, the grown-ups are attracted to stone-studded and pearl rakhis. And while cartoon rakhis are available in the range of Rs 12 to Rs 35, the pearl and stone-studded varieties are priced anywhere from Rs 7 to Rs 100 a piece. Deepak Jadiya, proprietor, Hira Moti Rakhi, says, “We specialise in pearl rakhis and have introduced stone and kundan-studded lumba and couple rakhis, too.”

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