MARKETING ECONOMICSBUSINESS STRATEGY INSIGHTSANALYSIS ISSUE 1 CAFFEINATED COMMERCE Caffeinated Commerce is an independent student publication established on January 2026 exploring the forces that shape our economy. Written for the curious, designed for the thoughtful. stay caffeinated.
ISSUE 0101 JUNE 2026C A F F E I N A T E D C O M M E R C E
Greetings fellow people surviving on coffee! I want this letter to be a lookback on the time when Caffeinated Commerce was just an idea at the back of my head. I started Caffeinated Commerce in January 2026 with a simple belief that economics, marketing, and business shouldn't feel intimidating. They should feel like a conversation. Not the kind you have in a classroom, reading from a textbook. The kind you have over coffee, when someone explains why your favourite brand charges what it does, or why the price of everything went up last year, or how a small idea becomes something that outlasts its founder. That's what this magazine publication is trying to be. A space where ideas travel in plain language, where curious people regardless of age, background, or whether they've taken a single economics class or not, can sit down and understand the world a little better than they did before. Issue 01 is the beginning of that. It's imperfect, it's ambitious, and it's entirely build on that one impulsive idea. I hope you find something in these pages that makes you think differently. And I hope that you come back for another warm evening, where learning is engaging and accessible. That's all I've ever wanted Caffeinated Commerce to be. Stay Caffeinated <3 Alisha Nasim Founder & Editor-In-Chief LETTERFROM THE FOUNDER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF CAFFEINATED COMMERCE ISSUE 01
CONTENTS 05 09 13 17 INFLATION: THE BASICS, EXPLAINED SIMPLY by Alisha Nasim WHY EVERYTHING FEELS MORE EXPENSIVE by Alisha Nasim TUG OF WAR: INFLATION VERSUS SAVINGS by Alisha Nasim IN CONVERSATION WITH AADHYA SHARMA by Alisha Nasim CAFFEINATED COMMERCE
22 25 27 28 BUDDING ENTREPRENEURS: YUME by Alisha Nasim BUILT TO LAST: WIPRO by Alisha Nasim INDIA TODAY: ECONOMY IN NUMBERS by Alisha Nasim ENDING NOTE & CREDITS ISSUE 01
INFLATION THE BASICS, EXPLAINED SIMPLY ISSUE 1 Ever wondered why the same cup of morning coffee costs more every year? The same coffee? From the exact same company? Well, that is because of an macroeconomics phenomenon known as Inflation. -Alisha Nasim CAFFEINATED COMMERCE
WHAT IS INFLATION? ISSUE 1 By definition, Inflation is a sustained, persistent increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy over a period of time. In simple terms, Inflation is the rise in prices of good and services over time. CAFFEINATED COMMERCE When the prices of goods or services increase, the value of money decreases, i.e we buy less of goods for the same amount of money. This decreases our purchasing power. Purchasing power is the amount of goods that a value of money can actually buy. For example: • A notebook costs ₹100 today. • With 5% inflation, next year it costs ₹105. The prices of notebook increased because of Inflation. Even though you have the same ₹100, it can no longer buy the notebook. Thus, the ₹100 now buys less than before. WHAT CAUSES INFLATION? The major causes of inflation can be classified into two types: 1. Demand-Pull Inflation 2. Cost-Pull Inflation Demand-Pull Inflation: This happens when aggregate demand for goods and services exceeds aggregate supply (demand>supply). When demand exceeds supply, prices rise. • Reasons for this can be economic growth, increase in government expenditure, increased consumer spending, etc. • For example: Many want to buy the premium cars and bags therefore the prices of such goods increases.
ISSUE 1 Cost-Push Inflation: This happens when cost of production increases forcing producers to increase prices to maintain profit • Reasons for this can be increase in cost of raw materials, wages, etc. • For example: If price of milk increase, prices of coffee increases, because both are complementary goods. CAFFEINATED COMMERCE HOW DOES INFLATION AFFECT US? 1. Purchasing Power: As people can buy lesser goods for the same amount of money, the purchasing power decreases. 3. Income Groups: Inflation has different effects on different income groups. • Fixed Income groups (salaried employees) suffer because in their income remains same while prices rise. Thus, they can buy less than before. •Business Owners may benefit of inflation as charging more price leads to higher profits. 2. Savings: Inflation decreases the value of savings as the money you saved can now buy less than before. CONCLUSION Inflation is a major macroeconomic problem as it affects real value of money, especially for fixed income groups as it reduces purchasing power and affects economic stability. Early awareness and smart financial choices are critical. Stay informed save smart to let your money brew growth over time.
INFLATION WHY EVERYTHING FEELS MORE EXPENSIVE ISSUE 1 A closer look at the invisible force quietly reshaping your wallet. -Alisha Nasim CAFFEINATED COMMERCE
ISSUE 1 There is a particular kind of frustration that comes from standing in a grocery store, staring at a price tag, and thinking, "didn't this used to cost less?" You are not imagining it. And you are not alone. CAFFEINATED COMMERCE So, what it actually is, and why it makes your money feel like it's shrinking, is worth understanding. Inflation—the general rise in prices across an economy over time—has become one of the most talked about economic forces of the last few years. But for most people, it remains abstract. A percentage. A headline. Something economists argue about on television. Think about the last time you felt a quiet shock when a restaurant bill arrived. Or checked petrol prices and mentally calculated how much more you were spending than a year ago. Or opened an online cart, saw the total, and put half the items back. INTRODUCTION These are not isolated experiences; they are symptoms of something larger that has been quietly reshaping what ordinary people can afford.
WHAT INFLATION ACTUALLY IS ISSUE 1 At its core, inflation means that the same amount of money buys you less than it did before. If a cup of chai cost ₹20 last year and costs ₹25 today, that's inflation at work. The money didn't disappear but its purchasing power did. CAFFEINATED COMMERCE Economists measure this through something called the Consumer Price Index, or CPI which is a basket of commonly purchased goods and services whose price changes are tracked over time. When that basket gets more expensive, inflation goes up. When prices stabilize, it comes down. WHY PRICES ROSE The short answer is that several things went wrong at once. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted global supply chains in ways that took years to untangle. Factories shut down. Shipping costs skyrocketed. The supply of goods fell sharply while demand —fueled by government stimulus and pent-up consumer spending —surged. When supply falls and demand rises, prices go up. That is not a theory. That is arithmetic. India's retail inflation peaked at over 7% in 2022, driven by a combination of global and domestic pressures that collided in an unusually short period of time. Then came the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022, which sent crude oil and food commodity prices soaring globally. India, which imports over 85% of its crude oil, felt this immediately. Higher oil prices don't just make petrol expensive, they make everything expensive, because fuel is embedded in the cost of producing and transporting almost every good you buy. Add to this a weakening rupee, which made imports costlier, and you have the ingredients for a sustained price rise across categories.
WHY IT FEELS WORSE THAN THE NUMBERS SUGGEST ISSUE 1 Here is something the official inflation figures don't fully capture: inflation doesn't hit everyone equally. CAFFEINATED COMMERCE The CPI measures average price changes across a broad basket of goods. But if you spend a larger proportion of your income on food, fuel, and rent, as most middle and lower income households do, your personal inflation rate is higher than the headline number suggests. The things that take up the most space in everyday budgets are often the things that rose the most. WHAT CONTROLS INFLATION Paying more for something you used to afford comfortably registers as a loss and that stings in a way that a percentage point statistic simply cannot convey. There is also a psychological dimension. Research in behavioral economics consistently shows that people feel losses more acutely than equivalent gains. The primary tool governments and central banks use to fight inflation is interest rates. In India, the Reserve Bank of India raised its benchmark repo rate multiple times between 2022 and 2023, making borrowing more expensive. The logic is straightforward—when credit is costlier, people and businesses spend less, demand cools, and prices stabilize. It works. But it takes time, and it comes with trade-offs. Higher interest rates also slow economic growth and make loans for homes, businesses, education more expensive. Fighting inflation is rarely painless.
WHERE THINGS STAND ISSUE 1 India's inflation has moderated significantly from its 2022 peak, but the prices that rose have largely not come back down. That is the nature of inflation—it is not a wave that recedes. Once prices rise, they tend to stay risen. What improves is the rate at which they continue rising, not the prices themselves. CAFFEINATED COMMERCE THE TAKEAWAY This is why everything still feels expensive even when economists say inflation is under control. They are right, and so are you. Inflation is not a conspiracy. It is not arbitrary. It is the predictable result of supply, demand, policy, and global events intersecting in real time and its effects land differently depending on where you sit in the economy. Understanding it doesn't make your grocery bill smaller. But it does make the frustration slightly more manageable when you know what you are actually dealing with. Sources: MoSPI, PPAC, Reserve Bank of India, Kahneman & Tversky (1979)
TUG OF WAR INFALTION VS SAVINGS ISSUE 1 You saved. You were responsible. So why does it feel like it's not enough? -Alisha Nasim CAFFEINATED COMMERCEWHY YOUR MONEY IS LOSING THE RACE
ISSUE 1 There is a particular kind of defeat that comes with doing everything right. You set money aside every month. You didn't splurge. You were disciplined. And yet, a year later, that savings account feels somehow less powerful than it did when you started. The numbers went up but something feels off. That feeling has a name. It's called the inflation-savings gap. And understanding it might be one of the most important things a young person can do with their financial life. CAFFEINATED COMMERCE Inflation and savings are in a constant tug of war. Inflation pulls the value of money down. Savings pull it up. The question is always: which one is winning? INTRODUCTION THE BASIC PROBLEM When your savings account gives you a 3% annual return and inflation is running at 6%, you are not actually growing your money. You are losing 3% of its purchasing power every year slowly, invisibly, without a single rupee leaving your account. This is what economists call a negative real interest rate. The nominal return i.e the number your bank shows you looks positive. But once you account for inflation, the real return is negative. Your money is shrinking in terms of what it can actually buy, even as the balance grows. real return = interest rate - inflation If the interest earned on savings is lower than Inflation, the real value of savings declines. Even though your bank balance increases slightly, your purchasing power actually decreases.
ISSUE 1 Not everyone experiences this gap equally. For young people just starting to save, the inflation-savings gap is frustrating but manageable as time is on their side to course correct. For retirees and fixed income earners who depend on savings and interest income to meet daily expenses, it is a genuine crisis. Their income stays flat while the cost of groceries, medicine, and utilities quietly climbs every month. This is why inflation is sometimes described as a hidden tax—it doesn't show up on any government form, but it redistributes wealth away from savers and toward those with assets that appreciate with inflation, like real estate or equities. CAFFEINATED COMMERCE WHO GETS HIT THE HARDEST WHAT CAN BE DONE The answer is not to stop saving. It is to save smarter. Three starting points would be: Invest. Keeping money in a standard savings account offering 2.5-4% interest is almost guaranteed to lose ground against inflation. Consider instruments that offer higher returns: Public Provident Fund currently offers 7.1%, equity mutual funds have historically outpaced inflation significantly over long periods, and fixed deposits with competitive rates offer more stability than a basic savings account. Diversify. Don't put everything in one place. A mix of safe instruments like PPF alongside market-linked options like mutual funds balances risk and return. Even gold—long dismissed by economists—holds value during inflationary periods The right choice depends on risk tolerance, time horizon, and financial goals. But the worst choice in an inflationary environment is to do nothing.
ISSUE 1 Most financial education misses that saving money and growing money are not the same thing. Saving is about discipline. Growing is about strategy. In a low-inflation environment, the difference barely matters. In a high- inflation environment, it matters enormously. A generation of young Indians has grown up watching their parents keep money in savings accounts and fixed deposits and watching it work. But the inflation landscape has shifted. The old defaults need to be questioned. CAFFEINATED COMMERCE THE NEEDED MINDSET SHIFT THE TAKEAWAY Your savings account is not your enemy. But it may not be your ally either. Not if inflation is outpacing the interest it earns. The first step is simply knowing the gap exists. The second is deciding, deliberately and with real information, what to do about it. Money saved without strategy is money slowly surrendered to inflation. You worked for it. Make sure it works back. Sources: Reserve Bank of India, Ministry of Finance, Public Provident Fund scheme guidelines, MoSPI Consumer Price Index data
AADHYA MARKETERSHARMA CREATORSTORYTELLER FOUNDER OF MARKETING GOSSIP DELHI UNIVERSITY GRADUATE IN CONVERSATION WITH @MARKETING.GOSSIP
ISSUE 1 "I collect rocks, toffee wrappers and matchboxes. My dream of entering my DU college with a choreographed dance on "chalein jaise hawaiye" remains unfulfilled. I re-watch either Queen or Legally Blonde at every minor inconvenience. I have an unhealthy obsession with everything glitter. I'm hoping to get my Trinity rock school certificate for drumming this year (fingers crossed)." CAFFEINATED COMMERCE"I COLLECT ROCKS, TOFFEE WRAPPERS AND MATCHBOXES." In today’s fast-evolving business landscape, understanding how individuals build, market, and scale their ideas is more important than ever. In this interview, Alisha Nasim speaks with Aadhya Sharma, who shares their journey, insights, and strategies behind navigating challenges and creating impact. From personal branding to career pivot, this conversation offers valuable perspectives for anyone interested in business, marketing, and growth. Aadhya Sharma is truly a personality that proves that the little things, quirks, comforts, and dreams are what make a story truly memorable. From Trinity to Delhi University, she has got it all.
ISSUE 1 CAFFEINATED COMMERCE WHAT MADE YOU REALIZE YOUR INTEREST IN MARKETING AND CONSUMER PSYCHOLOGY? I’ve always loved writing, and during my graduation, I realized that I’m actually good at it too. Although I graduated in political science and history and even considered pursuing a career in that direction, I eventually understood that writing could be both creatively fulfilling and financially viable. At the same time, I’ve always been fascinated by why people think the way they do, which is why psychology stood out to me early on. Psychology and economics were the two subjects I was genuinely drawn to—they helped me understand both individual behavior and larger systems, which now heavily influence how I think about content and marketing. HOW DO YOU DECIDE ON WHAT KIND OF CONTENT TO CREATE FOR YOUR AUDIENCE? I’m still at a very nascent stage of creating content, so right now it’s less about optimizing for performance and more about sharing what I genuinely feel like putting out into the world. I haven’t started over-analyzing metrics or trends yet. The initial idea was simple—I wanted to recreate the feeling we all had while reading those random facts on the last page of a Classmate notebook. That small moment of curiosity, surprise, and engagement—that’s the emotion I’m trying to tap into. WHAT IS ONE MARKETING PRINCIPLE YOU THINK MOST BRANDS MISUNDERSTAND TODAY? At the same time, I feel like most brands still haven’t fully cracked organic content. There’s often an over-effort to appear relatable or authentic, but that very effort makes it feel forced. Audiences today are extremely perceptive—they can tell when something is engineered to feel “real.” The gap between intention and perception is where most brands struggle.
ISSUE 1 CAFFEINATED COMMERCE HOW DO YOU THINK SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS LIKE INSTAGRAM ARE CHANGING MODERN MARKETING STRATEGIES? If I had to distill what really works today, one could write an entire thesis on it, but for me, the most important factor has been community building. Social media has enabled brands to go beyond just selling products—they can now create entire universes and lores that people want to be a part of. It’s no longer just about transactions; it’s about belonging, identity, and shared narratives. The strongest brands today don’t just have customers, they have communities. WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE STUDENTS INTERESTED IN MARKETING OR BUILDING A PERSONAL BRAND? To anyone interested in marketing or building a personal brand, I’d say this: in an age where information is abundant and easily accessible, the only real differentiator is authenticity. As cliché as it sounds, it’s true—your perspective, your voice, and your way of seeing the world is your only long-term USP. Everything else can be replicated, but that cannot. WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL BE THE BIGGEST TREND IN MARKETING OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS? Looking ahead, I’m betting on community building becoming more localized and niche-driven. Brands are already trying to create tribes, but I think we’ll see even more distinct subcultures emerging within those communities—segmented not just by demographics, but by shared values, interests, and identities. The future of brand-building, in my opinion, lies in understanding and nurturing these micro- communities rather than trying to appeal to everyone at once.
ISSUE 1 CAFFEINATED COMMERCE WHAT WAS THE IDEA BEHIND “MARKETING GOSSIPS”? WHY AND WHEN DID YOU START IT? I had been working in the marketing industry for quite some time, and as fun and challenging as it is to work under brand guidelines and briefs, I found myself constantly compromising on my own creativity. That’s when I realized I needed an outlet that was entirely mine. Since I was already immersed in the marketing space, creating this page felt like the most natural extension of that need —it’s genuinely something I think of as my baby, and it’s only about a month old."I WANTED TO RECREATE THE FEELING WE ALL HAD WHILE READING THOSE RANDOM FACTS ON THE LAST PAGE OF A CLASSMATE NOTEBOOK. " If there’s one takeaway from Marketing Gossips, it’s this: marketing isn’t just about selling—it’s about making people feel something. Whether it’s through niche communities, honest storytelling, or just sparking curiosity like those last pages of a notebook, her approach feels both refreshing and real. And if this is just month one, it’s safe to say we’ll be seeing a lot more. Interviewer: Alisha Nasim Interviewee: Aadhya Sharma (@marketing.gossip) Date of Interview: March, 2026 Photography: Aadhya Sharma Publication: Caffeinated Commerce, Issue 1
BUILT TO LAST Some businesses don't just survive, they redefine what's possible. CAFFEINATED COMMERCE A series spotlighting the founders, decisions, and turning points that turned ordinary ideas into extraordinary legacies.
ISSUE 1 CAFFEINATED COMMERCE In 1945, a small company in Amalner, Maharashtra began pressing vegetable and refined oils for the Indian market. FROM VEGETABLE OIL TO SILICON VALLEY Its name was Western India Products Limited. Nobody who worked there could have imagined that seven decades later, that same company would be one of the world's largest technology services firms, employing over 200,000 people across 65 countries. That transformation is the story of Wipro and more specifically, the story of one man's refusal to accept that a business could only ever be what it started as. THE MAN BEHIND THE PIVOT Azim Premji was 21 and studying electrical engineering at Stanford University when his father passed away suddenly. He flew home to take over the family business, a modest vegetable oil company with no obvious future in technology. What he inherited was small. What he built was something else entirely. Premji saw that India's economic liberalization in the 1980s and 1990s would create enormous demand for technology services. While the business still sold soaps and cooking oils, he quietly began pivoting Wipro toward software and IT, a bet that seemed eccentric at the time and visionary in retrospect. By the 1990s, the vegetable oil company had become a technology giant. THE NUMBERS THAT TELL A STORY 1945 1966 1980s Founded as Western India Products Limited Azim Premji takes over at age 21 Pivots into IT services during India's tech boom
$11.3B 200K+ #1 Wipro's annual revenue as of 2026 Employees across 65 countries Among India's most philanthropic companies ISSUE 1 CAFFEINATED COMMERCE WHAT WIPRO GOT RIGHT Three things define Wipro's longevity and each offers a lesson for anyone building something today. The first is the willingness to reinvent. Premji didn't cling to what the business had always been. When the opportunity shifted, he shifted with it completely and without sentiment. The second is long-term thinking. Wipro's pivot from consumer goods to technology wasn't an overnight decision. It took years of patient investment, hiring, and positioning before it paid off. The results required the willingness to look foolish in the short term. The third is values as strategy. Premji built Wipro's reputation on a culture of integrity at a time when Indian business was often associated with opacity and favoritism. That reputation became a competitive advantage. THE LEGACY Azim Premji stepped down as Executive Chairman in 2019, handing over to his son Rishad Premji. But his legacy extends far beyond Wipro's balance sheet. Through the Azim Premji Foundation, he has committed over $21 billion to improving public education in India, making him one of the most significant philanthropists in the world. Sources: Wipro Annual Report 2024, Forbes, Azim Premji Foundation
B U D D I NG E N T R E P R E N E U R S A series spotlighting young founders building something real. Before the funding, before the followers, before anyone's watching. Every issue, one story worth knowing."ITS, WELL, MY DREAM." "ITS, WELL, MY DREAM."- PARNIKA SRIVASTAVA FOUNDER, YUME - PARNIKA SRIVASTAVA FOUNDER, YUME CAFFEINATED COMMERCE
Not every business starts with funding or a team. Sometimes it starts with a skill, a phone, and the willingness to try. And that is the story of YUME, a handcrafted accessories brand, shipping pan-India. P a r n i k a S r i v a s t a v a CAFFEINATED COMMERCE ISSUE 1 YUME—a japanese word meaning "dream"—its, well, my dream. I created this brand mainly focusing on making jwellery asthetic, cute as well as affordable for all. THE REASON BEHIND YUME I started YUME last year on 30th of October, because I saw a problem. Today, everytime we try to buy jewellery, its either really expensive or just is not the correct vibe. I wanted people to have jewellery that exactly matched their vibe and was executed by someone who knows how to make it possible. I am Parnika Srivastava, founder of YUME and a 10th grade student. I love making jwellery and I love seeing people happy for something i have done for them. THE CHALLENGES FACED Everyone talks about facing problems with different types of customers. I have quite mastered handling that. For me, the hardest part is definitely being a student and a business owner at the same time, managing studies and handling orders together is quite challenging. WHERE TO FIND You can place an order by sending a message to @yume_parnika on Instagram. Pan-India shipping. Customisation available! You can even find YUME stalls in school and college fests if you get lucky!
CAFFEINATED COMMERCE INDIA TODAY ISSUE 01 Economy in Numbers $3.9 TRILLION India's GDP in 2024 projected to reach $4.1 trillion by end of 2026 Source: World Bank, Trading Economics 7.6% India's GDP growth rate for FY2026 fastest expansion since FY2022 Source: WorldData, 2026 5.25% RBI's current repo rate after cutting by 25 basis points signaling easing monetary policy Source: Reserve Bank of India, 2026 3.48% India's retail inflation rate as of April 2026 well within RBI's 4% target Source: Trading Economics, CPI data 2026 7% India's projected unemployment rate in 2026 highest among Asia-Pacific peers Source: Moody's Analytics, April 2026 ₹95.7 Rupess per US Dollar in mid-2025 risen to ₹94.7 by May 2026, an 11.5% depreciation Source: WorldData, 2026
CAFFEINATED COMMERCE ISSUE 01 01 JUNE 2026 CREDITS CAFFEINATED COMMERCE ISSUE 01 FOUNDER & EDITOR Alisha Nasim CONTRIBUTORS Alisha Nasim DESIGNER Alisha Nasim INTERVIEW & FEATURE Aadhya Sharma | Parnika Srivastava @2026 CAFFEINATED COMMERCE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
MARKETING ECONOMICSBUSINESS STRATEGY INSIGHTSANALYSIS STAY CAFFEINATED. @caffeinatedcommerce thecaffeinatedcommerce@gmail.com caffeinated commerce Find Us Online: Scan to connect with us and get to know about the latest issues and opportunities .