What Sideways Consulting does

Sideways Consulting is a privately held, Mumbai-based creative consultancy that helps consumer brands, fintech players, and enterprises drive adoption of their products, services, and ideas at scale. The firm was founded in 2018 by Abhijit Avasthi and Sonali Sehgal as an interdisciplinary creative collective combining strategists, designers, behavioral researchers, technologists, and storytellers. Its methodology centers on bridging the gap between what companies build and what people are ready to believe, use, or embrace, using ethnographic research and multi-disciplinary insight rather than traditional advertising-led approaches.

The service portfolio spans brand positioning and architecture, advertising campaigns, brand identity and naming, packaging design, product UX/UI and onboarding, retail and environmental design, trade and channel toolkits, POS interventions, service blueprints, and research/insight reports. Notable disclosed enterprise clients include Google Pay, Fevicol (Pidilite), WD-40 (Pidilite), Haisha Paints (Pidilite), Borosil, NIC Ice Cream, Suhana Masala, Meesho, Kia Motors India, Nykaa, Acko Insurance, Sleepwell, Federal Bank, Licious, MyGlamm, Big Bazaar Gen Nxt, and Navi UPI. The firm also operates Sideways Play, a sub-brand producing consumer word-game products including WorDit!, Quicksay, Wordit! Cubes, Crossoku, and the tech-enhanced DiiCii dice.

Sideways operates as a project-based B2B professional services firm with sales-led direct client engagement. Pricing is quote-driven with no publicly disclosed rates, and revenue is generated through enterprise consulting engagements. The firm has 11-50 employees, has not raised external institutional funding, and operates exclusively in the Indian market. Note: one source block lists the founding year as 2015, while the more specific company-history source attributes the 2018 founding to the named co-founders; the 2018 date is used here.

Name

Sideways Consulting

Legal name

Sideways

Website

https://sideways.co.in

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sideways Consulting is a Mumbai-based interdisciplinary creative consultancy that helps Indian enterprise clients (Google Pay, Pidilite, Borosil, Nykaa, Kia, Meesho) drive consumer adoption of products, services, and ideas through strategy, design, ethnographic research, and brand communications.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Creative & Brand Strategy Consulting

NAICS

Marketing Consulting Services (541613), Other Management Consulting Services (541618), Advertising Agencies (541810), Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services (541611)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Customer, Marketing & Sales Consulting (BPAHACAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Innovation, Product & R&D Consulting (BPAHACAM)

Keywords

• Brand strategy consulting
• Advertising creative services
• Packaging design
• Product UX design
• Consumer research insights

Headquarters

HQ city

Mumbai

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Professional Consulting Services: Sideways Consulting provides strategic and creative services to help brands make their products, services, and ideas easier for people to adopt. They offer brand positioning, advertising campaigns, brand identity, packaging design, product UX/UI, retail design, trade toolkits, research and insight reports, among other services. Revenue is generated through project-based consulting engagements with enterprise clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Sideways Consulting is an interdisciplinary creative consultancy that helps brands, products, and ideas achieve adoption at scale. Through a team of strategists, designers, researchers, technologists, and storytellers, the firm delivers brand positioning, advertising campaigns, brand identity, packaging design, product UX/UI, retail design, trade toolkits, service blueprints, and research reports on a project basis to enterprise clients.

Product overview

Sideways Consulting is an interdisciplinary creative consultancy that helps brands, products, and ideas achieve adoption at scale. They offer a comprehensive suite of professional services including brand positioning and architecture, advertising campaigns, brand identity and naming, packaging design, product UX/UI and onboarding, retail and environmental design, trade and channel toolkits, POS/marketplace interventions, service blueprints, and research and insight reports. The firm also operates Sideways Play, an internal word games brand featuring products like Wordit!, Quicksay, Wordit! Cubes, Crossoku, and DiiCii (an electronic dice device). The consultancy specializes in understanding human behavior and designing solutions that help people adopt new products, services, and ideas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sideways Play: A word games franchise created by Sideways, featuring products like Wordit!, Quicksay, Wordit! Cubes, Crossoku, and DiiCii dice games.

Products and services

• Brand Positioning and Architecture Strategic consulting service helping clients define and structure their brand positioning and architecture across product lines and market segments. Intended for enterprise consumer brands seeking adoption-led growth.
• Advertising Campaigns End-to-end advertising campaign development including creative concepting, film production, and multi-channel campaign execution. Sold to enterprise marketers for product or brand adoption campaigns.
• Brand Identity and Naming Comprehensive brand identity development including logo design, visual identity systems, and brand naming services. Targeted at enterprises launching or refreshing brands.
• Packaging Design Product packaging design spanning structural packaging, graphics, and seasonal packaging strategies. Delivered for FMCG and consumer goods clients.
• Product UX/UI and Onboarding Digital product design focusing on user experience, interface design, and user onboarding journeys for apps and websites. Sold to enterprises seeking adoption through digital experiences.
• Retail and Environmental Design Physical retail space design and environmental graphics creating immersive brand experiences in stores and physical environments. Delivered for retail and brand clients.
• Trade and Channel Toolkits Sales enablement materials and trade marketing tools for channel partners and retail environments. Delivered for enterprise sales and distribution teams.
• POS and Marketplace Interventions Point-of-sale materials and marketplace presence optimization for retail and e-commerce environments. Sold to enterprise brands seeking shelf and marketplace advantage.
• Service Blueprints and Playbooks Service design documentation including customer journey maps, service blueprints, and operational playbooks. Delivered for enterprises transforming service delivery.
• Research and Insight Reports Behavioral research and consumer insight studies to understand adoption barriers and inform strategic recommendations. Sold as a standalone or embedded service to enterprise clients.
• Sideways Play Word Games Franchise Sideways Play is an internal word games brand featuring multiple physical products: Wordit! (alphabet card game), Quicksay (chip-based word game), Wordit! Cubes (3D wooden cube game), Crossoku (Sudoku-crossword hybrid puzzle), and DiiCii (a tech-enhanced dice with embedded PCB and lighting functionality). Marketed to word-game enthusiasts and consumers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Fevicol: Regained 3% market share and generated 22,000+ verified site leads
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Tilt Brand Solutions: India-based creative and brand strategy consultancy serving large consumer brands across positioning, identity and campaigns. Comparable boutique scale and enterprise client mix to Sideways.
• Talented: Boutique Indian creative and brand consultancy working on brand strategy, identity and communication for large consumer and enterprise clients. Closest comparable in scale, structure, and approach to Sideways within the Indian market.
• Schbang: Mumbai-headquartered integrated creative, digital and brand solutions agency serving enterprise clients across India. Comparable service breadth spanning strategy, design, content and product/UX.
• Enormous Brands: India-based independent creative agency focused on brand building, advertising and communication for consumer brands. Directly comparable as a mid-sized Indian creative agency pursuing enterprise clients.
• Spring Marketing Capital: India-focused brand and marketing consultancy working with consumer enterprises on positioning and growth. Comparable in client type and strategic-creative blend, though smaller in headcount.

Broad incumbents

• Ogilvy India: India arm of a global advertising and brand network offering advertising, branding, digital and consulting services. A broad incumbent with significantly more scale, services and geographic reach than Sideways.
• IDEO: Global design and innovation consultancy combining research, strategy and design for large enterprises. Comparable in interdisciplinary human-centered methodology but operates at much larger scale and global footprint.
• BBH India (Bartle Bogle Hegarty): Global creative network with India operations offering brand strategy, advertising and integrated creative work. Operates as a broader incumbent in the same category Sideways competes in, but with significantly larger scale and network resources.
• Landor & Fitch: Global brand consulting and design firm with India presence, focused on brand strategy, identity and experience design. Operates in an adjacent discipline but at significantly larger scale and with a global footprint.

Others

• Redseer Consulting: India-focused strategy and management consulting firm serving consumer, internet and enterprise clients. Adjacent strategic advisory peer within the Indian enterprise services ecosystem but focused on research-driven consulting rather than creative/brand work.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SidewaysConsult

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sideways Consulting