ITC's Classmate bets on premiumisation and digital play to stay relevant in screen-first India

Facing a price-sensitive Rs 16,500 crore stationery market and rising screen-based learning, ITC's Classmate is leaning on premiumisation, QR-linked eduGAMES aligned to NEP 2020, and omnichannel distribution backed by ITC's paper sourcing to defend relevance.

— Filed Sun, 12 Jul, 2026, 05:32 IST · Source Financial Express · BrandWagon · Updated

ITC's Classmate stationery brand pushes premiumisation and digital integration (eduGAMES, QR codes aligned to NEP 2020) to stay relevant amid screen-based learning, leveraging ITC paper sourcing and omnichannel distribution across a price-sensitive Rs 16,500 crore market.

Why this matters

Extends Classmate's recent playbook of QR-code eduGAMES and omnichannel expansion, now paired with premiumisation and NEP 2020 alignment to counter digital-classroom threats to stationery demand.

Retail-brand signals are accelerating, up 285,300% QoQ.