~ Empty tiffins, Pasta Masala in four flavours, and Rasika Dugal fronting Tata Consumer’s “Taste Gajab” TVC ~
Mumbai, September 2026: Smith & Jones, the Tata Consumer Products food brand behind Pasta Masala and Ginger Garlic Paste, has rolled out a new TVC for Pasta Masala starring actress Rasika Dugal. The film is built around the everyday school tiffin — packing a lunch kids actually look forward to eating, and love sharing with friends.
The product pitch stays practical. With four flavours on the shelf, moms can swap variety into the dabba without a long prep list: boil pasta, toss with stir-fried veggies, add a pack of Smith & Jones Pasta Masala, and it’s done — no extra ingredients, no kitchen theatre.
Empty tiffin as the win
Deepika Bhan, President – Packaged Foods, Capital Foods & Soulfull at Tata Consumer Products, framed the brief around a familiar end-of-day scoreboard. “Every mom hopes for the same thing at the end of the school day, that the tiffin comes back empty. At Smith & Jones, we want to make that a little easier for moms with super tasty pasta that kids genuinely enjoy. This campaign is inspired by those everyday lunch-break moments that many of us remember fondly, friends sharing food, and creating lovely memories around the lunch table,” she said.
Agency partner The Womb pushed the line beyond convenience into emotion. Heval Patel, COO, The Womb, said consumer work showed Pasta Masala was as much feeling as fix. “Right through our journey of consumer explorations and product tasting, we realised that Smith & Jones Pasta Masala along with convenience is also an emotion. It not only makes the kids happy but also puts the mother on a pedestal. We carried this feeling forward in our creative expression, the signature line ‘Taste Gajab’ expresses both taste and emotion,” he said.
TV, digital, social
The campaign is rolling out across television, digital and social. For a packaged-foods brand fighting for the lunchbox against homemade defaults and snack clutter, Smith & Jones is betting that Rasika’s mom-energy, a four-flavour range, and a sticky “Taste Gajab” line can turn the tiffin from chore into class-favourite currency.
