Leaders

As the Indian frozen food business evolves from just providing convenience to providing quality and operational enhancements, brands are redefining success within this FMCG niche. One of the next-generation creative thinkers leading the charge is Aashna Malik, a creative strategist and brand builder whose professional journey blends storytelling and entrepreneurial resilience.

An architect by qualification, Aashna's career has been defined by strategic transformations. Having established the basic foundation in design and rational thinking, she moved into the space of digital marketing with a mission to assist brands in building robust identities that aren’t merely good-looking but also smart-working. With her ventures, The Arch Method and Abstract by Aashna, she cemented her place as a digital native who understands how to balance on the tightrope between strategy and aesthetics.

Aashna moment of awakening was with Meatington, a premium frozen snack company. As Creative Director, Aashna's role extends far beyond design for the eye. She initiated digitization of processes, put in place scalability systems and synchronized backend processes with marketing releases. With Meatington receiving national acclaim and attention in 2024, Aashna is the force behind the brand’s consistent rise.

In a conversation with Women Entrepreneurs Review, Aashna speaks about how architectural thinking, digital curiosity, and operational discipline came together to create her leadership journey.

What led you from architecture to a career in marketing and design?

Architecture gave me a strong base in problem-solving, aesthetics, and structured thinking. But over time, I realized I was more passionate about brand building than blueprint drawing. What started as creating architecture tutorials using design tools soon sparked a deeper interest in storytelling, digital experiences, and systems thinking.

This led me to digital marketing and creative direction, where I could shape not just visuals, but narratives and business strategy. Joining Meatington as Creative Director brought it all together. I wasn’t just designing packaging, but building workflows, digital systems, and aligning operations with marketing. It was the multidisciplinary role I’d been preparing for all along.

You founded The Arch Method and Abstract by Aashna. What sparked your entrepreneurial journey?

My first entrepreneurial experiment was The Arch Method, where I taught architecture software. The real leap, however, came with Abstract by Aashna, my digital marketing and personal branding agency, where I found my rhythm helping brands craft stories, build identities, and grow online.

Meatington has been a defining experience. As Creative Director, I’ve shaped its visual identity and strengthened its operations, digitizing systems, streamlining processes and enhancing transparency to support both creativity and scale.

To me, entrepreneurship is about making systems smarter, stories sharper, and experiences more seamless, an approach that’s helped me grow both Meatington and Abstract in parallel.

Introduce us to Meatington and your role as its Creative Director.

Meatington is a premium frozen snacks brand created to bring indulgent, high-quality food, like juicy kebabs and momos, into Indian homes, combining gourmet taste with convenience.

As Creative Director, I lead all visual and brand aspects, from packaging and campaign direction to storytelling and digital presence. Every product, from its name to its packaging, passes through my team.

Beyond aesthetics, I’ve driven our digital transformation, by building dashboards, standardizing collaterals, and creating SOPs for smooth scaling. I also focused on strengthening our online presence to attract institutional buyers and partners.

From launching product lines to refining packaging and streamlining backend operations, I’ve helped shape Meatington’s identity inside and out.

What challenges do you face in digital marketing and design? How do you overcome them?

One key challenge is bridging the gap between creativity and execution. A great campaign means little if systems can’t handle demand or teams aren’t aligned. At Meatington, I’ve focused on ensuring our tech, processes, and people are campaign-ready.

Another challenge is balancing visual appeal with performance. In FMCG, packaging must look great, endure deep-freeze logistics, and tell a compelling story in seconds. That’s where design meets strategy, ensuring creativity is both aesthetic and functional.

While D2C has its hurdles, earning credibility with institutional buyers has been bigger. They don’t always find you online, so I’ve worked hard on building trust and visibility across all touchpoints.

Then come the usuals, tight timelines, changing algorithms, and team management. I tackle them by building strong systems before launching big ideas, aligning workflows and goals early. Staying market-aware, simplifying processes, and adapting fast helps. And when things get tough, I remind myself to stay grounded, trust the process, and keep learning.

What’s been your core leadership philosophy and success mantra?

My leadership philosophy is rooted in clarity, systems, and trust. I believe in giving people direction, not just tasks, and building processes that support creativity instead of stifling it. I’m also a big believer in asking better questions, especially when things go wrong. It helps shift the focus from blame to solutions. Whether it’s team workflows, marketing rollouts, or backend operations, I’ve seen that when the foundation is solid, everything else flows better.

My success mantra is ‘Solve it once, systemize it right, and scale it without chaos’.

To me, this means not just reacting to problems but solving them in a way that creates long-term ease. This mindset has helped me grow both Abstract and Meatington, creating brands that are not only creative, but also operationally sound and ready to scale.

How do you see India’s digital marketing landscape evolving?

The Indian digital marketing scene is evolving fast, it's about trust, credibility, and visibility across varied buyer journeys, not just reels and influencers. For a brand like Meatington, which serves both retail and institutional buyers, marketing must inspire confidence, not just attract attention.

There's a clear shift toward B2B-aware strategies, with buyers assessing websites, reviews, and brand consistency before engaging. Content is becoming more educational and relationship-driven.

I believe in 360° storytelling, where digital presence reflects not just products, but values and operations. Highlighting quality and transparency has helped us connect with larger buyers.

Aashna Malik, Creative Director, Meatington

Aashna Malik is the Creative Director at Meatington who blends storytelling, design and system-driven thinking to scale up premium FMCG brands. Trained in architecture and digital marketing, she achieves Meatington's growth through visual innovation, backend digitization, and strategic branding while garnering national accolades for reimagining frozen snacks as a trusted, high-performance consumer brand.