How to Foster Growth & Innovation in Consumer-driven Industries

By: Manjari Singhal, Chief Growth & Business Officer, Cleartrip

Manjari Singhal, the Chief Growth & Business Officer at Cleartrip, is a business leader in India's travel industry.

She brings together a cross-industry perspective with years of experience in FMCG and e-commerce to the world of digital travel. Having started her career at Britannia Industries and grown through key leadership roles at Flipkart, her work blends consumer insights with strategic agility.

In a conversation with Charulatha M, Senior Correspondent at Women Entrepreneurs Review Magazine, Manjari talks about driving growth and innovation in consumer-driven industries such as travel.

Sharing her insights gained at Cleartrip, Manjari talks about the evolving mindset of travellers and technology’s impact on redefining travel. She stressed the relevance of continuous curiosity and resilience for propelling growth.

Read the interview to understand how Manjari Singhal is shaping the future of travel and more.

In your opinion, what are some of the biggest changes in how customers travel nowadays?

I think the biggest change has been in the overall traveller mindset. Earlier, travel was limited; families didn’t venture out as much. Now, international travel is increasing, driven both by people’s desire to explore more and by the industry enabling it through new routes and more direct flights.

The second major change is in how people travel. Earlier, most bookings happened offline, and people discovered things only after reaching their destination. Today, there’s much more pre-planning, thanks to easy access to information and digital tools.

Travellers are also seeking unique, differentiated experiences. For example, earlier, a trip to Agra meant visiting the Taj Mahal and returning. Now, people want to explore the city’s culture, discover hidden spots, and go beyond typical tourist attractions.

We’re seeing a clear rise in international, solo, and spiritual travel, especially among Gen Z, who seek deeper and more meaningful experiences.

With such evolving expectations, what’s one consumer insight that has shaped how you approach growth and innovation in the travel space?

The first and most important thing is to continuously evolve. Consumer expectations are changing faster than ever. What people know and how they access information today is far more advanced than it was not too long ago.

The level of penetration and presentation of that information has grown significantly. So, it’s crucial to keep evolving and at least match the pace of customer expectations; otherwise, you’ll be left behind.

It’s also important to be truly good at what you do. It’s not just about being an end-to-end travel manager for the user, though that’s the ideal. Even if we’re focused on air and hotel segments, the goal is to solve those needs in a way that customers genuinely appreciate and find value in choosing Cleartrip.

Can you share an anecdote where an innovative idea or marketing campaign truly transformed how people connected with your brand?

Recently, we ran a promotion where a discount code, usually reserved for employees, was made available to consumers during our Big Billion Day Sale.

The idea was to allow everyone to enjoy the same benefits as our employees.

The response was great; many people booked tickets using that code. The key insight from this campaign was that while advertising provides information, what people truly connect with is a more direct, personal conversation with the brand. The value of the discount itself wasn’t huge, but the sense of inclusion and engagement made a real impact.

As consumers ourselves, we relate more strongly to brands that talk to us directly rather than just advertise to us.

Innovation often requires tough choices. How do you balance the excitement of new ideas with the need to drive sustainable commercial enterprise consequences?

If you treat innovation with strict guardrails, you’ll never truly be able to innovate. We believe that innovation should be approached as such – we will experience both successes and failures, and that’s perfectly acceptable.

Once an idea comes up, we spend time detailing it. If we see merit, we take it forward; if not, we let it go. At any point in time, we have a funnel of multiple ideas.

Each idea is assigned to someone who dives deeper to understand its nuances. Often, an idea may seem exciting at face value, but when we start asking the right questions, the decision becomes clearer.

After that, if we fail, we fail, and that’s okay. It’s about trying fast, failing fast, and succeeding fast. This culture of continuous experimentation is something we actively nurture at Cleartrip.

How has your cross-industry learnings shaped your approach to brand building and growth?

The diverse experiences I’ve had across different industries have helped me think more holistically. Even though this industry was new to me, I could quickly assimilate information, build logical frameworks, and provide clear direction to the team.

The core principles don’t change; it’s about building the right team, creating the right structure, enabling and empowering people. Once that foundation is strong, you naturally gain momentum with motivated people doing the right things for the right reasons.

The other side is solving for the platform itself. My experience at Flipkart, where I handled growth, helped a lot in this regard.

While Cleartrip operates on a smaller scale, those learnings have been invaluable in shaping how we grow and evolve the platform.

LAST WORD: Advice for Women Leaders In Fast-Evolving, Consumer-Driven Industries

I think the first thing is to keep trying; the moment that engine stops, innovation stops.

Second, never take “no” for an answer. There’s always a solution or a workaround for whatever you want to achieve. Too often, we decide for ourselves that something isn’t possible and don’t even try. Keep questioning, keep digging. If you persist and keep asking “why,” you’ll eventually find the solution.

The third is to nurture a curious mind. The power of curiosity is far greater than the power of execution. When you’re genuinely curious, you naturally go deeper, understand the core of the problem and the essence of the solution. Without curiosity, you remain at the surface and can’t truly grow into a well-rounded individual.