JetSynthesys Aiming to Deliver What Audience Want, Even Before They Know It Rajan Navani, founder & CEO, JetSynthesys terms the target audience as a "digital always generation"

Having traditionally been a leading manufacturer of corrugated cartons and other paper-based packaging materials – Rajan Navani knew the Jetline Group of Companies had to think of a bigger picture – a picture called JetSynthesys which catered to upcoming future generations.

"I think every group and business has a vision for what it can be in the future," said Rajan Navani, founder & CEO, JetSynthesys in conversation with Entrepreneur India.

Like a true cricket fan, he gives a fine example of the sport adapting to various formats- Test, ODI, and T20. "Suddenly you can create a larger vision for something that was there. So everything, when you look from the future, requires change. Some changes are incremental, exponential, and disruptive," he shares.

Navani and JetSynthesys aim to be with the consumer and understand how they are changing, "As consumers change, we should deliver to them something when they want it, or maybe before they want it. We should know it and be ready with it in the market for them to come. And for that, we needed it very much to be for a generation, that is also the future."

The veteran terms the target audience as a "digital always generation."

The idea

"We realized Gen Z's are digital-always," Navani remarked. This generation lives in a digital world, occasionally steps out of it, and returns. But building trust in a digital world has its fair share of doubts. "With the physical world, you can see a brand and touch a product. We had to build trust by aligning with people's emotions, feelings, and passions. So we asked- what their passions are, and we realized that entertainment, music, esports, and gaming, are things people are passionate about."

But where did it all start? "I still remember going to Europe alone and seeing 3000- 5000 people in the stadium going gaga over electronic games and I said, the same thing will happen in India." The Thailand-established group entered the Indian market in 2014 when it brought esports through Nodwin Gaming and acquired game developers such as Nautilus Mobile to develop games such as Real Cricket and Sachin Saga.

Propelling Esports

In 2018, JetSynthesys exited its investment in Nodwin Gaming to Nazara Technologies but holds a significant minority, "Between Skyesports and Nodwin, we have 90 per cent market share in esports."

The founder & CEO emphasizes capturing the vernacular opportunities and betting on the grassroots level, "Like any other sport in India, the true heroes of a sport will come from tier II and III cities."

"Our products and offerings span across India with a significant percentage coming from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Each offering is meticulously tailored to cater to different audiences, ensuring a high level of localization. We are dedicated to developing regional platforms and are focused on engaging the market through localized content and regionalized strategies," he shared.

Between its two games- Real Cricket and Sachin Saga, JetSynthesys declares itself as a global leader with over 60 per cent market share.

The company operates in the spaces of casual gaming and mid-core gaming and has partnered with celebrities and studios in India and globally. They've built games in partnership with Salman Khan, Sachin Tendulkar, Amitabh Bachchan, and Adam Levine and have built games for movies Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Chris Pratt-Jennifer Lawrence starrer Passengers.

In 2022, it later launched Jetapult, a venture focusing on global game studios. It aimed to acquire gaming studios and planned to invest USD 100 million in India and international markets including Southeast Asia, the Middle East, South America, Australia, and New Zealand. "We are creating products now for the Japanese market. We have a gaming platform which is very interesting and has multiple games in it. It's got social elements, you and I can see each other, talk and play. We are in the process of launching," Navani shared.

Continuous innovation

The interest of the venture doesn't pause at esports, rather it extends to music, wellness, and Metaverse.

Navani emphasized the importance of vernacular music, noting that India leads with the largest YouTube user population at 476 million MAU. Global Music Junction, their platform, distributes music in over eight regional languages and has partnered with icons like Salim–Sulaiman, Sonu Nigam, and Shaan.

The company is also expanding into the areas of wellness. "We've got a mindfulness platform which helps in understanding to think right, eat right, move right, and sleep right. We are building these ecosystems, that's our third big ecosystem which we are now commencing our journey on and trying to see how to strengthen," he said. He along with Sister Shivani hosts the Think Right Podcast to reach out to the upcoming generations. The podcast covers themes such as affirmations, meditation, and mindfulness, providing practical tools for mental clarity and emotional balance.

In 2023, it announced a USD 50M investment in Metaverse projects and acquired Metaphy Labs. On what can we expect from them in this space, he shares "Regarding the metaverse, we are taking a consumer-centric approach, prioritizing the immediate needs of our brand and customers. Our current focus is on strengthening our brand and fostering meaningful connections with our customers. As adoption of immersive technologies grows, we feel we are very well positioned to capture our early mover advantage in this space."

It has also collaborated with large global companies, including Krafton and Warner Music India.

Habit formation and upcoming generations

It was during IGS last year that President Droupadi Murmu visited their arena at Pragati Maidan and said "What you're building is for that Bharat which is not born yet."

"We are actually building for Gen Z, Gen Alpha i.e which is 2010, and we are also waiting for Gen Beta who will be born next year."

To cater to the new generations, JetSynthesys is now engaging with pregnant women to see how it can build an engagement with babies in the womb, "What mothers do, hear, and say has an impact on their child. Through our mindfulness platform, we are making a big initiative around it."

So how does JetSynthesys identify what to cater to and how it identifies consumer needs? "We are exploring all of these things and all of them have different traits. With KidzByte (acquired in 2023), we are understanding what Gen Alpha today wants, which is different from what a 20-year-old today wants."

Calling it a constantly evolving process, Navani focuses on a customer-centric approach. Scrolling has become natural to kids and if you do anything in any other format, you will not be able to get as much relevance to a consumer.

Gen Z gamers, in particular, have distinct preferences. These include social connectivity within their gaming environments, preferring quick and engaging sessions, and a mobile-first preference. They also value high-quality visuals and interactive content, appreciating games that offer fair monetization and meaningful narratives.

Navani believes that habits are a large part of youth's social life and are influenced by their digital journeys. According to Kepios, there are 5.07 billion social media users worldwide as of April 1, 2024. Simply put, there is more engagement in the social world, rather than in the physical world. "People are buying assets in the social world. They want to look good, be recognized, and be able to earn money in that world. That's a big shift in habits."

What's next?

Navani feels that the gaming industry is on the brink of transformative innovations. Technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, 5G, augmented reality, virtual reality, and blockchain are being explored to create new gaming experiences

The global gaming market size was valued at USD 249.55 billion in 2022 and is anticipated to touch USD 665.77 billion by 2030.

He adds how there is a big demand across the value chain of gaming, "I always encourage entrepreneurs to look at certain niche things. Just training somebody to be a better animator today in a Gen AI world is very different because what skills that person needed earlier was different from what you would need today."

"I think digital is one area where India has an opportunity to build the world's largest companies. The country has a lot of problems that need to be solved. So, budding entrepreneurs can build solutions at scale and become a provider at a global scale," he concluded.