Celebrities are helping stem cell firms rapidly grow the brand footprint

Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan and A R Rahman are among the most vocal endorsers of the service

It took nearly five years for Chennai-based LifeCell, one of the country’s first umbilical cord stem cell banks that set up shop in 2004, to acquire 400 units (for its bank of umbilical cords) a month. A complete overhaul of the pricing, brand and sales strategy thereafter, endorsement by celebrities such as Aishwarya Rai, Hrithik Roshan among others and increasing awareness among customers has pushed the number up over ten times today to 5,000 units a month and is helping the company chalk up a bigger brand footprint. It has also spawned a host of players such as Cryoviva, Transcell,