MAM
ISA elects Marico’s Saugata Gupta as chairman
MUMBAI: The newly elected executive council of the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) met on 11 September and elected Marico’s managing director Saugata Gupta as its new chairman.
He takes over from Hemant Bakshi as he relocates to Unilever Indonesia as the CEO.
Gupta has been lending his support to the ISA for a long time as his colleagues from senior levels in marketing and media have been active in different committees of the ISA. An MBA from IIM Bangalore, Gupta has rich FMCG experience of over two decades having worked through ascending career rung in Cadbury (India & UK), ICICI Prudential & Marico. Currently, MD of Marico, he believes in an empowering work culture that would create ownership and make a difference in to the entire business ecosystem.
Gupta said, “Our focus would be on making industry partnership stronger and in particular to extend all support that is needed to help BARC come up as soon as possible with industry wide accepted and accurate TV audience research data representing viewers across the country. I am looking forward to the exciting times ahead for Advertisers, industry partners and fraternity associations to work as a stronger team to harness overall growth of advertising which in turn will help grow businesses and the Indian economy.”
The ISA has advertiser members from across industries who contribute to over two-thirds of the country’s national non-governmental ad spends. ISA, which is member of the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), continues to partner with other industry bodies that connect to the advertisers such as initiating the formation of BARC.
Other members of the Executive Council are:
Tata Services Group Corporate Communications Corporate Affairs VP Atul Agrawal
Thomas Cook (India) Marketing and Service Quality head and chief innovation officer Abraham Alapatt
Agro Tech Foods director Narendra Ambwani
Bajaj Corp Business Development director Jimmy R Anklesaria
Infogain India director JC Chopra
Raymond strategic advisor Paulomi Dhawan
Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care brand director Sonali Dhawan
Aditya Birla Management Corporation Group Corporate Services and Strategy director Rajiv Dube
Godrej Consumer Products chief operating officer – Sales, Marketing & SAARC Sunil Kataria
Bajaj Electricals vice president & head advertising and brand development Beena Leji Koshy
Tata Global Beverages managing director and CEO Ajoy K Misra
Anisha Motwani, Director & Chief Marketing Officer, Max Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
Mondelez India Foods Chocolate Category and Media director Siddhartha Mukherjee
Birla Sun Life Asset Management independent director Bharat V Patel
ITC divisional chief executive Sanjiv Puri
Nestle India Communication head Chandrasekar Radhakrishnan
Polycab Wires vice chairman, joint MD and group CEO R Ramakrishnan
Hindustan Unilever Personal Care Products executive director Samir Singh
Hawkins Cookers chairman Brahm Vasudeva
Brands
Pre-seed funding fuels nailinit, India’s new-age nail care brand
Gruhas Collective Consumer Fund backs Gen Z-focused beauty startup
MUMBAI: nailinit, a community-first nail care startup targeting Gen Z and millennials, has raised Rs 2.5 to Rs 3 crore in a pre-seed round led by Gruhas Collective Consumer Fund and Marsshot VC, alongside a clutch of consumer, technology and operator angels.
Backed by entrepreneur and investor Nikhil Kamath, Gruhas Collective Consumer Fund is betting on nailinit’s attempt to give India’s nail care aisle a long overdue makeover. The fresh capital will be used to deepen distribution across quick commerce and D2C channels, build its community engine, and accelerate product innovation in a category that is high frequency but still light on strong brands.
Founded by Tanishq Ambegaokar and Shubham Singhal, nailinit is positioning itself at the crossroads of beauty, self-expression and culture. The brand wants nails to be more than a finishing touch. It sees them as a canvas for identity, content and commerce.
“At nailinit, we are building for a generation that sees beauty as self-expression, not just routine,” said Ambegaokar. “The nail category in India has largely been underserved by strong brands. This capital allows us to invest in product depth, community and distribution in a thoughtful and long-term way.”
Singhal added that while the brand’s tone may be playful, its operating focus is sharp. “This round strengthens our supply chain, expands our digital footprint and enables disciplined execution as we scale.”
The funding round drew notable angels including Shashank Kumar of Razorpay, Arjit Johri of Marsshot VC, Yash Jain, formerly of NimbusPost, Karan Jindal of Meta, Jivraj Singh Sachar of ISV Capital, Nishank Jain of Accel, Yashvardhan Kanoi, Ashwarya Garg of HYPD, Venus Dhuria of Phot.AI and Amishi Parasrampuria of The Whole Truth.
Gruhas Collective Consumer Fund fund manager Gauri Kuchhal, believes the opportunity lies in shifting habits. “Nail care remains underpenetrated in India, with consumers relying on time-intensive salon visits. As convenience and self-expression gain ground, press-on nails can unlock more frequent and experimental usage. Nailinit is well-placed to expand beyond press-ons into adjacent categories.”
The brand is currently the only nail care player in India blending product-led retail with a dedicated kiosk at Jio World Drive in Bandra, where customers can walk in for services while discovering the range. It has also built early traction across quick commerce platforms such as Zepto and Blinkit, with a launch on Instamart in the pipeline, and is available on Amazon, strengthening its omnichannel presence.
In a space long dominated by salon chairs and scattered labels, nailinit is attempting to file, shape and polish the category into something sharper. With fresh funding in hand, the startup is setting out to prove that in beauty, small details can make a bold statement.
