Brands
Astrotalk champions mothers’ cause; launches ‘Bring Women back to Workforce’ initiative
Mumbai: Astrotalk, a spiritual tech startup taking astrology global, has launched its “Bring Women back to Workforce” initiative. The program aims to assist new mothers in rejoining the workforce, providing the means to restart their careers and financially empower them. With nearly 50 per cent female astrologers on the platform, Astrotalk recognizes the challenges women encounter including employer hesitation after a hiatus/break. Under this initiative, Astrotalk is extending its support to mothers aged 30-45 through free-of-cost training in Tarot and Astrological Sciences.
Motherhood can be a challenging phase for women while balancing responsibilities. Once women leave their careers or experience a decline in their professional trajectories, they also face hiring reluctance by employers. Astrotalk has launched this initiative to offer mothers an opportunity to restart their careers. Upon the completion of training and professional assessment, the company will hire these women full-time at a starting package of INR 5 Lakhs per annum. The training for the first batch of 500 women is already underway, and the company aims to train 5000 women by the end of 2024.
Astrotalk will conduct this training program for free, bearing the complete cost for mothers. With this initiative, Astrotalk addresses a crucial aspect often overlooked by many employers. Women between the ages of 30-45 years and 12th pass/graduates are eligible for the program. The company remains committed to employee welfare by providing competitive salaries and remote work flexibility. Every employee of Astrotalk holds ESOPs regardless of their designation and tenure.
Commenting on the initiative, Astrotalk founder and CEO Puneet Gupta said, ”With the majority of our astrologers being women, we delved deeper into exploring additional ways to assist women currently taking a career break. The most common pain point was mothers who had to opt out of their careers. With this initiative, we want to financially empower women while simultaneously helping them balance work and home responsibilities. We have always been a proponent for equal opportunity and this program reflects our principle of being a people-first company.”
Astrotalk is continuously expanding into international markets as well, including Canada, the US, NZ, EU, etc. and foresees 100 per cent growth in these areas. In India, the company plans to penetrate tier 2, and 3 cities and towards South India where astrology is prevalent.
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
