MAM
Arnab Mitra quits Starcom to pursue own interests
MUMBAI: Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG) national director- digital Arnab Mitra has decided to move on from the agency.
Mitra will be serving his notice period at the agency till the end of December.
Confirming this to Indiantelevision.com, Mitra said, “Yes, I have put in my papers. The journey at Starcom was very good. I have been handling the digital practice of the agency. We have won many digital businesses and I am glad that we could do so.”
Mitra declined to disclose his next venture but hinted that he might do something of his own. He has already invested in a couple of businesses.
He had joined SMG in June 2011 from MediaContacts, a Havas Digital Company, where he was regional director – South Asia. He has spent nearly a decade with leading digital companies including three years in London with Purple Media, a UK based agency, where he was instrumental in launching and implementing their affiliate network across Europe.
Mitra has also worked with Ignitee and Pinstorm before moving to the Havas group.
Brands
Dabur buys minority stake in Ras Beauty for Rs 60 crore
Dabur Ventures deal backs fast-growing luxury skincare brand
MUMBAI: Dabur India Limited has dipped into the world of luxury skincare, signing a definitive agreement to acquire a minority stake in Ras Beauty Private Limited for Rs 60 crore. The investment marks the first bet from Dabur Ventures, the FMCG major’s Rs 500 crore platform set up in October 2025 to back high-potential, new-age direct-to-consumer brands.
Founded in Raipur by Shubhika Jain, her sister Suramya Jain and their mother Sangeeta Jain, Ras Beauty has grown from a family-led passion project into a fast-scaling “Farm-to-Face” skincare label. Its range of face elixirs, serums and moisturisers blends essential oils with nature-derived actives, striking a balance between botanical purity and laboratory precision.
The numbers tell their own story. Ras has clocked a three-year Cagr of around 75 per cent and an annual run rate of approximately Rs 100 crore, all while maintaining strong gross margins. That growth has been fuelled by a digital-first approach, in-house R&D and manufacturing, and a sharp focus on clean, sustainable sourcing.
Dabur India executive director and group head corporate strategy Abhinav Dhall, said the company was drawn to Ras’s distinct positioning at the intersection of nature, science and luxury. He added that the premium beauty segment is poised for robust expansion over the coming decade, and that Ras is well placed to capture that opportunity.
For Ras, the partnership is as much about scale as it is about shared philosophy. Co-founder and CEO Shubhika Jain said Dabur’s 141-year legacy of building trusted, purpose-led brands makes it a natural ally. The capital infusion, she noted, will help accelerate the brand’s omnichannel footprint, deepen research capabilities and invest in team and brand building, with an eye on establishing Ras as a leading Indian luxury skincare name both domestically and overseas.
With this move, Dabur is not just investing in a skincare label. It is placing an early wager on India’s growing appetite for premium, conscious beauty, and signalling that heritage FMCG players are ready to play in the new-age D2C arena.
