Brands
Dabur likely to name Herjit Bhalla as CEO
MUMBAI: Dabur India could be on the verge of a corner office reshuffle. According to media reports, the company is likely to appoint Herjit S Bhalla as its next chief executive officer, marking a significant leadership transition at one of India’s oldest consumer goods firms.
If the appointment is confirmed, Bhalla is expected to report to current CEO Mohit Malhotra, who might be slated to move into a more senior and elevated role within the organisation. The change would underline continuity at the top, rather than a sharp change in direction.
Bhalla is a familiar name in global FMCG circles. He is currently with The Hershey Company, where he has spent more than eight years in senior leadership roles across India, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa and, most recently, Canada. Based in Dubai, he now serves as vice president for Canada and Global Customers, following earlier stints overseeing India and the wider AEMEA region.
Before joining Hershey, Bhalla was chief operating officer for North and East India at Metro Cash and Carry, leading growth and expansion in some of the country’s most competitive wholesale markets. His deepest roots, however, lie at Hindustan Unilever, where he spent over 16 years across sales, marketing and general management roles in India and overseas.
At HUL, Bhalla led large teams, managed multi brand portfolios and played a key role in high impact growth initiatives such as Winning in Many Indias. His international experience includes running Unilever’s foods business across Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, where he handled a complex turnaround in a fiercely competitive market.
For Dabur, the reported move suggests a preference for a steady hand with both global exposure and strong India credentials. Bhalla’s career has been built on scaling brands, sharpening distribution and delivering consistent growth, all familiar terrain for a company whose fortunes are closely tied to everyday consumption.
Malhotra’s expected move into a broader role would also mark an evolution rather than a departure. Under his leadership, Dabur has navigated volatile input costs and shifting consumer demand, while reinforcing its core health and wellness positioning.
While Dabur has not made an official announcement, the reports have already set the rumour mill buzzing. If they hold true, the baton at Dabur may soon pass to a seasoned insider to the FMCG playbook, keeping the company firmly on a steady, familiar path.
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.
