Brands
Ayurvedic baby steps as BabyOrgano raises Rs 20 crore to scale wellness
MUMBAI: Looks like the kids’ wellness space just got a little more Ayur-mazing. BabyOrgano, the homegrown Ayurvedic wellness brand for children, has raised Rs 20 crore in a Pre-Series A round led by RPSG Capital Ventures, with participation from existing investor Sauce.vc. The new capital will fuel product innovation, marketing, and operations as the brand eyes Rs 100 crore+ revenue by FY27.
Born in 2020 from a mother’s quest to find authentic, chemical-free care for her child, BabyOrgano was founded by Riddhi and Ripul Sharma. In just five years, the duo has turned the brand into one of India’s fastest-growing Ayurvedic wellness companies for kids earning the trust of over a million parents and achieving a 40 per cent plus repeat purchase rate.
“At BabyOrgano, our mission has always been to bring the science and purity of Ayurveda into every child’s growing-up journey,” said BabyOrgano founder & CEO Riddhi Sharma. “This investment comes at a time when awareness and trust in natural, Ayurvedic care for children are growing rapidly. With a strong innovation pipeline, we’re committed to redefining kids’ health and wellness for a new generation of parents.”
The brand’s flagship product, Baalprashan Swarnaprashan Drops, is India’s first clinically approved Swarnaprashan, an immunity-boosting, memory-enhancing Ayurvedic formulation rooted in centuries-old wisdom. Alongside, products like Cold Relief Roll-On, Cough Syrup, Sitopaladi Churna, Chocovita Milk Mix, and Ayurvedic gummies blend traditional ingredients with modern formats that appeal to today’s parents and kids alike.
RPSG Capital Ventures managing partner Abhishek Goenka called BabyOrgano “a brand at the confluence of two powerful trends, Ayurveda’s modern resurgence and the growing demand for safe, chemical-free childcare.” He added, “The founders have built strong consumer trust and category clarity. We believe BabyOrgano can become a defining brand that carries India’s holistic wellness heritage into the global future.”
Echoing this sentiment Sauce.vc partner Yash Dholakia said, “BabyOrgano has built a trusted Ayurvedic brand for kids with high repeat purchases and consumer love. We’re excited to continue backing Riddhi and Ripul in their mission to make Ayurveda a natural part of every child’s routine.”
What began as one mother’s search for gentle, natural care has now blossomed into a brand that champions Ayurveda for the next generation. As BabyOrgano continues to expand its product range and reach, it’s proving that when ancient wisdom meets modern parenting, wellness grows naturally.
Brands
Estée Lauder to shed 10,000 jobs as new boss bets on digital shift
The cosmetics giant raises its profit outlook but stays silent on a possible merger with Spain’s Puig, as job cuts deepen and a three-year sales slump weighs on the turnaround
NEW YORK: Stéphane de La Faverie is not done cutting. Estée Lauder announced on Friday that it plans to eliminate as many as 3,000 additional jobs, taking its total redundancy programme to as many as 10,000 roles, up from a previous target of 7,000 announced a year ago. The company, which owns La Mer, The Ordinary, Tom Ford, and Aveda, employs roughly 57,000 people worldwide. The mathematics of what is now being contemplated is stark.
The fresh round of cuts is expected to generate a further $200 million in savings, bringing the total annual savings from the programme to as much as $1.2 billion before taxes. That money, De La Faverie has made clear, will be ploughed back into the turnaround.
A CEO in a hurry
De La Faverie, who took the helm in January 2025, inherited a company that had endured three consecutive years of annual sales declines. His response has been to move fast and cut deep. A significant portion of the latest redundancies reflects his push to reduce headcount at US department stores, long a cornerstone of Estée Lauder’s distribution model but now a channel in structural decline. In their place, he is accelerating the shift toward faster-growing online platforms, including Amazon.com and TikTok Shop, a pivot that is reshaping not just where Estée Lauder sells but how it thinks about its customers.
The numbers are moving in the right direction
Despite the pain, there are signs the medicine is working. Estée Lauder raised its profit outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year, guiding for adjusted earnings per share in the range of $2.35 to $2.45, above analyst estimates and a notable step up from the $2.05 to $2.25 range it had guided for in February. Organic net sales growth is expected to come in at 3 per cent, the company said, at the high end of the range it set out in February.
The share price tells a mixed story. After De La Faverie took charge, the stock surged nearly 60 per cent, buoyed by investor optimism that a longtime company insider could finally arrest the decline. But 2026 has been rougher: the shares have fallen 27 per cent this year, weighed down by disappointing February results and the overhang of unresolved merger talks with Spanish beauty giant Puig Brands SA. The company gave no additional details about those discussions on Friday, leaving the market to guess.
Silence on Puig
The proposed tie-up with Puig remains the most consequential unknown hanging over Estée Lauder. A deal with the Barcelona-based group, which owns brands including Carolina Herrera and Rabanne, would reshape the global luxury beauty landscape. But with nothing new to say and a turnaround still very much in progress, De La Faverie is asking investors to trust the process.
Three years of sales declines, 10,000 job cuts, and a merger that may or may not happen. At Estée Lauder, the overhaul has barely started.
