MAM
BIC Cello appoints Manos Nikolakis as general manager
MUMBAI: BIC Cello, India’s leading writing instruments company, announced the appointment of Manos Nikolakis as General Manager to lead its operations in India. Manos joins the BIC Cello team to drive the integrated growth strategy of the business and accelerate its development at home and abroad.
Manos is a BIC veteran having been with the company for more than 15 years. In his previous roles he led the business growth strategies for Greece, South Africa, Middle East, and South Asia. Before relocating to India, Manos was the General Manager for the Southern, East and Central Africa region, heading four BIC subsidiaries including South Africa, Mozambique, Malawi, and Zambia. In this capacity, he also set up the group’s newest subsidiary, BIC East Africa, in Kenya.
Commenting on the new appointment, Gonzalve Bich, Chief Executive Officer, BIC said, “India is a dynamic market with a relatively young population who demand new products and solutions to fit their evolving needs. With a proven track record and rich experience in developing markets, Manos is ideally placed to bring forward our BIC entrepreneurial spirit and work with our local team in India to drive our business forward.”
BIC Cello recently launched its largest stationery manufacturing unit in Asia near Vapi, Gujarat. The new manufacturing unit comes as the latest addition to BIC Cello’s existing network of factories placed in Daman and one in Haridwar, Uttarakhand. Renowned for its quality and innovative products, the company sells more than five million pens per day in India alone. Spread across 66 countries, BIC Cello continues to strengthen its position as a leader in the ballpoint pen segment.
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.
