MAM
DeHaat appoints Rohit Sareen as senior VP
Mumbai: Homegrown full-stack agri-tech company DeHaat has announced the appointment of Rohit Sareen as senior vice president – Agri Output.
An ex-banker turned agri-entrepreneur with strong interest in sustainable food solutions, Sareen has been the founding member of multiple agri-ventures, latest of which was FreshMantra Pvt Ltd, a fully integrated provider of ‘Seed to Plate,’ eco-friendly agricultural produce & food solutions. He was working with 8500+ farmers to create a strong food safety network & build an efficient advisory ecosystem across key agricultural pockets of India.
Prior to his movement in the agri domain, Sareen spent 14 years working in investment management, building businesses in consumer banking, trade finance and strategy in the banking domain with renowned organisations such as Bank of America, Merrill Lynch International, Citibank Singapore & Citi India.
“DeHaat has a rich history of serving the farmer community,” said Rohit Sareen. “I had been following DeHaat for many years and was impressed by their farmer first, tech enabled & entrepreneur friendly ecosystem. I am excited to be part of this organization and look forward to contribute towards enhancing the food safety aspect of agricultural produce through sustainable & viable practices.”
Sareen added, “Through my experience at FreshMantra, I hope to significantly improve DeHaat’s operational excellence by enhancing scale and automation in newer geographies – both within India & abroad. With DeHaat’s current network of farmers, institutional buyers, and micro-entrepreneurs, I aim to support the farming community through this business footprint.”
The kind of leadership skills that Sareen brings will enhance DeHaat’s in-house knowledge in building AI-enabled technologies to revolutionise supply chain and production efficiency in the farm sector, said the company.
“We are excited and grateful to have Rohit in our team. His vision to build a sustainable food value chain, from farmers to consumers, coupled with his entrepreneurial mindset & effective leadership style will be key to the continued success of our output business,” stated DeHaat co-founder & director Adarsh Srivastav. “We are keen to collaborate with similar passionate entrepreneurs and work towards our objective of creating a complete ‘Farm-to-Fork’ journey of every crop grown in the country.”
Brands
Pre-seed funding fuels nailinit, India’s new-age nail care brand
Gruhas Collective Consumer Fund backs Gen Z-focused beauty startup
MUMBAI: nailinit, a community-first nail care startup targeting Gen Z and millennials, has raised Rs 2.5 to Rs 3 crore in a pre-seed round led by Gruhas Collective Consumer Fund and Marsshot VC, alongside a clutch of consumer, technology and operator angels.
Backed by entrepreneur and investor Nikhil Kamath, Gruhas Collective Consumer Fund is betting on nailinit’s attempt to give India’s nail care aisle a long overdue makeover. The fresh capital will be used to deepen distribution across quick commerce and D2C channels, build its community engine, and accelerate product innovation in a category that is high frequency but still light on strong brands.
Founded by Tanishq Ambegaokar and Shubham Singhal, nailinit is positioning itself at the crossroads of beauty, self-expression and culture. The brand wants nails to be more than a finishing touch. It sees them as a canvas for identity, content and commerce.
“At nailinit, we are building for a generation that sees beauty as self-expression, not just routine,” said Ambegaokar. “The nail category in India has largely been underserved by strong brands. This capital allows us to invest in product depth, community and distribution in a thoughtful and long-term way.”
Singhal added that while the brand’s tone may be playful, its operating focus is sharp. “This round strengthens our supply chain, expands our digital footprint and enables disciplined execution as we scale.”
The funding round drew notable angels including Shashank Kumar of Razorpay, Arjit Johri of Marsshot VC, Yash Jain, formerly of NimbusPost, Karan Jindal of Meta, Jivraj Singh Sachar of ISV Capital, Nishank Jain of Accel, Yashvardhan Kanoi, Ashwarya Garg of HYPD, Venus Dhuria of Phot.AI and Amishi Parasrampuria of The Whole Truth.
Gruhas Collective Consumer Fund fund manager Gauri Kuchhal, believes the opportunity lies in shifting habits. “Nail care remains underpenetrated in India, with consumers relying on time-intensive salon visits. As convenience and self-expression gain ground, press-on nails can unlock more frequent and experimental usage. Nailinit is well-placed to expand beyond press-ons into adjacent categories.”
The brand is currently the only nail care player in India blending product-led retail with a dedicated kiosk at Jio World Drive in Bandra, where customers can walk in for services while discovering the range. It has also built early traction across quick commerce platforms such as Zepto and Blinkit, with a launch on Instamart in the pipeline, and is available on Amazon, strengthening its omnichannel presence.
In a space long dominated by salon chairs and scattered labels, nailinit is attempting to file, shape and polish the category into something sharper. With fresh funding in hand, the startup is setting out to prove that in beauty, small details can make a bold statement.
