MAM
Draftfcb Ulka names Naresh Kumar as vice president, planning – Delhi
MUMBAI: Naresh Kumar has joined Draftfcb Ulka as vice president, planning for its Delhi operations. In a career spanning 16 years, Kumar has been associated with agencies like Momentum Strategy (Bengaluru), Avalon Consulting (Delhi) and Law & Kenneth (Delhi) as well as in the capacity of an independent consultant.
Kumar has experience across fields of consulting, market research and planning, and has worked with brands like Bharat Petroleum (Pure for Sure), MTR Foods re-positioning, Lakme, Tata Steel, Big Bazaar, GMR Infrastructure, ITC and Onida.
Draftfcb Ulka Delhi COO Sanjay Tandon said, “As a key player in the Delhi team, Naresh will help us sustain and strengthen our strategic credentials that are the building blocks of creating brandwealth for our clients.”
Kumar said “Draftfcb Ulka has an amazing reputation as a strategic brand-building partner to clients. The quality and testimony of their client relationships, and their senior management personnel is ample proof of that. Joining Draftfcb Ulka is like coming home, and I look forward to a long and fulfilling innings here.”
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.
