Brands
Emami forays into juice category with AloFrut
Mumbai: Emami Limited, one of the leading personal care and healthcare companies in India has forayed into the juice category with ‘AloFrut’ through strategic investment in Axiom Ayurveda Pvt Ltd (“Axiom”) and its subsidiaries/associates by acquiring 26 per cent equity stake for an undisclosed amount. Axiom markets beverage products under the brand “AloFrut”.
AloFrut juices are the most refreshing and healthy fusion of aloevera pulp and fruit blends. Aloevera is known worldwide as a rich source of vitamins, minerals and essential amino acids. It is available in multiple unique flavours. Apart from AloFrut, which constitutes the key business of the Axiom Ayurveda, the company has a unique range of carbonated beverages that includes mocktails and energy drinks. It is also present in Ayurvedic healthcare juice segment under the Jeevan Ras brand. The Company has its own manufacturing facility in Ambala, Haryana and is setting up a fully automated state-of-the art modern new facility in Jammu (Kathua) at a cost Rs 160 cr. AloFrut has a strong market presence across general trade, government institutions, modern trade & e-commerce platforms.
Emami Ltd vice chairman & MD Harsha V Agarwal said, “We are delighted to announce our partnership with Axiom Ayurveda through a strategic investment in equity. This marks our entry into the juice category with ‘AloFrut’. With health & wellness being the buzzword for consumers today, we see tremendous potential in the segment. “AloFrut” product offering is very unique as these beverages are based on Aloe pulp inclusion in fruit juice which provides a perfect mix of taste and health together. We are excited to be present in this category which is in line with our corporate growth strategy to invest in categories or brands that not only have synergy with our existing business but offer potential for growth. We look forward to add meaningful value to the brand.”
Commenting on the development, Axiom Ayurveda Pvt Ltd founder Rishabh Gupta said, “Now-a-days consumers are moving away from the carbonated beverages and are looking for a healthier alternative with an equal importance to taste. Considering this trend where consumer is focussing on taste and health, we have tried to offer a perfect blend of the same which is a big differentiator from other beverage company offerings. We strongly believe in the potential that our brand has to offer. It is exciting to have Emami come on board as a strategic partner with wide industry experience who shares our vision to make Alofrut a leader brand.”
Brands
Samsung certifies 1,000 Maharashtra students in AI and coding
The South Korean electronics giant marks its first large-scale skilling push in the state, with women making up nearly half the national programme’s enrolment
PUNE: Samsung has put 1,000 students in Maharashtra through a certified training programme in artificial intelligence and coding, the largest such drive the South Korean electronics company has run in the state and a signal that corporate India’s skilling ambitions are moving well beyond the boardroom brochure.
The certifications were awarded under Samsung Innovation Campus (SIC), the company’s flagship corporate social responsibility programme, which launched in India in 2022 with the stated aim of democratising access to future-technology education. The 1,000 graduates were drawn from four institutions: 127 from Savitribai Phule Pune University, 373 from Pimpri Chinchwad University, 250 from D.Y. Patil University’s Ramrao Adik Institute of Technology and 250 from Anjuman-I-Islam’s Kalsekar Technical Campus. All completed training in either AI or coding and programming, the two disciplines Samsung has identified as the critical pillars of the digital economy.
The programme does not stop at technical training. Soft-skills development and career-readiness modules are baked into the curriculum, a deliberate attempt to close the gap between what universities teach and what employers actually want.
“India’s digital growth story will ultimately be shaped by the quality of its talent pipeline,” said Shubham Mukherjee, head of CSR and corporate communications at Samsung Southwest Asia. “As technologies like AI move from the periphery to the core of industries, skilling must evolve from basic training to building real-world capability. This milestone in Maharashtra reflects how industry and academia can come together to create a future-ready workforce that is both globally competitive and locally relevant.”
The Maharashtra drive sits within a rapidly scaling national effort. Samsung Innovation Campus trained 20,000 young people across India in 2025, hitting its stated target for the year. Women account for 48 per cent of national enrolments, a figure the company cites as evidence of its push for an inclusive technology ecosystem. The programme is implemented in partnership with the Electronics Sector Skills Council of India and the Telecom Sector Skill Council.
Samsung, which is marking 30 years in India this year, runs SIC alongside two other initiatives, Samsung Solve for Tomorrow and Samsung DOST, as part of a broader effort to build what it calls a generation of innovators with both the technical depth and the problem-solving mindset to thrive in a fast-moving digital world.
A thousand certified students is a tidy headline. Whether they find jobs that match their new skills is the harder question, and the one that will ultimately determine whether corporate skilling programmes like this one are genuine pipelines or well-photographed gestures.
