Brands
Good Monk raises $2M in pre-series A led by RPSG Capital to spice up India’s nutrition game
MUMBAI: In a world where nutrition advice changes faster than Instagram trends and “health drinks” taste like sadness, one Indian brand is turning tables—and taste buds. Good Monk, the Shark Tank Season 4 breakout star and flagship brand of Bengaluru-based Superfoods Valley, has raised $2 million in a pre-series A round led by RPSG Capital Ventures. The round also saw existing investors—Multiply Ventures, Sharrp Ventures, and Thinkuvate—double down on their belief in the clean-eating disruptor.
Announced on 17 April 2024, the fundraise signals a strong vote of confidence in Good Monk’s refreshingly no-nonsense approach to health. Co-founded by Amarpreet Singh Anand and Sahiba Kaur—two parents tired of navigating the nutrient jungle—Good Monk has made it its mission to “smuggle” nutrients into Indian households, minus the taste tantrums and pill fatigue.
“At Good Monk, we believe that nutrition should be easy, effective, and clean. Our mission is to empower Indian families to take control of their health without compromising on taste or convenience. We are thrilled to have RPSG Capital Ventures partner with us in this journey and are grateful for the continued belief by existing investors – Multiply Ventures, Sharrp Ventures & ThinKuvate who participated in the round,” said Good Monk co-founder Anand.
The brand’s hero product is a nutrition mix that invisibly boosts meals for kids, adults, and even the 50+ crowd.
No smell.
No weird taste.
No complicated regimen.
Just modern science meets traditional wisdom—served in stealth mode. Sounds like the kind of ninja every kitchen needs.
“Unhealthy wellness products masquerading as healthy options… that’s one of the biggest challenges today,” said co-founder Kaur. “The partnership with RPSG Capital Ventures will facilitate investing in R&D and product development to present better nutritional alternatives.”
The company, which recently scored a deal from Vineeta Singh on Shark Tank India, claims to have grown 11 times in just 12 months. Fuelled by innovation, diversification, and mentorship from industry stalwarts like Sanjay Ramakrishnan (Multiply Ventures) and Rishabh Mariwala (Sharrp Ventures), the brand’s upward curve shows no signs of slowing.
RPSG Capital Ventures’ managing partner Abhishek Goenka is betting big on that momentum. “We have strong conviction in nutrition, health and wellness as a space… Consumers are seeking innovative formats that make dietary supplements uncomplicated, convenient & effective. Good Monk has demonstrated impressive, clutter breaking, product innovation which we believe will disrupt the market significantly,” he said.
Good Monk currently retails on its own website (www.goodmonk.in) as well as major platforms like Amazon and Flipkart. The brand has been expanding its digital footprint with the same gusto it shows in your morning smoothie.
From ‘Shark Tank’ to supermarket shelves, Good Monk is proving that nutrition doesn’t have to be a chore—it can be cleverly disguised and clinically backed.
If there’s one monk who doesn’t believe in suffering for health, it’s this one.
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.
