Brands
Honasa Consumer chief business officer Zarius Master puts in his papers
MUMBAI: It’s time for Zarius Master. to say goodbye. The chief business officer of D2C FMCG innovator Honasa Consumer Ltd resigned from the company on 2 January. His resignation becomes effective 28 February 2025.
Zairus, according to his linkedin profile, was responsible for lower funnel management to capture demand and translate to revenue; for leading the evolution of an omni channel, multi brand organisation to drive profitable growth by gaining shares across categories in beauty and personal care and for creation of a business plan through investment allocation choices across categories, brands, and channels to optimise for growth and profitability.
Honasa co-founder & CEO Varun Alagh, like Zarius, cut his teeth in FMCG with Hindustan Unilever and this is what encouraged the latter to join him.
Zarius joined the company in August 2021 from recruitment portal Shine.com where he worked for nearly eight years and rose to become its CEO. Prior to that he had stints in sales, marketing, and category leadership with some of the crème de la crème of corporations: Hindustan Unilever, Nokia, and Airtel.
An economic arts graduate, Zarius completed his diploma in marketing and topped that with an MBA in marketing from IIM, Lucknow.
Honasa which counts MamaEarth, The Derma Co, BBlunt, Dr Sheth’s, Aqualogica, Staze9to9 and the Bblunt Salons in its brand portfolio was founded in 2016 by Ghazal and Varun Alagh. It reported revenues of Rs 462 crores in Q2 FY 2025 while the half year 2025 revenues were at Rs 1016 crore. It reported a loss of Rs 19 crore in the quarter and a profit of Rs 22 crore for the half year.
Brands
ITC Sunfeast Farmlite launches Sugar Free Cookies range
New variants offer guilt-free indulgence for health-conscious snackers.
MUMBAI: ITC Sunfeast Farmlite is sweetening the deal for biscuit lovers who want to have their cookie and eat it too without the sugar. The better-for-you biscuits range from ITC Foods has expanded its portfolio with the launch of an all-new Sugar Free Cookies line, aligning with the company’s vision of ‘Help India Eat Better’. The range is designed for consumers who are rethinking sugar in their daily snacking but refuse to compromise on taste and indulgence.
The collection debuts with two tempting variants: Choco Nut Cookies and Hazelnut & Oats Cookies. Both are a source of protein and contain no trans-fat, while the Hazelnut & Oats variant is also lactose-free.
ITC Ltd. vice president (marketing), biscuits, foods division, Suraj Kathuria said, “At Sunfeast Farmlite, we believe mindful snacking should never come at the cost of indulgence. With this launch, we are catering to the growing need for guilt-free snacking while delivering a rich, satisfying cookie experience.”
ITC Ltd. vice president & head of food sciences for foods division Dr Shantanu Das added, “We have applied robust food science to develop cookies that are sugar-free while preserving the taste and texture consumers love.”
Each cookie comes in convenient single-serve packs to maintain texture and freshness. Both variants are available in 100g packs priced at ₹100 and can be found on quick-commerce platforms including Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, and Zepto.
In a market increasingly leaning towards healthier choices, ITC Sunfeast Farmlite’s new Sugar Free Cookies prove that cutting sugar doesn’t mean cutting joy. For the health-conscious yet indulgent snacker, this could be the perfect bite-sized solution.
