Brands
Nestlé brews up record sales in India as coffee, cocoa and cats fuel growth
MUMBAI: Nestlé India stirred up a storm this quarter, brewing its highest-ever domestic sales at Rs 5,235 crore. For the full year ended 31 March 2025, total standalone revenues topped Rs 20,078 crore, with net profit settling at Rs 3,315 crore, marking a modest jump of 3.7 per cent year-on-year. The board also declared a final dividend of Rs 10 per share, sweetening the pay out pot to Rs 27 per share for FY’25.
A frothy combination of caffeine, confectionery, and kitty treats. Beverages, led by Nescafe’s cold coffee range, posted double-digit growth. The Gen Z-fuelled ready-to-drink variants are creating a whole new universe of coffee consumption moments. Meanwhile, Kitkat continued to crack the confectionery code — India is now its second-largest market globally.
Maggi also slurped its way back to volume growth. With masala magic intact, Nestlé’s cooking aids and prepared dishes segment showed mid-single digit growth, keeping India firmly on top as MAGGI’s largest global market.
The milk products & nutrition category saw launches of Cerelac and Ceregrow variants with zero refined sugar, bolstering Nestlé’s health-first pitch. Meanwhile, the petcare segment — now fully integrated — clawed its way to the top with high double-digit growth, with Purina Pro Plan and Felix driving demand among pet parents.
Nestlé’s out-of-home business is emerging as a dark horse, now dabbling in professional spreads with Kitkat Professional Spread for dessert chefs. E-commerce contributed 8.5 per cent to domestic sales, helped by a fast-track into quick commerce.
The company reaffirmed its Rs 6,500 crore investment commitment towards new capabilities and capacities between 2020 and 2025. Its tenth factory in Odisha, focused on food manufacturing, is already underway with a Rs 900 crore first-phase spend.
Sustainability wasn’t just lip service. The company highlighted efforts like renewable energy adoption, circular packaging, regenerative agriculture, and ‘Zer’Eau’ water-saving tech in its Moga and Samalkha plants, recycling milk-extracted water to slash groundwater drawdowns by 20 per cent.
* Operating margins: 21.5 per cent
* Cash from operations: Rs 2,936 crore
* Contribution to exchequer: Rs 5,504.7 crore
* EPS: Rs 34.38
* Share capital: Rs 964.2 crore
Despite strong fundamentals, net cash dropped sharply to Rs 761.8 million, down from over Rs 7.5 billion last year — partly due to capex, dividends, and increased working capital needs.
Brands
Aman Gupta’s OFF/BEAT secures Rs 100 crore seed funding round
Bessemer backs new venture betting on AI and India’s digital shift
MUMBAI: Aman Gupta has raised Rs 100 crore in seed funding for his new venture OFF/BEAT, with Bessemer Venture Partners leading the round as it bets on a new wave of AI-led, consumer-first businesses in India.
The funding marks an early but significant push for OFF/BEAT, which is positioned to tap into a rapidly evolving market shaped by a digitally native generation and advances in artificial intelligence. The venture aims to build at the intersection of culture and technology, where brand identity and innovation increasingly go hand in hand.
Gupta, best known for co-founding boAt and scaling it into a Rs 3,000 crore-plus business, is now looking to apply those learnings to a new playbook. His focus this time is not just on building a consumer brand, but on leveraging AI and global networks to accelerate growth.
OFF/BEAT founder Aman Gupta said, “Having built from scratch before, I know what capital can do and what it cannot. This time, I was looking for partners with a global perspective who can help me leverage technology and AI, because that is where the future lies. Bessemer’s track record with companies like Anthropic, Shopify, Canva and LinkedIn says it all.”
The choice of investor reflects that ambition. Bessemer Venture Partners has backed global technology players such as Anthropic, Shopify, Canva and LinkedIn, bringing not just capital but strategic support and global reach.
Bessemer Venture Partners partner Anant Vidur Puri said, “We back founders who see around corners. Aman saw how a new India would come to think about aspiration, identity and quality, and built boAt as proof. He is now applying that same instinct to a market being reshaped by AI and by a generation with entirely new expectations.”
The investment comes at a time when India’s startup ecosystem is being reshaped by both consumer behaviour and technological disruption. Founders are increasingly expected to understand not just products, but the cultural shifts that drive adoption.
For OFF/BEAT, the journey is just beginning, but the signal is clear. In a market where attention is fleeting and expectations are rising, building something truly distinctive may be the only way to stay on beat.
