MAM
Parle Agro launches ‘Smoodh Hazelnut Chocolate’ campaign; provides rich taste to consumers
Mumbai: Beverage giant Parle Agro has introduced a delicious new variant to their disruptive flavoured milk portfolio – Smoodh Hazelnut Chocolate. The new offering is the fourth addition to their widely loved dairy beverage range.
Parle Agro has also introduced a high-intensity campaign for the new offering targeting consumers across India. This includes visibility in 90+ channels, digital platforms as well as across one-third of cinemas across India.
Crafted by combining the irresistible taste of top-quality hazelnuts and chocolate and blended with the goodness of milk, the new Smoodh Hazelnut Chocolate is a wholesome, energy-boosting, and nourishing drink. Its creamy and silky texture coupled with the rich taste of hazelnut chocolate is a complete delight to the taste buds and will light up your day in a healthy way.
Smoodh Hazelnut Chocolate is available in Parle Agro’s classic and convenient, single serve Tetra Pak at the price of Rs 10 for an 85 ml pack. Hazelnut-based offerings are typically priced higher than others. Driven by their resolute mission to bring best-in-class products to consumers across India, Parle Agro has been able to once again, draw on their innovative and technology-driven approach to offer a hazelnut flavoured chocolate milk drink at the incredible value of Rs 10, a price dominated by Parle Agro in the beverage category.
Commenting on the launch of the new flavour, Parle Agro joint managing director & CMO Nadia Chauhan said, “We are delighted to introduce Smoodh Hazelnut Chocolate and bring the rich taste of hazelnut and chocolate to consumers across India. This offering is another unique innovation from Parle Agro and we are confident it’ll see much love and acceptance from consumers.”
Apart from Hazelnut Chocolate, the other three flavours that Smoodh is available in are ‘Chocolate Milk’, ‘Toffee Caramel’ and ‘Coffee Frappe’.
MAM
Beacon Group appoints Dr Rajesh Patel as Group CEO
36-year healthcare veteran to lead Beacon Diagnostics, Vector Biotek, Biogeny.
MUMBAI: A new chief, a fresh diagnosis and a sharper prescription for growth. Beacon Group has appointed Dr Rajesh Patel as its Group Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1, 2026, signalling a decisive push to scale its presence in the diagnostics and IVD space. Patel steps into the role with 36 years of experience across the healthcare and diagnostics industry, bringing a career shaped by leadership roles spanning sales, marketing, business development and operational strategy. His mandate is both expansive and precise: to steer the group’s overall strategic direction while tightening coordination across its three core entities Beacon Diagnostics, Vector Biotek and Biogeny Diagnostics.
In practical terms, that means driving cross-company synergies, accelerating market expansion and strengthening organisational capability areas increasingly critical as diagnostic players compete for scale in a fragmented yet rapidly evolving healthcare ecosystem. The group is positioning itself to capture unmet demand across chain laboratories, key accounts and standalone labs, segments that remain underserved despite growing diagnostic needs.
The appointment comes at a time when the In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) sector in India is entering a more competitive and innovation-led phase, with companies focusing not just on product pipelines but also on service delivery, integration and customer-centric models. Beacon’s leadership appears to be betting that Patel’s execution-focused approach can help translate ambition into operational momentum.
Welcoming the appointment, Chairman Dr D K Joshi described Patel’s induction as a strategic move aligned with the group’s long-term vision, emphasising the role of leadership depth in navigating the next phase of growth.
For Beacon Group, the message is clear, in a sector where precision matters, leadership is the new differentiator—and this appointment is intended to set the tone for what comes next.
