Brands
Sanya Malhotra stirs up the wellness scene with Bree Matcha debut
Mumbai: Bollywood star Sanya Malhotra is swapping scripts for sips with the launch of Bree Matcha, her debut entrepreneurial venture in collaboration with wellness brand Essenzaa Nutrition. The new clean-label matcha brand aims to serve a ritual of calm and clarity, one cup at a time.
Born out of a shared love for functional superfoods and mindful routines, Bree blends traditional Japanese tea culture with the pace and pulse of modern Indian life. The range includes Everyday Matcha, Ceremonial Matcha, and a full ceremonial kit — complete with a chasen, bowl, and spoon — designed to elevate the daily brew into an intentional ritual.
Sourced from Kagoshima, Japan, and backed by Essenzaa’s 14-year legacy in clean nutrition, Bree boasts antioxidant-rich blends that energise without the crash.
“At a time when everything feels urgent, Bree Matcha is my personal reminder to slow down and be intentional,” said Malhotra. “It’s a ritual I deeply believe in, and I’m extremely proud to be a part of something that builds and supports natural energy and calm focus.”
Essenzaa Nutrition, founded by Dr Kunal Shah and Siddharth Shah, brings its global credibility — exporting to 23 countries and specialising in clinically proven formulations — to the table. With Bree’s minimalist design and mindful messaging, the brand isn’t just selling tea; it’s serving a lifestyle.
“We wanted to introduce a product that aligns with both health and lifestyle. BREE is not just about energy, it’s about how you choose to show up in your day,” said Shah.
“We wanted to introduce a product that aligns with both health and lifestyle. BREE is not just about energy, it’s about how you choose to show up in your day,” said Dr Kunal Shah.
“Bree Matcha is not just a beverage—it’s a movement towards conscious consumption and modern wellness,” said Siddharth Shah. “Our vision is to make matcha a part of everyday rituals for the new-age Indian consumer, blending ancient Japanese tradition with contemporary lifestyles.”
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.
