Brands
Simply Nam secures fresh funding to scale up beauty play for Indian women
MUMBAI: Simply Nam, the homegrown beauty brand led by celebrity makeup artist Namrata Soni and entrepreneur Hanna Stromgren Khan, has secured a strategic investment from the Bhaane Group to power its next phase of growth. The fundraise will enable the company to double its monthly recurring revenue (MRR), expand its product portfolio and grow its omnichannel presence across India.
Founded in 2020, Simply Nam has doubled its customer base in the past year and clocked a 40 per cent returning customer rate, with its current MRR averaging Rs 2 crore. The brand is currently live across platforms including Nykaa, Amazon, Myntra, Tira Beauty, Zepto and Blinkit.
What sets Simply Nam apart is its founder-led formulation approach: no off-the-shelf white-labelling, no shortcuts. Namrata Soni brings over 25 years of hands-on experience to the lab, combining her deep understanding of Indian skin tones, textures and climates with skincare-forward, vegan and cruelty-free innovation.
“Simply Nam is more than just a makeup brand — it’s a reflection of my life’s work and a deep understanding of the beauty needs of Indian women”, said Simply Nam co-founder Soni. “Having worked with Sonam for over 17 years, it’s incredibly meaningful to now build this brand alongside her and Anand… Their trust at such a pivotal stage fills me with renewed confidence”.
The Bhaane Group’s investment signals confidence in Simply Nam’s vision of clean, inclusive and professional-grade beauty. The partnership also reflects a commitment to scaling quality-first Indian beauty brands. “With Bhaane Group, we’ve found that rare alignment. This strategic investment is a launchpad for what comes next”, added CEO & co-founder Khan.
The brand’s hero products, like the Ultimate Kajal (with 100,000 units sold in just three months), the Sweet Kisses Lip Balm, and the Magic Tinted Lip Oil, have already found favour with Indian consumers and influencers alike. Simply Nam has also bagged accolades at the Elle Beauty Awards 2023 and the Grazia Indie Beauty Superstars 2024, with nominations at the upcoming Vogue Beauty & Wellness Awards 2025.
Bhaane Group CEO Anand S Ahuja remarked, “Simply Nam represents the next chapter in clean, inclusive beauty for India, and we’re incredibly proud to support their journey”.
The funding will be used to:
● Launch new, innovative product lines
● Expand its educational content
● Strengthen physical and digital reach
● Reinforce its made-in-India ethos across all touchpoints
As India’s first celebrity makeup artist-owned beauty brand, Simply Nam now sets its sights on building a globally resonant identity that remains proudly Indian at its core.
Brands
Godrej clarifies ‘GI’ identifier after logo similarity debate
Says GI is not a logo, will not replace Godrej signature across products.
MUMBAI: In a branding storm where shapes did the talking, Godrej is now spelling things out. Godrej Industries Group (GIG) has issued a clarification on its newly introduced ‘GI’ identifier, addressing questions around its purpose and design following a wave of online criticism. At the centre of the debate were two concerns: whether the new mark replaces the long-standing Godrej logo, and whether its geometric design mirrors other corporate identities.
The company has drawn a clear line. The Godrej signature logo, it said, remains unchanged and continues to be the sole logo across all consumer-facing products and services. The ‘GI’ mark, by contrast, is not a logo but a corporate group identifier intended for use alongside the Godrej signature or company name, and aimed at stakeholders such as investors, media and talent rather than consumers.
The need for such a distinction stems from the 2024 restructuring of the broader Godrej Group into two separate business entities. With both continuing to operate under the same Godrej name and signature, the identifier is positioned as a way to differentiate the Godrej Industries Group at a corporate level.
The rollout, however, triggered a broader conversation on design originality. Critics pointed to similarities between the GI mark’s geometric composition and logos used by companies globally, raising questions about distinctiveness.
Responding to this, GIG said its intellectual property and legal review found that such overlaps are common in minimalist, geometry-led design systems. Basic forms such as circles and rectangles appear across dozens of brand identities worldwide, the company noted.
It added that the identifier emerged from an extensive design process and was chosen for its simplicity, allowing it to sit alongside the Godrej signature without competing visually. While acknowledging that elemental shapes may appear less distinctive in isolation, the group emphasised that the mark is part of a broader identity system that includes a custom typeface, sonic branding and other proprietary elements.
Following legal and ethical assessments, the company said it found no impediment to using the identifier, reiterating that the GI mark is a corporate tool not a consumer-facing symbol.
In short, the logo isn’t changing but the conversation around it certainly has.
