The dark side to Nykaa’s beauty business

The beauty products startup made it to the unicorn club in just eight years. But behind the facade is a deeply problematic work culture.

Priya Chhetri, 26, was set on making it in Mumbai. She quit her job as a fashion coordinator in New York to land in Maximum City, armed with an offer from online beauty retailer Nykaa. “Besides, my name is Priyaa, it's as filmy as it gets,” she says. In about a month’s time, Chhetri left the firm, disillusioned and sounding quite distraught while narrating her trauma about her short-lived stint at the firm on a call from her hometown in Nepal.

Chhetri’s isn’t the only toxic tale to emerge out of Nykaa. An anonymous Instagram handle recently carried a series …

Author

Prachi Sibal

Prachi is based in Mumbai and has been a features writer for over a decade. Her work has appeared in publications such as Scroll, Huffington Post India, Open magazine and The Ken. She has written on subjects ranging from the performing arts and culture to South Indian cinema. Occasionally she is piqued by a business trend that marks a shift in current culture. When not tracking trends she can be found blending her own perfumes.

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