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.

Prachi Sibal

07 August 2020

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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 of posts from former employees alleging body shaming, rape jokes and making fun of people who didn’t dress or speak right.

Nykaa isn’t the first startup to be called out for its toxic work culture. The Morning Context reported on the punishing workplace that is Hotstar, while in January, The New York Times wrote

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