Honasa Consumer's Zairus Master Steps Down as CBO Amid Financial Strains and Distribution Restructuring

New Delhi, February 22 (ET): Zairus Master, the chief business officer (CBO) of Honasa Consumer, the parent company of popular beauty and personal care brand Mamaearth, has resigned from his position, effective February 28. The development comes at a time when the Gurugram-based company is undergoing a massive offline distribution restructuring effort that has severely impacted its financials.
Master had conveyed his decision to resign to Varun Alagh, the founder and CEO of Honasa Consumer, and will be exiting the company shortly, according to sources citing the person. The firm confirmed Master's resignation in a notice to stock exchanges, citing personal reasons for his departure.
Master joined Honasa Consumer from Shine, where he was the CEO, in August 2021. Prior to joining the company, he held positions at Airtel and Nokia. At Honasa Consumer, Master played a key role in deciding the company's investment allocation across various categories, channels, and brands owned by the firm.
Apart from Mamaearth, which is Honasa Consumer's flagship brand, the company owns five other brands: The Derma Co, Aqualogica, Dr Sheth’s, BBlunt, and Staze. In FY25, the firm discontinued its ayurvedic beauty brand Ayuga.
Master's resignation is not the first senior executive exit at Honasa Consumer in recent months. In November 2024, the company's chief product and technology officer Jayant Chauhan stepped down, followed by Abhishekk Raj Pandey, who joined salon management software firm Zalon as cofounder in August last year.
The company's quarterly financials highlighted the impact of a supply-chain restructuring exercise on both revenue and profitability. In September 2024, Honasa Consumer reported a 7% year-on-year decline in operating revenue at Rs 462 crore, accompanied by a net loss of Rs 19 crore in that quarter compared to Rs 30 crore profit last year.
The weak financials were attributed, in part, to the company's slower-than-expected growth of its flagship brand Mamaearth and an excessive investment allocation across categories. Founder Varun Alagh had spoken about the need for structural changes in a previous interview.
Honasa Consumer's shares closed 0.6% higher at Rs 250.70 per share on Thursday amidst this backdrop, indicating investor confidence that the company will navigate through its current challenges.