Beyond Basic debuts as Indian skincare brand
Mumbai and Los Angeles-based entrepreneurial siblings Heena Shah and Aakash Raj have launched Beyond Basic as an Indian skincare label that aims to simplify modern beauty routines through multifunctional products. The new brand targets both the domestic and international premium beauty markets with a focus on streamlined formulations.
'We created Beyond Basic because we tried an exhaustive range of multi-brand skincare products that felt more like a chore than self-care," said Heena Shah and Aakash Raj in a press release. "Our goal was to develop products that simplify routines while remaining effective and multifunctional."
Beyond Basic was created in response to the complexity of conventional skincare, offering solutions that address multiple concerns with fewer products said Shah and Raj. The brand's launch range, titled 'Aloe Berry,' uses soothing aloe vera and antioxidant-rich berries to nourish, calm, and protect the skin.
The Aloe Berry collection includes the Aloeberry Moisturiser + Primer, a lightweight hydrator with a soft-focus finish; the Aloeberry Tinted Face Sunscreen SPF 50 PA+++, which provides broad-spectrum protection with an even tone and no white cast; and a Tinted Body Lotion that delivers a subtle, radiant glow to complement facial makeup, according to the brand.
Emphasising skin-friendly, non-aggressive ingredients, Beyond Basic aims to combine science and nature to support busy, results-focused consumers. The brand positions itself at the intersection of premium skincare and daily convenience and has debuted with a direct to customer e-commerce store.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
a day ago
- Euronews
How one Irish hotel is rewriting the rules on food waste
At The Lodge at Ashford Castle, a 19th-century villa in the wild green of western Ireland's County Mayo, dinner scraps don't go in the bin. They go into cocktails, canapés or compost. Over the past year, the hotel has slashed its food waste by nearly 60 per cent by weight and its food trimmings by 90 per cent. That amounts to 11.5 tonnes of food waste, nearly 50 tonnes of carbon and more than €16,000 saved annually. Much of it is thanks to a chef who was empowered to swap sustainability gestures for serious change. 'Instead of hundreds of tiny little initiatives, we decided to go after the stuff that would actually make a difference,' says executive chef Jonathan Keane, a sustainability advocate who leads the kitchen at the 64-room sister hotel to the magnificent, medieval Ashford Castle. Those initiatives have been quite an undertaking. On any given day, Keane and his colleagues can serve 500-plus meals and go through piles of produce. 'At this property, I have 650 kilogrammes of watermelon rind. What can I do with that?' From trimmings to transformation The answer, it turns out, is a lot – especially when you have dataon your side. Over the past three years, The Lodge's parent group – Red Carnation Hotels – has worked with UK-based food waste analytics firm Winnow to get a clearer read on their waste. The company's AI-powered tools and image recognition help Keane to measure and categorise what is being thrown away each day and why. 'I get an email every morning that tells me exactly what food went into the bin,' says Keane. 'If two kilos of onion skins went into the bin, I'll see a picture of that. Then I can investigate why that happened instead of [the skins] going into stock or treacle.' Armed with these insights, the kitchen team has learned to upcycle ingredients like trimmings, peels and offcuts into syrups, muffins, canapés and even welcome drinks. What little waste remains goes into a biodigester, which produces nutrient-rich fertiliser for the estate's sprawling garden – a pandemic project that Keane and his employers instituted to be more self-sustaining and environmentally-conscious. 'The garden became such a big project that it became phase one [of greater change],' says Keane, whose vision for The Lodge includes a tunnel greenhouse, a future distillery with its own orchard and aquaponics, a system that couples raising fish with hydroponic vegetable gardening. 'The long-term goal is to be fully self-sufficient.' Hospitality's hidden problem The hospitality sector has long accounted for a hefty portion of the world's waste. Restaurants, hotels and other venues generated more than 25 per cent of the world's 1.3 billion tonnes of food waste in 2019, according to the UN Environment Programme. Most ends up in landfills, releasing methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. 'Much of it goes uncounted, so we don't even know the real scale,' says Vojtech Végh, Winnow's zero-waste culinary advisor who worked closely with Keane on The Lodge's transformation. 'Speaking from experience, it tends to be more than we would expect.' The first step toward addressing this murky problem, he explains, is to arm chefs and hotels with information. 'If we don't know what is in our bins, then everything else is just guesswork, which isn't effective or sustainable,' Végh says. 'Once we start to measure our food waste, we can then focus on what exactly we need to reduce. A growing shift across the industry Across the industry, hotels are slowly waking up to the environmental and economic costs that this failure to measure has created. At the Hilton Tokyo, chefs have begun reusing vegetable trimmings and fruit peels in soups, desserts and drinks. Novotel London Excel has also used Winnow's AI tools to cut waste by around 50 per cent in recent years. Other solutions have also started to take shape. In Southeast Asia, startups like Yindii have stepped in to connect hotels, restaurants and bakeries with local diners. Surplus food is sold at a discount through its app. The model has expanded across Thailand, Hong Kong and Singapore, where users can rescue meals for a fraction of the cost and prevent perfectly good food from being binned. Efforts like these are just the beginning. For food waste prevention to stick, Végh argues that kitchens must rethink how they operate at a systemic level. 'Zero-waste cooking is more about how we think when we cook rather than how we cook,' he says. 'If we embed food waste prevention into our processes – rather than build it on top – then step by step it becomes the new standard in any kitchen.' A culture shift from the kitchen out If you ask Keane, the real change starts even one level beyond processes. Sustainability, he says, has a lot to do with people, 'which isn't always high on the agenda in kitchens.' Keane has tried to create 'a fun place to work. We're nice to each other. We treat each other like adults, and we have the same approach with the ingredients and the produce.' Part of creating a more open – and open-minded – culture has involved getting his team of 18 kitchen workers out into nature more often. An avid forager, Keane regularly brings his colleagues into the forest to search for wild vegetables and mushrooms. He believes it builds morale while reinforcing the practices he wants The Lodge to embrace. He also brings hotel guests out on foraging tours, ever so subtly transmitting a message that he hopes will stick long after they check out. He says that these steps might help his hotel, and others like it, have a greater impact in the future. 'We're not preaching. We're bringing the customer along with us [at their own pace],' Keane explains. 'We want to leave a legacy.'
Fashion Network
2 days ago
- Fashion Network
Nike names new CEO at Converse amid ongoing sales decline
Nike is reshuffling leadership at Converse in a strategic effort to revive the brand, which has faced a steady sales decline over the past two years. Aaron Cain, Nike's vice president and general manager of men's, will take the helm at Converse as its new CEO. Based at Nike's Beaverton, Oregon, headquarters, Cain brings over two decades of experience to the Boston-based brand. The leadership transition was announced in an internal memo obtained by Bloomberg News. Cain, a 21-year Nike veteran, has held leadership roles in the company's apparel business across North America, Europe and Asia. He will replace Jared Carver, who is stepping down after two years as CEO of Converse. 'Now is the right time to begin the next chapter in Converse's evolution,' the memo stated. Nike has confirmed the leadership transition, noting that Cain and Carver will work together through the end of the month to ensure a smooth handover. Carver has not yet responded to requests for comment. Converse has struggled to regain momentum in recent years, posting revenue declines for eight consecutive quarters. In the most recent quarter, sales dropped 26%, leaving leadership under pressure to find a path back to growth. Nike's CEO, Elliott Hill, is betting on Converse to help lift the company's broader portfolio. Hill, who came out of retirement last year to lead Nike, has been working to correct strategic missteps by rebuilding relationships with retailers and refocusing the company on its core strength: sport. In his internal memo, Hill said the Converse leadership change is part of a broader push to 'bring greater distinction and scale to each of our brands in sport.' Once a reliable revenue driver, Converse has become a smaller part of Nike's overall business. Last year, the brand accounted for less than 4% of the company's total sales—a drop from the 5–7% range it typically maintained since Nike began reporting Converse revenues separately in 2012.
Fashion Network
2 days ago
- Fashion Network
Kolhapuri controversy pushes Prada toward Indian collaboration
Prada is looking to collaborate with artisanal footwear makers in India, the company said on Friday, two weeks after the Italian luxury group sparked controversy by debuting ethnic sandals resembling 12th-century Indian styles. After runway images from Milan went viral, Prada drew sharp criticism from Indian artisans who handcraft Kolhapuri sandals—named after the historic city of Kolhapur in Maharashtra. In response to the backlash, the brand acknowledged late last month that its open-toe design was directly inspired by traditional Indian footwear. The controversy drove interest in Kolhapuri sandals, with artisans and sellers viewing the attention as an opportunity to promote the heritage craft and tap into a wave of nationalist pride. In a statement to Reuters, Prada said it held virtual talks on Friday with the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, which represents 3,000 Kolhapuri sandal artisans, to explore potential opportunities for collaboration. 'The next step will be for Prada's supply chain team to meet a range of artisanal footwear manufacturers,' the company said. According to the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Lorenzo Bertelli—son of Prada's owners and head of its corporate social responsibility—took part in the discussions. During the talks, Prada reportedly expressed its intention to launch a limited-edition 'Made in India' Kolhapuri-inspired sandal collection in partnership with Indian artisans. India's luxury market remains relatively small but is growing steadily, with wealthy consumers investing in designer fashion, high-end cars and luxury timepieces. Prada does not operate any retail stores in India, and its products are generally available only to affluent consumers who shop overseas. The sandal controversy dominated social media for several days, sparking criticism and sarcastic memes. Indian politicians, artisans and the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce called for recognition of the country's cultural contribution to the design.
