Bengaluru —
Himalaya has promoted Vikas Gupta as Chief Executive Officer for Himalaya’s India business effective 23 September 2026. Vikas Gupta currently serves as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director at VLCC.
He will drive Himalaya’s India business across healthcare, personal care, oral care, baby care and animal health categories.
A career that spans both sides of modern retail
Gupta has more than 27 years of professional experience in the areas of fast moving consumer goods, digital commerce and business transformation. He worked for nearly two decades at Unilever, holding leadership positions in India as well as in international markets. There, he gained experience in brand management, sales and general management while operating inside one of the most rigorous organisations in the industry. Gupta later served as Chief Customer and Marketing Officer at Flipkart. He went on to become Chief Executive Officer of Superstore, Nykaa Pro and International at Nykaa. This work experience makes Gupta unique, which in-turn explains why he was chosen to lead QwikCilver. Gupta has not only operated traditional brand and distribution businesses, but has led commercial functions at two of India’s largest ecommerce companies at a leadership level. Very few executives in India can say that.
The Himalaya challenge
Himalaya has one foot in multiple worlds. The brand made its name selling herbal and ayurvedic formulations developed through a research led culture, and today finds itself battling multi-national personal care giants, old-guard Indian ayurveda labels and an entire brigade of direct to consumer startups. Its portfolio spans face washes and baby care to veterinary products and pharmaceutical drugs, so the Indian head has to manage several businesses that run on very different models, but share a single brand architecture. Baby care is about developing trust parents are willing to invest in their children. Animal health passes through entirely different distribution channels. Pharmaceutical goods have regulatory requirements that consumer products don’t.
Balancing those priorities while maintaining a strong Himalaya brand is the primary job of the CEO, which is why the position exists at that level, rather than being divided among heads of category.
How the categories are changing
Distribution continues to splinter into general trade, modern trade, ecommerce marketplaces, quick commerce and brand owned channels. Every channel has its own margin structure and merchandising requirements. Packaging designed to succeed in a kirana store falls flat on a marketplace listing page.
Ingredient search continues apace as consumers increasingly educate themselves about what they buy and remain willing to switch. Claims are challenged more readily and a naturally formulated brand has to prove it has earned that badge, it can no longer simply claim it. Premiumisation creates space for more premium priced offers even as value categories remain aggressively competitive, driving manufacturers towards broader portfolios with clearer price laddering.
Quick facts
- Role: Chief Executive Officer, India, Himalaya
- Effective: 23 September 2026
- Joins from: VLCC, where he serves as CEO and Managing Director
- Earlier roles: Unilever, Flipkart, Nykaa
- Experience: More than 27 years
- Categories: Healthcare, personal care, oral care, baby care, animal health
What to watch next
Channel strategy has become a question for the CEO suite rather than that of the sales function. Where (and how) a brand builds its presence now defines pricing, packaging, assortment and even product development priorities. Gupta’s hybrid experience across categories addresses this challenge directly, and his early moves on channels will tell you more about his priorities than any organisational rejig.
Gupta’s stint at VLCC added yet another layer, since he was at the helm of a business that offered both products and services across beauty and wellness categories, but also had the operational challenges of running a physical network as well as a consumer brand. If Himalaya deepens its own play across retail and clinic fronts, Gupta’s experience of running services alongwith products will stand it in good stead.
Gupta’s move also leaves behind a leadership void at VLCC. How that house fills this spot will be watched closely in the sector as well.
India is Himalaya’s main geographies and its categories continue to find new areas of growth as incomes rise and consumers look for more wellness-focused offerings. Gupta takes over at the end of September, setting him up for a full run into the crucial festive trading season that defines the second half of the financial year.
