Ahmedabad-based Gujarati millionaire U N Mehta liked what he saw in Dushyant Shah when he met him for the first time. In 1976, Mehta, the patriarch of the Rs 5,000 crore Torrent Group, married off his youngest daughter Nayana to the bright science graduate. In the '80s, Shah was persuaded to join the Torrent Group as director marketing.
Shah soon climbed the corporate ladder to become the managing director of Torrent Pharmaceuticals, the Rs 300 crore flagship company. With the expansion of Torrent's export business, Shah developed excellent contacts in the erstwhile USSR and East European markets.
When the Torrent Group diversified and acquired a cable company "" later named Torrent Cables "" Shah turned the sick unit around by procuring orders worth Rs 40 crore. With these excellent credentials, Shah is the logical choice to launch Torrel Cosmetics.
At a glitzy launch in the Capital, Shah spelled out his business philosophy: Torrel's mission is to build a profitable personal care business by developing, manufacturing and marketing products that are superior in performance. Torrel Cosmetics's Freya range of skincare products have been developed keeping in mind the Indian climatic conditions.
Shah revealed that Torrel Cosmetics is negotiating with global majors to bring their products to India. The firm has just signed an agreement with Laboratories Facella, a part of Sanofi Beauty, to manufacture and market their products in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Yves Saint Laurent is also a part of Sanofi Beauty and has a majority stake in Nina Ricci and Yves Rocher.
However, Shah is happiest about one joint venture. Two years ago, the 44-year-old chairman of Torrel Cosmetics brought his wife Nayana into the business as executive director. She does a smart job of looking after procurement and vendor development, beams a proud Shah.
