Latest news with #Francs
Time of India
26-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Drools turns unicorn after Nestle picks up minority stake
MUMBAI: Swiss consumer goods giant Nestle S.A has picked up a minority stake in Indian pet food startup Drools. The Bengaluru-based company did not disclose the specifics of the deal but said that it has been valued at $1 billion post the investment, joining the ranks of unicorn startups. 'This is a financial investment by the company and Drools will remain strategically as well as operationally independent,' Nestle said in a statement on Monday, without elaborating further. Nestle's investment in Drools comes at a time when the broader pet food and pet care space in India is seeing a surge in growth led by an expanding crop of millennial and Gen Z pet parents who do not mind paying more to provide quality nutrition and care for their pets. Nestle has a large pet care (includes pet food) business (operates under master brand Purina) which made up about 20.7% of the company's total sales in 2024. The pet care business recorded sales of 18.9 billion Swiss Francs during the year, according to its annual report. Purina Petcare was launched in India as a separate entity in 2017; in 2022, Nestle India acquired the pet foods business of Purina Petcare India for Rs 123.5 crore. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Click Here - This Might Save You From Losing Money Expertinspector Click Here Undo In India, companies like Godrej Consumer Care have also forayed into the pet care market of late. Backed by L Catterton, Drools competes with a mix of global and local pet food brands in India including Mars PetCare and Heads Up For Tails. Drools had last raised $60 million from L Catterton in June 2023. The company will use portions of the investment to expand in a growing market. Founded in 2010, Drools products are distributed across more than 40,000 retail outlets and exported to 22 countries. Drools is the fourth unicorn of the year after Netradyne, Porter and JSW One. 'Backed by a strong focus on science-based nutrition, Drools continues to drive innovation and build meaningful engagement with the evolving demographic of Indian pet parents, positioning itself at the forefront of the country's pet care industry,' Fahim Sultan, founder at Drools said. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Fox News
30-04-2025
- General
- Fox News
Teens discover beach message in bottle written decades ago: 'No name or address'
A message in a bottle sent by staff or students from a school that no longer exists has washed up on a beach, news agency SWNS reported — and was promptly found by a group of young people. Hedda Traa Haukom was on the beach in Ny-Hellesund in the south of Norway with her cousins when they discovered the message in a bottle. "We stumbled on a bottle with a piece of paper inside," Haukom, 14 years old, told the news outlet. "It was located 10 meters from shore, under a rock. The bottle looked pretty old, so we decided to open it and read the note." "There was no name, year or address on the note or bottle itself," Haukom told SWNS. The message said: "To the finder, Please return this bottle to Bolton County Grammar School, Bolton, Lancashire, England. And they will receive one pound or the equivalent in Francs. Written on the Channel Boat. Thank you!" Although it is unclear exactly when the note was written, the Bolton County Grammar School changed its name in 1982 — making the note at least 42 years old. The note may have been dropped from a ferry as the young people were making their way to France on a school trip, the group surmised. "It would be really fun to find whoever wrote the message and let them know we got it and how far it traveled over so many years," Haukom said. Bolton County Grammar School first opened in 1881 as Bolton Higher Grade School. The school moved to a single site on Great Moor Street in 1897, and in 1947 the building became Bolton County Grammar School. In 1966, the school was moved to Breightmet, maintaining its status as a grammar school. In 1982, it changed its name once again to Withins School. Withins then closed in 2009 and a new school, Bolton St. Catherine's Academy, opened on the same site in its place. This isn't the first time a bottled piece of history has made its way into modern-day headlines. In Sept. 2024, archaeology students working in Normandy discovered a salt bottle – complete with a handwritten note – inside a clay pot, Smithsonian Magazine reported. "P.J. Féret, a native of Dieppe, a member of various intellectual societies, carried out excavations here in January 1825," the note said. Another message, this time in an old Pepsi bottle, washed ashore in Massachusetts earlier this April, according to WCVB in Boston. Two brothers, Clint and Evan Buffington, discovered the note while combing the beach. For more Lifestyle articles, visit The note, written in 1976 by then-14-year-old Peter R. Thompson from West Newbury, Massachusetts, as part of an oceanography class, said, "I'm a 9th-grade student from Pentucket Regional Junior High School." The brothers ended up connecting with Thompson over the phone. They hope to get the letter back to its writer soon, wrote WCVB.
Telegraph
12-04-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
‘I sent my son a £200k house deposit, but Santander took £5k'
Has a company treated you unfairly? Our Consumer Champion is available to help. For how to contact her click here. Dear Katie, On March 3, I visited my local Santander branch and asked for £200,000 to be sent from my account to my son's GBP account in Zurich, Switzerland. I paid the £25 fee and was told that the funds would land overnight. However, this did not happen. I made multiple attempts to get Santander to sort it out, and then when the funds did finally arrive, they were presented in Swiss Francs, having suffered significant exchange rate and handling fees. On March 6, I complained to Santander that the money had been sent via the wrong route (the one that triggers a currency conversion rather than a straight transfer, which is far cheaper to do). I was told that the complaints team would be in touch within three to five working days, as this had been flagged as urgent. However, no one called. It was only on Friday, March 14 when I phoned repeatedly that I was able to make contact with someone. The lady promised 'prompt action', but another three days have now passed – nothing has been done and no one has been in touch. If my son accepts the funds into his account, he will lose another £4,700.30 due to conversion rates and fees. My son needs this money soon to help him purchase a home in Zurich. The funds are an advance from the Bank of Mum on his inheritance as – while I really do not want to play the 'poor me' point – I deal with advanced, incurable cancer. – PE, via email Dear PE, Your receipt shows the transaction was made in Swiss Francs, which is in line with Santander's usual policy. When you visited the Bristol branch for the second time, two days later, you advised that your son had not received the expected funds, as the receiving bank could not deposit the Swiss Francs into his account. At this point, Santander became aware that you initially intended to send the funds in pounds. In order for the money to be applied to your son's account, it was converted from Swiss Francs to pounds, with the currency conversion rate reducing the amount of pounds he received by £4,702.30. Following my involvement, Santander has now arranged to send this amount back to you, as well as £300 to acknowledge that it could have resolved this issue sooner. It has also reimbursed your original £25 transaction fee. I hope your son is able to now proceed with his house purchase, and I wish you all the very best with your cancer management. A Santander spokesman said: 'At the time, Mrs E made her international transfer it was not clear that she wanted the payment to be made in GBP. Mrs E clarified this two days after the transfer was made, when it became clear that, due to currency conversion rates, her son would receive less than she intended. 'We're sorry we did not act sooner to review this once she raised it with us, and we can confirm that we have now arranged for the shortfall to be sent to her son, as well as offering an additional £300 for the delay in reviewing her complaint, alongside a further £25 to reimburse the transaction fees.'
