Clean Label Brands Vs FSSAI, PhonePe Eyes 2027 IPO & More

India's clean-label boom is encountering its most rigorous challenge yet. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has launched a stern campaign against health and purity claims made by brands, questioning the validity of labels such as "100% natural" and "healthy." Companies that once thrived on ingredient transparency now face scrutiny for using deceptive elements like date powders and fructose while advertising zero added sugar.

The Supreme Court's recent questioning of the design of front-of-pack warning labels for foods high in sugar, salt, and saturated fat adds another layer of uncertainty to the situation. This legal battle may lead to clearer guidelines on how health warnings should appear on food packaging, potentially reshaping the Indian food market.

On a different note, fintech giant PhonePe, backed by Walmart, is planning to go public on the stock market in 2027. The company is targeting a valuation of $10 billion, with a draft red herring prospectus expected to be filed with SEBI by the end of this year. This strategic move comes after the Centre introduced a new framework for Unified Payments Interface (UPI) that includes a new Merchant Data Reporting (MDR) system.

In the lending sector, Lendingkart Finance is showing signs of recovery. Its NBFC arm managed to reduce losses by 62% year-on-year to ₹32.4 crore in Q1 FY27. However, the company still operates on a loss, with a revenue of ₹52.7 crore for the same period. The company also transferred stressed loans worth ₹94.7 crore to an asset reconstruction company for a consideration of ₹2 crore.

In the world of AI, VerifAIX, an AI-native semiconductor verification startup, has raised ₹48 crore in its seed round. Led by Endiya Partners and Bluehill VC, this round will fuel product development, expand deployments, and grow its engineering teams in India and the US. The company's platform aims to help semiconductor engineering teams verify chip designs, flagging gaps and potential errors in chip specifications and recommending fixes.

Meanwhile, UPI's dominance in the Indian payments space is showing signs of change. Navi, a fintech startup led by Sachin Bansal, has increased its UPI market share to 4.4% in August, indicating a steady climb in a market still dominated by PhonePe and Google Pay.