The Estee Lauder Companies (ELC) and NYKAA, one of India's leading omnichannel beauty and lifestyle retailers, are excited to announce the finalists for BEAUTY&YOU India. Created by ELC's New Incubation Ventures and launched in partnership with NYKAA, BEAUTY&YOU India was launched in July 2022, with an aim to discover, spotlight, and propel the next generation of Indian beauty brands. The program invited founders, innovators, and creators to apply for the award and secure an opportunity not just for funding but also for learning and mentorship by leading industry experts. The program reflects ELC and NYKAA's joint commitment to have a positive impact on the entire beauty ecosystem and shared desire to fuel the growth of the Indian premium beauty segment by meeting the evolving needs and preferences of consumers by delivering breakthrough and locally relevant products, experiences, and business models. With over 300 entries from across 50 Indian cities, the application pool included a multitude of beauty brands across categories - skin care, hair care, fragrance and color cosmetics. Some interesting insights from the application phase:
- Almost 50 per cent of the applicants are skin care brands
- 95 per cent of the applicants have a sustainability mission in place
- 80 per cent of applicants have a female founder as part of the founding team
- 25 per cent of applicants are in the pre-launch "IMAGINE" category
Brand, product and marketing, and investment experts from ELC and NYKAA reviewed the entire application pool and shortlisted the ten most promising of brands. The finalists represent a variety of concepts ranging from breakthrough product innovation to re-imagining a centuries-old fragrance tradition to emerging consumer categories such as teen beauty, men's skincare and digital beauty in the metaverse.
IMAGINE (pre-launch businesses)
- Bahut Beauty LLP, Sonya Khubchandani de Castelbajac, Founder
- House of Krifin, Samridhi Shoor, CEO
- Ira Beauty, Sachi Chaudhary, Founder
- Neural Hinge, Rahul Bose, Co-Founder & Chief Innovation Officer, Manisha Kohli, Co-Founder & Technical Director, and Smitaa Srivastava, Co-Founder & Creative Director
- saab, Dr. Pooja Shah Talera
GROW (in-market businesses)
- AMARI, Harveen Bawa, Founder & CEO
- Elitty Beauty, Vailina Tulsani, Co-Founder and CEO and Pranali Janbandhu, Co-Founder and CMO
- Melblok, Karan Ratti, Founder, CEO and Chief Scientist
- Skinvest, Divya Malpani, Founder and CEO
- YAAN Man, Rahul Shah, Founder
Shana Randhava, Vice President, New Incubation Ventures, The Estee Lauder Companies notes, "In our first year, we are thrilled by the response of entrepreneurs from around the country. The 10 finalists selected represent a new generation of creative thinking and innovative business models."
Anchit Nayar, CEO, E-commerce Beauty, Nykaa notes, "We are truly impressed by the diversity of ideas and business models submitted to this program. This demonstrates, yet again, that the beauty market in India is at a tipping point with an abundance of talent and potential waiting to be explored. True to its mission, BEAUTY&YOU has spotlighted some highly promising brands and bold entrepreneurs that are unafraid to break the mould of beauty and win consumers over. We are eager to see which of these ultimately emerge as winners of the debut program."
From November 3 to November 8, 2022, the broader beauty community will also be involved in the decision-making process and will be invited to vote on their favorites via .
On November 9, 2022, finalists will present their final company presentation to the BEAUTY&YOU jury including Katrina Kaif, Actor and Co-founder of Kay Beauty, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Founder and CEO of Sabyasachi among many others who have committed their time and expertise to the program. Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on the evening of November 9, 2022.
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( With inputs from ANI )
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