The beauty brands market and personal care product market in India is currently valued at $26.8 Bn and is poised to reach $37.2 Bn by 2025
Price is not an essential delighter for online buyers of beauty and personal care brands in India
The number of online beauty shoppers in India is expected to cross 122 Mn by FY25
The beauty and personal care market is one of India’s fastest-growing segments, driven by many market triggers and lifestyle changes. Traditionally controlled by legacy brands, the industry is now witnessing a boom due to changing perceptions, growing awareness about natural ingredients/chemical-free products, and most importantly, the rise of direct-to-consumer (D2C) companies making waves in the online retail space.
The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic drove online discovery and sales of this new crop of beauty brands after the brick-and-mortar boundaries of retail were demolished by frequent shutdowns of supermarkets, hypermarkets, department stores, salons and the like. For the first time, ecommerce shot to the top of the glitzy beauty business pyramid and saw the highest growth in product distribution share as customers valued the convenience and safety of online shopping and home delivery.
Which beauty brand is the most popular?
L’Oréal
L’Oréal tops the list, followed by Estée Lauder, Gillette, Nivea and Guerlain, which make up the top five. They are followed by Clinique, Dove, Pantene, Lancôme and Garnier – rounding out the top ten.
There are three unique circumstances that continue to prop up the beauty industry:
1. Consumers, mostly women, are on a journey of exploration. They are enjoying new products and finding new brands. This is part of a larger generational shift of younger consumers rejecting the large brands their parents preferred and seeking out locally-made, artisanal, natural products in all consumer categories. The need to be Instagrammable at all times also helps.
2. Young, independent brands (great examples are listed below) are supporting a surge in creativity. It seems like every day there is a new brand with a new idea about how to become or remain beautiful. Entrepreneurship is boiling over in the beauty industry. These young brands are supported by the physical retail beauty channel.
3. Acquisitions by the major beauty companies of ever-smaller companies at very high values are drawing in more founders and driving more creativity every day. The acquisitions are taking place because the big beauty brands are threatened by the young, independent brands that consumers want now.
This set of circumstances, or something close to it, has happened before in other consumer sectors. It never goes on forever. It’s been running for a long time in the beauty industry and while it is certain to end at some point, there’s no telling what will make the bottom fall out or when that will happen.