The Estée Lauder Companies and NYKAA partner to launch BEAUTY&YOU INDIA: Supporting the Next Generation of Indian Beauty Entrepreneurs

An India-focused award program to fuel the emerging beauty ecosystem

New Delhi (India), July 22: The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) and NYKAA, one of India’s leading omnichannel beauty and lifestyle retailers, are excited to announce the launch of BEAUTY&YOU India. Created by ELC’s New Incubation Ventures and launched in partnership with NYKAA, BEAUTY&YOU India looks to discover, spotlight, and propel the next generation of Indian beauty brands.

The program will support India-focused companies and entrepreneurs through a competitive application process. Awards to both pre-launch and in-market premium beauty concepts will be announced in November 2022 based on applications submitted via www.beautyandyouawards.com no later than September 30, 2022.

BEAUTY&YOU aims to help founders, innovators, and creators grow their businesses holistically by identifying brand goals, achieving scale ambitions, and curating product portfolios that speak to a new generation of consumers in the Indian market. Award recipients will benefit from access to ELC and NYKAA relationships and expertise across the beauty ecosystem in order to nurture emerging ideas that amplify Indian voices and address unmet needs in the categories of skin care, makeup, hair care, and fragrance. Among other resources, BEAUTY&YOU India will provide award recipients with:

• Masterclasses: An insider’s view of what it takes to build iconic, sustainable beauty brands from leading global experts.
• Financial Support: Total prize pool up to INR 4 Cr (approximately $500,000 USD) across the program for the most innovative, inspiring, and breakthrough ideas.
• Mentorship: Access to experts from across the beauty landscape—product and content development, brand building, finance, operations, and supply chain.
• Awareness: Winners will garner national and international press—offering a myriad of opportunities on the world stage plus amplification of the ELC and NYKAA platforms.
• Distribution Support: Valuable guidance on how to scale and reach consumers at a local and global level with the opportunity to access NYKAA’s expansive omnichannel reach, placing the brands on the road to long term success.

In addition to the benefits outlined above, winning applicants have the potential to build a longer-term relationship with ELC’s New Incubation Ventures and NYKAA. Shana Randhava, Vice President, ELC New Incubation Ventures, and Anchit Nayar, CEO of Beauty for NYKAA e-Commerce, will lead the BEAUTY&YOU India program. 

A panel of eminent entrepreneurs, industry experts, and thought leaders from the world of beauty, fashion, media, and technology will support Shana and Anchit with BEAUTY&YOU India’s judging process. As custodians of successful, homegrown Indian brands that have earned tremendous global appeal, Katrina Kaif, Superstar and Founder of Kay Beauty, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Founder & CEO, Sabyasachi and Samarth Bedi, Executive Director of Forest Essentials, are amongst the industry experts that have committed their time and expertise to the program. A full list of judges who will bring their unique market expertise and experiences is included at the end of this release.

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 its incredibly vibrant economy and cutting-edge startup community, India represents an exciting opportunity for beauty creators and innovators. Our vision is for BEAUTY&YOU to harness the entrepreneurial energy in India to advance next-generation beauty brands by presenting opportunities that help put brands on a long-term, sustainable growth path,” says Shana Randhava, Vice President, New Incubation Ventures, The Estée Lauder Companies. “BEAUTY&YOU is inspired by the core values and collaborative culture that ELC and NYKAA share. We believe we have a responsibility to share our experiences with the next generation of founders and we hope BEAUTY&YOU will be a catalyst for Indian entrepreneurs to fuel their passion, brand, and mission.”

With his robust experience of building the unparalleled omnichannel beauty offering at NYKAA, Anchit Nayar, CEO of Beauty for NYKAA e-Commerce, is committed to providing access for companies and founders to market and scale their businesses. “NYKAA’s emergence as a leading consumer technology platform over the past several years is an outcome of an incredibly vibrant digital India that has spurred innovation and created an entrepreneurial ecosystem that is best in class globally. Now it is a chance for us to give back to the ecosystem by fostering the next generation of entrepreneurs in the beauty and lifestyle verticals. BEAUTY&YOU is an opportunity for us to identify and nurture talented founders to build truly unique consumer brands for the Indian consumer, and potentially for the world.”

The BEAUTY&YOU website goes live July 21, 2022, at 9:00 am IST. The application portal opens on August 1, 2022, and will accept applications until 11:59 pm IST on September 30, 2022.

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