How the Beauty&You Awards are readying India’s next entrepreneurs

The wins and rewards

In the Grow category, the common thread between entries was a science-led, data-driven approach to product. SkinInspired, a science-backed skincare company that uses multi-active ingredients, emerged as winner. Founded by P&G alum Piyush Jain and dermatologist Dr Prashant Agrawal, SkinInspired aims to create an affordable yet premium product range for South Asian skin concerns.

For the Imagine category, the high calibre of competition this year resulted in two winners: Not Just Vanilla and Amright. Not Just Vanilla redefines bodycare with targeted, results-driven solutions for overlooked areas, while Amright combines clinically proven Swiss ingredients with genetic research to promote female hair regrowth.

The Create winner, meanwhile, was e-commerce marketplace Journey of Objects, which was founded by journalist Alia Allana with the aim of embracing sustainability and preserving the cultural diversity of India through industry research and thoughtful product curation. The wide spectrum of winners highlights the transformation taking place across the beauty industry, deeply influenced by Indian traditions and culture, yet taking a new-age approach to products.

Beauty&You India provides award recipients with financial support via a prize pool of up to INR 10 million ($118,300), distribution channel access, mentorship, as well as research and innovation resources. A welcome addition to this year’s programme is that winners can access the Beauty&You India Bootcamp, featuring one-to-one mentorship sessions with various industry leaders. This unique opportunity is designed to provide winners with invaluable insights and guidance from experts to affirm the programme’s commitment to fostering the growth and development of India’s next generation of beauty entrepreneurs.

Words of wisdom

Prior to the awards ceremony, there were several panel discussions. In the first fireside chat, ELC’s Lauder spoke with Rohan Vaziralli, general manager at ELCA Cosmetics Private Limited, about innovation and leadership in the industry. Lauder emphasised that the essence of any long-lasting brand lies in maintaining its core DNA while adapting to changing consumer needs; for ELC, this has meant staying true to its founding principles alongside growing its portfolio of 29 brands.

“My grandmother, Mrs Estée Lauder, started the company by making her first product — a cream — in the kitchen of a restaurant,” Lauder explained on the company’s homegrown heritage. “Her passion for making women feel good about themselves was the foundation of the company’s success. In prestige beauty, it’s the passion of the founder that is really important.”