As the Indian beauty and skincare industry closes the chapter on a transformative 2025, the mood entering 2026 is neither exuberant nor cautious—it is deliberate. What emerged over the past year was not just accelerated growth, but a clear redefinition of value, credibility and consumer engagement across skincare, makeup, haircare and wellness.
Industry leaders agree that 2025 marked a decisive inflection point. Consumer demand remained strong, yet the motivations behind purchase decisions evolved sharply. The Indian beauty consumer is no longer chasing trends or impulse-led experimentation. Instead, they are asking sharper questions—about ingredients, sourcing, formulation science, timelines for visible results and, increasingly, long-term skin and hair health.
Market Momentum and Growth Outlook
India’s beauty and personal care market continues to demonstrate robust fundamentals. According to industry estimates, the sector is projected to grow at a CAGR of 10–12 per cent through 2026, with skincare alone expected to outpace the broader category at a 13–15 per cent CAGR, driven by rising awareness, higher discretionary spending, and deeper penetration beyond metros. Premium and masstige segments are expanding rapidly, while men’s grooming, dermatology-backed skincare, and personalised beauty solutions are emerging as structural growth engines rather than niche categories.
Yet, growth alone does not tell the full story. What truly distinguished 2025 was the recalibration of expectations—both from consumers and brands.
A Sector-Wide Shift: From Aspiration to Intention
From a sector-wide perspective, 2025 represented a turning point in how beauty is defined and delivered in India. According to Mihir Jain, Sales and Marketing Director at Insight Cosmetics, the year was marked by a visible change in consumer expectations. Shoppers increasingly demanded high-performance products that were consciously formulated, combining longevity, comfort and visible results. This shift accelerated the development of breathable, featherlight formulas specifically engineered for Indian skin tones and climatic conditions.
At the same time, competitive intensity rose sharply. Trust, transparency and credible certifications emerged as key differentiators in an increasingly crowded market. Jain notes that brands offering vegan, toxin-free and dermatologically tested innovations gained momentum, but keeping pace with rapidly evolving consumer awareness proved challenging. This tension between speed and substance is expected to shape brand strategies well into 2026.
Echoing this sentiment, Hari Ram Rinwa, Founder of Ashpveda, describes 2025 as a “new beginning” for India’s skincare and makeup sector. Consumers became more label-conscious and purpose-driven, gravitating towards brands that demonstrated authenticity and social responsibility. Innovation increasingly blended traditional wisdom with modern science, while competition intensified between D2C-first brands and legacy players. The transition from hype-led marketing to trust-led brand building, Rinwa emphasises, was unmistakable.
Brand-Level Realities: Highs, Lows and Strategic Recalibration
At a brand level, the highs of 2025 often came from validation—of philosophy, product integrity or community trust—while the lows stemmed from operational complexity and margin pressures.
For Ashpveda, being named the Official Gifting Partner at IIFA 2025 marked a significant milestone, validating its Ayurveda-led, Rajasthan-inspired ethos. However, scaling across global markets such as Canada and the GCC while maintaining purity standards proved challenging, shaping a 2026 focus on research-backed Ayurveda and thoughtful international growth.
Competitive pressure was particularly intense for brands operating across omnichannel formats. Himanshu Madnani, Co-founder of Shryoan Cosmetics, notes that 2025 saw a level of competitive intensity comparable to the previous decade combined, driven by deeper penetration into tier-II and tier-III markets and aggressive omnichannel expansion. While demand remained firm, pricing pressures and rising input costs squeezed margins. For Shryoan, curated launches and differentiated offerings strengthened consumer engagement, but uncertainty around hero products reinforced the need for operational efficiency and selective expansion in 2026.
Similarly, Nirmala Tiwari, NPD Head at Maliao Cosmetics, highlights that 2025 was defined by demand for performance, inclusivity and value. Brands competed fiercely through versatile, high-quality formulations aimed at young, expressive consumers. Maliao’s community-led Glow-Off campaign emerged as a key success, deepening consumer connection, even as supply chain disruptions and margin pressures tested resilience. These experiences have informed the brand’s upcoming launch of an accessible, high-impact range designed for diverse Indian skin tones and long-wear performance.
Trust, Community and Experience as Growth Levers
Bonish Jain, Founder and Director of PAC Cosmetics, describes 2025 as a defining year in which consumer demand grew more discerning, ingredient-aware and experience-driven. Innovation shifted away from frequent launches towards multifunctional products and climate-specific formulations. At the same time, lower entry barriers and the rise of digital-first and creator-led brands cluttered the market, making attention and loyalty harder to earn.
For PAC, sustaining profitable growth amid heightened competition was a major validation. Industry recognition from publications such as ELLE, Vogue, Femina and Grazia, along with its role as the official beauty partner at the Global Youth Festival, strengthened real-world engagement. However, rapidly evolving consumer behaviour across discovery and decision-making posed challenges. Heading into 2026, the brand plans to expand its retail footprint, enhance visual merchandising and deepen engagement with Gen Z consumers, reinforcing the belief that beauty plays a role beyond aesthetics—one rooted in confidence and self-expression.
Omnichannel Evolution and Quick Commerce
Retail and distribution models also underwent significant evolution in 2025. According to Madhu Sudan Pahwa, Managing Director of Womancart, the year marked a phase of consolidation and maturity. Impulse buying declined, while routine-based consumption and repeat usage increased. Dermatology-backed, India-specific formulations gained traction, while rising digital acquisition costs forced brands to rethink unit economics and supply chain efficiency.
Quick commerce emerged as a credible beauty channel, and tier-II cities narrowed the adoption gap with metros. For Womancart, the success of its two-hour delivery model validated speed as a competitive advantage. Yet balancing rapid growth with operational discipline—managing COD dependency, returns and acquisition costs—remains a key priority as the company enters 2026 with a focus on sustainable scale and private label expansion.
Convergence of Beauty, Wellness and Medical Credibility
Beyond products, 2025 accelerated the convergence of beauty, wellness and clinical expertise. Shalini Shivdasani, Founder and CEO of Reaviva Holistic Health, observes that the industry shifted from aspirational beauty to intentional, long-term health. Consumers increasingly sought personalised, science-backed solutions that integrate skin, body and overall well-being.
Innovation extended into diagnostics, AI-led skin analysis, energy-based technologies, IV therapies and nutraceuticals. Competitive intensity rose with the emergence of hybrid wellness clinics that blurred category boundaries. For Reaviva, building a premium, technology-driven wellness model was both validating and complex, shaping a 2026 strategy centred on depth, clinical rigour and measurable outcomes rather than rapid expansion.
Purposeful Innovation and Ingredient Integrity
This emphasis on trust and formulation depth is echoed by Pritesh Asher, Co-founder and CEO of Juicy Chemistry. He notes that in 2025, consumers moved beyond the simplistic “natural versus clinical” debate, seeking results-driven formulations grounded in safety, transparency and credibility. Innovation focused on barrier repair, microbiome balance and gentle actives, while ingredient storytelling and regional relevance became more pronounced.
For Juicy Chemistry, the biggest success was deepening community trust through farm-sourced ingredients and minimal processing. Operational complexity—particularly scaling without compromising quality—was the most significant challenge. These experiences clarified the brand’s 2026 priorities: fewer launches, stronger scientific communication, education-led content and operational resilience without dilution of values.
Swagatika Das, Co-founder and CEO, Nat Habit commented that 2025 made one thing very clear: Indian consumers are done with clutter and claims. They want freshness, clarity, and formulations that work. Natural actives surged, and q-commerce erased the Tier 1–Tier 2 divide to a certain extent, in terms of aspiration, spending, and product discovery. Ingredient awareness reached an all-time high, and consumers evaluated beauty choices with the same scrutiny and intention they applied to health choices. In 2026, skinification, scalp science, and clean, transparent processing will define the industry’s next leap.
Tool Culture, Rituals and Non-Invasive Beauty
From a holistic beauty standpoint, Vibhuti Arora, Founder of House of Beauty, highlights 2025 as a defining year for non-invasive skincare and “tool culture” in India. Consumers increasingly embraced face yoga, lymphatic drainage and sculpting tools as core components of daily routines rather than accessories. For House of Beauty, unprecedented demand validated the belief that beauty is muscular, emotional and ritual-led. However, scaling to meet demand exposed operational bottlenecks and logistical challenges, pushing the brand to prioritise system-building, resilience and expertise as it looks to 2026.
Ankit Virmani, Director, Esskay Beauty Resources opined that the Indian beauty and salon industry will be defined by smarter innovation, deeper consumer trust and holistic solutions. As consumers continue to prioritise performance-led, multifunctional products and inclusive grooming, the focus will be on strengthening research-backed offerings, expanding men’s grooming, and building sustainable growth rooted in real consumer insights. "At Esskay Beauty, 2026 is about scaling purposefully—combining product excellence with skill development and community impact to create long-term value.”
Haircare: Root-Cause Solutions Take Centre Stage
In haircare, the narrative shifted decisively towards root-cause-led solutions. Saloni Anand, Co-founder of Traya, notes that consumers became more willing to invest in science-backed, personalised regimens when outcomes and timelines were clearly communicated. Competition intensified, but trust, proof and retention emerged as key differentiators.
Despite facing platform-level disruptions in 2025, Traya saw strong traction for its women-focused Santulan range and took its first international steps in the UAE. The launch of experiential clinics integrating digital diagnosis with dermatological expertise reinforced the brand’s commitment to education-led growth. Moving into 2026, Traya plans to double down on holistic health solutions spanning hair, gut and skin wellness.
As the industry looks to 2026, expectations are anchored in sustainable growth, scientific credibility and deeper consumer relationships. Brands anticipate continued expansion across skincare, men’s grooming, haircare and wellness, supported by rising incomes and digital penetration. However, success will increasingly depend on education-led engagement, operational discipline and trust-building rather than aggressive scale alone.
In an industry that once thrived on novelty, 2026 is shaping up to be the year of nuance—where fewer launches, stronger formulations and authentic narratives define long-term winners. The Indian beauty and skincare sector is not merely growing; it is growing up. |
