New-age skincare labels disrupt India’s beauty retail market as big bands struggle

More and more consumers are reading about active ingredients and consulting dermatologists with preference growing for high-quality products at competitive price point.

India’s dynamic beauty market is witnessing a not-so-silent shakeup, one active ingredient at a time. Amid the growing inflationary pressure, new-age skincare brands are gaining the market share, an Economic Times report said on Thursday.

The likes of beauty giants such as Kama Ayurveda, Body Shop and Forest Essentials posted a record slump in sales in FY24, the ET report said citing the recent Registrar of Companies filings. The report states that in the natural skincare segment, sales of the big brands plummeted to half in comparison with last financial year.

Apart from the rise of new skincare labels, boarder economic slowdown also attributes to the drop in sales. Brands such as Minimalist and Pilgrimage witnessed an astonishing spike in sales. While sales of Pilgrimage products doubled in this period, Minimalist also recorded an increase of 80 percent in the sales. On back of lower base, newcomer Foxtale recorded a sales growth of 500 percent, the ET report said.

One of the key reasons behind the shakeup in the beauty market is the trend of publishing the active ingredients on the label itself. Younger consumers, especially zillennials or Gen Z are very well-aware of the ingredients and products telling the exact proportion of niacinamide and peptides has caught their fancy.

Instagram trends have also added to the mix. From toners to sunscreens, young India is buying beauty products with new energy. India’s personal care and skincare market, which is currently at $21 billion, will grow to $34 billion by 2028, the ET report said. More and more consumers are reading about active ingredients and consulting dermatologists with preference growing for high-quality products at competitive price point.