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June 8, 2026
Arushi Jain, The Times of India
8 June 2026
Their faces have launched many campaigns and brought crores to the film industry. But can they sell a moisturiser as successfully? India’s beauty market is the hottest growth story globally, estimated to reach $40 billion from $23 billion (2026) and eyeing the fourth-largest spot by 2030 (currently at number seven).
Last month, Estée Lauder announced the buyout of Forest Essentials, one of India’s oldest, Ayurveda-based brands. In 2025, Hindustan Unilever acquired five-year-old skin and hair care brand, Minimalist. A 2025 McKinsey & Company x Business of Fashion survey found that 78% of global beauty executives see India as the most promising growth market. Even celebrities have shown up with chequebooks, but fans are no longer buying at face value.
While Hailey Bieber’s Rhode built a cult following through what she calls an “outside of the box” strategy, Deepika Padukone’s 82°E reported a 30% revenue dip in FY25. Nykaa is in talks to acquire a stake in the brand.
India’s consumer has evolved faster than the brands serving them. They are reading labels now, not just recognising famous faces on packaging. Star power, it turns out, only gets you so far.
Fame gets you in the door. Formulation keeps you there
If a celebrity is the invitation to the party, formulation is what keeps the guest at the after-party. Despite India’s celebrity beauty segment crossing an estimated `5,000 crore in GMV in FY24, scale has not translated into customer retention. The initial spike, familiar to anyone who has tracked a celebrity launch, gives way to an uncomfortable question: what brings a customer back?
“Celebrity isn’t necessarily a sustainable brand asset,” says Devangshu Dutta, CEO of retail consultancy Third Eyesight. “While celebrities can act as interest-creators and trial-generators, repeat purchases are built on functional reasons, not imagery alone.”
Founders echo the same reality from the ground. “Honestly, people come back for what works,” says Aashka Goradia Goble, co-founder of RENÉE Cosmetics. “If a product performs well, feels easy to use, is priced right, and becomes part of someone’s everyday routine, they’ll keep reaching for it.”
Price, too, remains a decisive filter. Sunny Leone, founder of StarStruck, says, “In India, price is the main component.” The journey from first purchase to loyalty is driven by habit, and habit, in beauty, is built on results.
Positioning over popularity
The gap between a viral campaign and a repeat purchase is wider than most A-listers realise. Brand guru Harish Bijoor locates the problem in what he calls the “spinal cord” of a brand: a single, clear positioning that holds the entire business together.
Rihanna’s Fenty is inseparable from its commitment to shade inclusivity. Kylie Jenner’s Kylie Cosmetics was built around one obsession: lips. “It is extremely important to understand what you want to be and focus on just one thing and not on everything,” Bijoor says. That clarity is precisely where most Indian celebrity beauty brands are still finding their footing.
The old playbook: launch a brand online, wrap it in the language of “clean” or “natural,” and wait for a global conglomerate to come calling has run its course. Today, strategic buyers and consumers alike want a brand that can stand on its own. The question is no longer whether a celebrity can generate awareness. It is whether the brand they have built can survive them.
What the labels that last have in common
The brands breaking through are doing so quietly and methodically. In a category where fame can spark interest but not always guarantee repeat purchase, Katrina Kaif’s Kay Beauty, launched with Nykaa in 2019, has emerged as one of celebrity beauty’s more consistent success stories.
The main reason is less about star power and more about strategy. “If you contrast Kay Beauty and 82°E (Deepika Padukone’s brand), Kay Beauty has two distinct advantages,” says Dutta. “Firstly, being priced for a much larger audience, and secondly, having the active participation of Nykaa across channels in terms of merchandising and visibility push for the brand.”
Nykaa is candid about what made the difference. “When we co-created Kay Beauty with Katrina, shade ranges and formulations designed for Indian skin tones and climate were severely limited,” a spokesperson shares, adding that the celebrity association “amplified the brand rather than substituted for it.” The strategy appears to have paid off: Kay Beauty is now a ₹500 crore-plus annualised GMV brand, with new launches contributing 21% of revenue as of Q3 FY26.
Why Indian skin demands more than a famous name
For Indian celebrity brands, the challenge is not just performance; it is perception. “Domestically, we see the mentality for buyers is to look at international brands first based on trust, and then try domestic brands based on lower price value,” says Leone.
Indian consumers are also highly specific in what they expect. According to market research firm Mintel, shoppers are increasingly drawn to formulations that are clinically tested and grounded in both science and local familiarity. Products must perform in Mumbai’s humidity and Delhi’s pollution and suit the full spectrum of Indian skin tones.
“Indian consumers love products that do more than one job, last long in our weather, and actually match Indian skin tones,” says Goradia. They are cautious spenders, she adds, but willing to invest when they see real quality and innovation.
Nykaa says this ingredient awareness is now visible across the country, not just metros. “Consumers are reading about niacinamide and retinol, they know what they want from a sunscreen, and are making considered purchase decisions. Brands need to earn their place on merit in every market,” says the spokesperson.
“A brand that addresses these needs well and remains within the customer’s budget succeeds,” says Dutta.
Gen Z will drive 50% of India’s beauty consumption by 2030
By 2030, Gen Z will drive 50% of India’s beauty and personal care consumption, a third of all sales will happen online, and per capita income is forecast to rise 138% in real terms by 2040, according to Euromonitor. Nykaa founder and CEO Falguni Nayar told Bloomberg that comparing India’s beauty routines to South Korea’s famed 14-step regimens is premature, “It is still day zero for beauty consumption in India.”
The global conglomerates have done the math. Estée Lauder, L’Oréal, and Puig are all moving deeper into India, betting on a consumer who is younger, more digitally fluent, and more ingredient-literate than any previous generation. The brands they are acquiring, Forest Essentials, Minimalist, Kama Ayurveda, share a common thread: They are built on something that exists independently of a famous face. “This is an industry that is very crowded and takes a lot of time to grow,” says Leone. “Western brands focus on global distribution and profit and loss. Not just turnover at a loss.” The celebrities who will build something lasting are the ones who understand that the launch is the easiest part. As Bijoor puts it: “Celebrity beauty is not skin deep at all. It is a deep brand science.”
(Published in The Times of India)
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May 15, 2026
The ET Now Swadesh panel discussion focussed on the dual challenge facing the Indian economy: a weakening rupee and rising crude oil prices, which together are driving “imported inflation” and straining household budgets. Devangshu Dutta (Founder, Third Eyesight) put forth the following key points during the discussion (the video link is under the text summary below):
1. Dual Impact on Industry and Consumers:
2. Vulnerability of Small Businesses (SMEs):
3. Income vs. Expenditure Strain:
4. Ripple Effect of Crude Oil Beyond Logistics:
5. Shifts in Consumer Spending Patterns & “Shrinkflation”:
The panel noted that while the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has adequate foreign exchange reserves to defend the rupee temporarily, the definitive solution relies heavily on the cooling down of global geopolitical tensions (such as the Middle East conflict affecting the Strait of Hormuz). Until then, Indian consumers will need careful financial planning and smart spending adjustments to navigate this inflationary phase. [Video below.]
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November 27, 2025
Viveat Susan Pinto, Financial Express
November 27, 2025
Several of the country’s top retailers, malls and brands have kicked off a shopping extravaganza on the occasion of Black Friday, offering steep discounts across product categories.
A Western import, the day which symbolises the beginning of the Christmas shopping season in the US, the UK and Europe, gained popularity in India over the past two years as a crucial sale window after Diwali.
Domestic retailers, say experts, are using this period to exhaust existing inventory at steep discounts as they gear up for the winter season.
This year, discounts are up to 60-80% across fashion, lifestyle, electronics and cosmetics, higher than the 50% seen last year. E-tailers such as Ajio have pushed the pedal even harder, offering as much as 85-90% on denims, jackets and select products during the sale this year.
Bigger Deals, Longer Duration
“Retailers in India are building Black Friday as an important off-season peak. The participation of brands is growing, deals are getting bigger and the sale days are more,” Devangshu Dutta, founder and chief executive of Third Eyesight, a Gurugram-based retail consultancy, said. That is visible from the intense promotional activity this year. What began as a flash sale event a couple of years ago has now extended to a week-long sale period this year, experts said.
Pushpa Bector, senior executive director and business head, DLF Retail, said that brands this year are ready with strong offers, driven in part by GST cuts and a stable economic outlook. “Early trends show healthy interest across categories by consumers. We expect a strong double-digit uplift over the Black Friday period, setting us up for a strong close to the year,” she said.
Retailer Strategies
While Black Friday typically falls on the last Friday of November, some retailers such as Flipkart, Croma, Vijay Sales, Nykaa and Tata Cliq have kicked off their Black Friday sales last week itself to build on the excitement. For electronic retailers, said Nilesh Gupta, director, Vijay Sales, Black Friday will extend into Cyber Monday next week (falling on December 1), making it even more relevant for them to focus on the occasion.
“We’ve been building Black Friday as a retail property in the last few of years as it fills the post-Diwali void quite well. Black Friday also extends well into Cyber Monday which comes immediately after. While we started with a few categories in the initial years, we now have offers across all our segments. Discounts are up to 45-50% this year in line with last year,” he said.
Rival Croma is also offering up to 50% discount on products this year, executives said.
“Black Friday has become one of India’s most anticipated shopping moments. At Croma, we are focused on delivering value across categories with steal deals, bundled savings, and limited-time offers,” Croma’s CEO & MD Shibashish Roy said.
Croma will also introduce a special late-night shopping window on November 28 at select stores across India. For two hours—from 10 pm to 11:59 pm —these stores will remain open with exclusive additional discounts on some of the season’s most in-demand products.
Nishank Joshi, chief marketing officer, Nexus Select Malls, said it is elevating the Black Friday experience with bigger assured gifts, giveaways and reward points if consumers upload their bills on their Nexus One apps.
Mayank Lalpuria, director, marketing (north, central & west) at Phoenix Mills, which operates Phoenix malls, said that it was expecting double-digit year-on-year growth and strong footfalls during the Black Friday period.
Tanu Prasad, CEO – Malls, Oberoi Realty, said that the firm was seeing far more planned purchases towards premium products and a rise in family-oriented outings. “We are anticipating an encouraging response at the (Black Friday) weekend resulting in a strong kick-off to the (December) shopping season,” Prasad said.
Direct-to-consumer brands such as Inc.5 footwear and NEWME said that they have rolled out big deals for Black Friday. “We’re looking at a 30x surge in orders across both offline and online for Black Friday,” NEWME Co-founder & CEO Sumit Jasoria said.
“Our customers look forward to Black Friday, and this year, we’re excited to bring fresh new launches, curated edits, and our widest range yet,” Rajesh Kadam, CEO, Inc.5 Footwear, said.
(Published in Financial Express)
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September 5, 2025
Shalinee Mishra, Exchange4Media
5 September 2025
Retailers in India are waking up to a hard truth: customer acquisition can no longer ride on advertising alone. Digital ad spends grew by 14-17% in 2024, touching nearly ₹50,000 crore (as per Pitch Madison report) and accounting for 46% of India’s total ad market. But with customer acquisition costs (CAC) rising 30-35% year-on-year and consumer attention fragmented across platforms, the ad-first growth engine is showing strain. What is emerging instead is an ecosystem where content in the form of video, celebrity-led storytelling, or creator-driven engagement is becoming the direct funnel to commerce.
Flipkart for instance is building influencer production hubs and embedding shoppable videos, Myntra has rolled out its video-first Glamstream, and Amazon has long blurred the line between streaming and shopping through Prime Video and Fire TV. From short videos to celebrity gossip, from beauty blogs to shoppable livestreams, e-commerce giants are no longer just marketplaces; they are evolving into media houses and the trend is only growing.
According to Mindshare’s latest Content Trend Report, India’s branded content marketing industry is now worth ₹10,000 crore, growing at nearly 20% annually, with video formats making up almost half of all spends.
India already has over 270 million online shoppers, a number that Bain projects will rise to 350 million by 2027, making it the world’s second largest e-retail user base. That scale is creating fertile ground for shoppable video and live commerce to take off.
Globally, branded content spend is projected to cross $500 bn by 2027. As per PwC estimates, India’s share is still <2% but among the fastest growing.
Video commerce today largely follows two prominent models. The first is driven by social platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook, where shoppable posts allow users to move directly from content to purchase. The second is led by e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Myntra, Nykaa, and Flipkart and others which have added video sections to create immersive shopping experiences within their apps.
Within this, live commerce has emerged as a high-potential format. Meesho and Flipkart, for example, are leading the charge with 2-3% conversion rates, generating an estimated $150-200 million in GMV during festive 2024. Events like Flipkart’s Big Billion Days show how timed livestreams can capture active, purchase-ready audiences.
Meanwhile, influencer-led short videos are driving conversion rates as high as 63%, with beauty and personal care (BPC) and food & beverages (F&B) among the top categories benefiting from this shift. Redseer projects India’s live commerce market could touch $4-5 bn GMV by 2027, up from less than $300 mn today. This surge in shoppable video and live commerce is only the surface of a deeper structural change, one where content itself is becoming the moat that protects brands from rising ad costs, fragmented attention, and fickle consumer loyalty.
Beyond ads: Why content has become retail’s strongest defence
Chirag Taneja, co-founder of e-commerce enablement company GoKwik, framed the trend as a fundamental shift in ownership.
“It’s not just about enhancing top-of-funnel reach, it’s about owning demand, connection, and the touchpoint with end shoppers. For years, brands relied on ads to bring traffic. But acquisition costs have been rising, attention is fragmented, and privacy shifts have made targeting difficult. That’s why content is now the moat. When companies acquire content firms, they’re not just buying eyeballs, they’re securing access to communities that trust and engage with that content.”
According to him, content is collapsing the traditional funnel. “One short video or livestream can take a consumer from awareness to purchase in under a minute. That’s why we see D2C brands treating content as a compounding asset, not just an expense,” he added.
Devangshu Dutta, founder and CEO of management consulting firm Third Eyesight, echoed the sentiment.
“Large companies are buying or partnering with content-driven platforms to capture attention beyond transactional touch points. Short video, regional language content, and influencer-driven discovery are embedding commerce within entertainment. If you want to sell more than a commodity, storytelling is critical. Content builds credibility, differentiation, and trust in a cluttered and price-sensitive market.”
Flipkart bets big on media and creators
The shift is already reshaping strategy at India’s biggest retailers, and Flipkart has moved fastest. Its move to acquire a majority stake in Pinkvilla, a platform built on entertainment and celebrity news signals a clear push to deepen ties with Gen Z and millennials, a cohort that consumes content first and shops later.
“Our acquisition of a majority stake in Pinkvilla is a critical step in our mission to deepen our engagement with Gen Z. Pinkvilla’s robust content IPs and strong connection with its loyal audience base are assets that will accelerate our efforts to leverage content as a key driver of growth,” said Ravi Iyer, Senior Vice President, Corporate at Flipkart.
Flipkart in the last year has exited investments in companies like Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail, where it sold its 7.5% stake in the owner of Pantaloons, Van Heusen, Louis Philippe and Forever 21, as well as BlackBuck, the trucking marketplace that powers India’s mid-mile logistics.
At the same time, the company has doubled down on content and creators. Its Pinkvilla acquisition gives it access to a platform reaching over 60 million monthly users, while in-house features like Flipkart Feed already clock 5–6 million daily video views, highlighting how commerce and content are converging at scale.
Alongside this, Flipkart has launched Creator Cities in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Gurgaon, production hubs designed for influencers to shoot and scale shoppable content.
It has also introduced Flipkart Feed, a TikTok-style vertical video feature embedded in its app, offering bite-sized, influencer-led, fully shoppable videos. Myntra, its fashion arm, has developed Glamstream, with more than 500 hours of video-first shopping content across music, beauty, travel and weddings, featuring stars like Badshah, Tabu, Zeenat Aman and Vijay Deverakonda.
Flipkart has also partnered with YouTube Shopping, allowing creators with over 10,000 subscribers to tag Flipkart products in videos, Shorts and livestreams, enabling viewers to buy directly while creators earn commissions.
Amazon’s head start in content-commerce convergence Flipkart is not alone. Its biggest rival Amazon has long understood this convergence. Through Prime Video and its original programming slate, Amazon has built an entertainment ecosystem that doubles as a commerce funnel. The shows and films on Prime do not merely entertain; they drive shopping behaviour, influence trends, and lock audiences into Amazon’s larger universe of services. With Fire TV and Alexa integrations, the company has blurred the line between watching and buying, a model others are now racing to replicate.
D2C brands treat content as growth engine
Closer home, the Good Glamm Group, now closed, had pioneered a content-led commerce ecosystem in beauty and personal care. Through acquisitions like ScoopWhoop and MissMalini Entertainment, the group stitched together a portfolio where content platforms brought in audiences, who were then nudged towards its direct-to-consumer brands.
This “editorial-to-checkout” model demonstrated how cultural capital could be translated into purchase pathways. Alibaba has taken the strategy global. With stakes in Youku, a leading video-streaming platform, and Alibaba Pictures, the e-commerce titan integrates entertainment with retail operations. Taobao Live has shown how livestream shopping can dominate consumer behavior, particularly inAsia, creating billion-dollar shopping events entirely dependent on
entertainment-driven discovery.
Shopify, meanwhile, has invested in tools that empower merchants to become content creators themselves. Its partnerships with agencies like Sanity and investments in platforms such as Billo reflect a clear intent to enable retailers to embed storytelling, gamification, and user-generated content into their selling journey. Unlike large marketplaces, Shopify’s vision is not to own the content but to democratize access to it for small and mid-sized businesses.
From content to commerce
This content includes newsletters, creator partnerships, branded podcasts, and niche communities on social media. The idea, as industry experts note, is to treat content as an asset that compounds, not just as a cost.
Unlike ads, content continues to generate discovery and engagement long after it’s published. That’s why more D2C brands are making content central to their growth strategies.
Several big names are experimenting in this space. Durex, Plum, Mother Dairy, and HDFC Bank have launched their own podcasts where celebrities share stories along their brand journey. Founder-led podcasts too are on the rise on YouTube, with voices like Nitin Kamath and Deepinder Goyal drawing large audiences in India.
The big question, however, is whether content consumption can effectively be converted into product discovery and purchase pathways. “It’s already happening at scale,” said Taneja. “Content is redefining every aspect of the traditional funnel. In the past, you had awareness at the top, intent in the middle, and purchase at the bottom. Today, one short video or live stream can take a consumer through that entire journey in under a minute.
“From a D2C lens, this convergence is even more critical. D2C brands thrive on agility, the ability to turn trends, storytelling, and community engagement directly into sales. Platforms like Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and even WhatsApp have embedded shoppable features, which means the content is no longer just ‘top-of-funnel.’ It’s the storefront. But the magic lies in authenticity and design. Consumers don’t want to feel ‘sold to’, they want to feel entertained, inspired, or educated. If the content does that well, conversion becomes a natural byproduct. For example, an athleisure brand showing a workout routine isn’t just demonstrating leggings, it’s giving value. The leggings purchase becomes an easy next step, not a forced pitch.”
The big question: Will content sustain sales at scale?
Taneja further reveals how content is driving sales and long-term growth. “The smartest brands, especially in D2C, have realized that high-quality
content is their most defensible growth engine. Performance marketing will continue to play a role, but the real long-term moat is the kind of content that builds relationships, trust, and recall. Consumers today are spoiled for choice. They don’t buy just products, they buy stories, values, and communities.
“High-quality content allows a brand to consistently show up in ways that feel relevant and credible. And from a business lens, it directly impacts unit economics: it reduces CAC because organic discovery compounds over time, improves LTV because content nurtures loyalty and repeat purchases, and builds resilience because brands with strong content ecosystems are less dependent on fluctuating ad platforms.”
The D2C ecosystem in India is already proving this point. Beauty and personal care brands now run editorial-led platforms alongside commerce, while fashion labels thrive on creator collaborations and storytelling-driven product drops. Their growth is not accidental but built on content strategies that treat every piece not just as a post, but as a business driver.
As an enabler, Taneja adds, the results are visible across platforms. “Brands that invest in content see better conversions on our checkout stack, lower cart drops, and stronger repeat cohorts. Content doesn’t just spark sales it sustains them.”
For all the optimism, the test for content-driven commerce will lie in scale and sustainability. Rising conversions in beauty, fashion, and food show the model works, but questions remain on whether every category can replicate that success, or whether consumers will tire of content-heavy shopping pitches.
(Published in Exchange4Media)
admin
July 28, 2025
Ananditha Anand, Deccan Chronicle (Hyderabad Chronicle)
Hyderabad, 28 July 2025
Beauty is borrowing from the bakery. Be it glazed donut skin, popularised by Hailey Bieber, jam lips, or strawberry freckles – food related makeup looks, as well as cosmetic marketing trends have been at an all-time high. In June 2025, around 2 lakh users looked up latte makeup on the image-based social media platform, Pinterest.
The Novelty Value
According to social-media-influencer Yashvi Bhaia, these trends bring a sense of novelty to cosmetic products. “Take a look at one of the body washes called Whipped Lush. It feels exactly like whipped cream – fluffy, foamy and sweet. This visual being attached to the product brings a pleasant connection,” she says.
Devangshu Dutta, founder of Third Eyesight, a management consulting firm, says, “Terms like choco mousse blush or berry lip tint evokes indulgence, comfort, and a sense of reward, transforming cosmetics into emotional experiences rather than just functional items.” Dutta likened these products to comforting treats, exuding warmth and a nostalgia for food they have consumed before, bottled in these makeup products.
Dhanashree Kavitkar is an avid follower of makeup trends on platforms like Instagram, as well as Chinese sites like Douyin and Red Note. She observes that the melding of the sensory elements of food and makeup “satisfied” the consumer.
“It works almost the same way ASMR does. When I think of jelly lips, I think edible, with a plump and glossy texture. And it just hits the right spot in my brain,” she says.
She also believes that many of these beauty trends, under the guise of novelty, are repackaging pre-existing makeup trends to make it appealing again. “Take strawberry freckle makeup for example, it is literally just drawing freckles on your face, but they gave it a new name to intrigue people,” she says.
Bina Punjani, owner of Bina Punjani Hair Studio says, “These are all marketing buzz-words created by online makeup companies, who wish to advertise to a younger audience.” She explains that food related nomenclature has existed forever in the realm of hair care products, with wines, chocolates, and caramels dominating the hair colour market.
“Sensory feelings have been a huge part of marketing and communication, be it on television, or anywhere else,” said Bhaia. “Now that marketing is so video-forward online, brands will create visuals associated with food,” she says.
Dutta adds that rather than a new concept, the increased intensity and consistency of these beauty brands employing food-related marketing on social media platforms differentiate it from their marketing in the 1980s – when it was first popularised.
Cultural Adaptation
Talking about the virality aspect of these makeup trends, Kavitkar points out how the looks trending in India (and around the world right now), were popular in East Asian countries like China and South Korea a year ago.
“Thanks to the matcha wave now, strawberry matcha makeup is popular. More East Asian food items like mochi and tanghulu have also picked up steam in the makeup space, and have gotten popular globally. But they can feel a bit alien to Indian consumers who don’t know these trends beforehand,” she says. Bhaia talks about how Indian cosmetic products adapted these trends to cater to the Indian “taste.” A leading brand has come up with lip products named masala chai, and jalebi glaze.
“These are such Indian terms, and they’ve been marketed so well. When you think of jalebi, you think of this shiny, orange-ish kind of thing, and you have a very clear visual of it.”
Just Another Trend
What keeps the novelty of these trends alive? Punjani thinks that it is the familiarity that we as humans draw towards nature and ourselves. “Suppose you look at your skin tone, and you see that exact shade in a pear – you end up drawing a psychological connection between the two,” she says.
Kavitkar thinks that they bring in a new wave of experimentation. She says, “Look at tangerine dream makeup. It is a mix of yellow and orange blush on your face, which looks so weird. If you saw someone wearing yellow blush outside, you’d be like, what the hell is she wearing? But that’s the beauty of this look, it’s so out of the box.”
Dutta notes that the frequency of usage of any imagery in the industry ebbs and flows with fashions. “Food, however, consistently provides an intuitive, emotional, and relatable entry point for consumers to engage with beauty, and will remain a versatile tool for building stories around pleasure, nostalgia, authenticity, and self-care,” he says.
While the world goes ‘bananas’ over ‘latte makeup’ and ‘gingerbread nails’ you can try the silent power of ‘smokey eyes’ and nude lips!
(Published in Deccan Chronicle)
