ELC and NYKAA Announce Winners of the Inaugural Edition of the BEAUTY&YOU Awards in India

Press Release, Nov 17, 2022

November 17, 2022: The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) and NYKAA, one of India’s leading omnichannel beauty and lifestyle retailers, announce the winners for BEAUTY&YOU India. Created by ELC’s New Incubation Ventures and launched in partnership with NYKAA, BEAUTY&YOU India is an award program launched in July 2022, with an aim to discover, spotlight, and propel the next generation of Indian beauty brands.

The ten finalists presented their businesses to a jury of leading industry experts including: Katrina Kaif, Actor and Co-Founder, Kay Beauty; Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Founder & CEO, Sabyasachi; Nicola Kilner, Co-Founder & CEO, DECIEM; Deepica Mutyala, Founder & CEO, Live Tinted; Anaita Shroff Adajania, CEO, Style Cell; as well as leaders from The Estée Lauder Companies, NYKAA, Intercos, and Sequoia Capital. The finalists represent a variety of concepts ranging from breakthrough product innovation and re-imagining a centuries-old fragrance tradition to emerging consumer categories such as teen beauty, men’s skin care, and digital beauty in the metaverse. 

The winners, listed below, were announced at an awards evening at the St. Regis, Mumbai, on November 9, 2022: 

IMAGINE Category: $75,000 Prize for pre-launch concepts

• Bahut Beauty
• Sonya Khubchandani De Castelbajac
• Bahut Beauty’s new brand is inspired by India’s ancient historical perfume center at Kannauj – a city in the heart of Uttar Pradesh that is akin to Grasse in France and the lesser-known perfume capital of India. Drawing on its venerable tradition, Sonya aims to develop an ethical and thoughtful homegrown brand, Deg & Bhapka, that is experientially driven and celebrates the art and technology of the subcontinent.

GROW Category: $150,000 Prize for in-market businesses

• Skinvest
• Divya Malpani
• Skinvest creates solutions for skin issues like pigmentation, cellulite, and dark circles via innovative products that also focus on gender neutrality and mental health advocacy. The brand currently retails five products that seamlessly bridge the gap between clinical and cool.
• www.skinvest.com

COMMUNITY Award: $5,000 Prize for the best community engagement

• YAAN MAN
• Rahul Shah
• As a new-age skin care brand, YAAN MAN sets out to break societal taboos surrounding men and their relationship with skin care and makeup through clean and conscious products that are innovative, derived from nature, and engineered for performance.
• https://www.yaanman.in

“The debut edition of our program has witnessed stellar response from new and emerging brands,” said Anchit Nayar, Chief Executive Officer, E-commerce Beauty, NYKKA. “From tapping science and nature to impeccable consumer insight, the entries and finalists showed us the immense potential of beauty brands in India who are gearing up to win consumer's hearts. This is only the beginning of this journey with the new generation of beauty entrepreneurs in India and we are looking forward to building the future of beauty together.”

"We are so proud of all the finalists who each requested a unique vision for beauty in India and beauty for modern consumers everywhere," said Shana Randhava, Senior Vice President, New Incubation Ventures, The Estée Lauder Companies. "The three winners - Skinvest, Bahut Beauty, and YAAN MAN - crafted concepts and businesses that inspired and excited us as to what the future of our industry holds. We look forward to working with them to support their groundbreaking ideas."

With over 300 entries across 50 Indian cities, the application pool included a multitude of beauty brands across categories – skin care, hair care, fragrance, and color cosmetics. Brand, product, marketing, and investment experts from ELC and NYKAA reviewed the entire application pool and shortlisted the ten most promising brands and ideas before selecting winners. Some interesting insights from the applicants:

• Almost 50% were skin care brands
• 95% had a sustainability mission in place
• 80% had a female founder as part of the founding team
• 25% were in the pre-launch "IMAGINE" category

The winners will benefit from access to ELC and NYKAA relationships and expertise across the beauty ecosystem to nurture emerging ideas that amplify Indian voices and address unmet consumer needs. Among other resources, BEAUTY&YOU India will provide award winners with financial support, continued mentorship, increased awareness, and distribution support.

HOSTS

About The Estée Lauder Companies and New Incubation Ventures

New Incubation Ventures (NIV) is the strategic early-stage investment and incubation arm for The Estée Lauder Companies. NIV partners with forward-thinking founders and entrepreneurs to create, fund, and support the best-emerging beauty brands and new business models to shape the future of beauty and build an actionable pipeline of diversified brands and new engines of growth for the ELC portfolio.

About The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. is one of the world’s leading manufacturers, marketers, and sellers of quality skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products. The company’s products are sold in approximately 150 countries and territories under brand names including: Estée Lauder, Aramis, Clinique, Lab Series, Origins, M·A·C, La Mer, Bobbi Brown, Aveda, Jo Malone London, Bumble and bumble, Darphin Paris, TOM FORD BEAUTY, Smashbox, AERIN Beauty, Le Labo, Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle, GLAMGLOW, KILIAN PARIS, Too Faced, Dr.Jart+, and the DECIEM family of brands, including The Ordinary and NIOD.

About NYKAA

Nykaa (FSN E-Commerce) was founded in 2012 by Indian entrepreneur Falguni Nayar with a vision of bringing inspiration and joy to people, everywhere, every single day. Derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Nayaka’, meaning one in the spotlight, Nykaa has emerged as one of India’s leading lifestyle-focused consumer technologies platforms. Since its launch, Nykaa expanded its product categories by introducing online platforms Nykaa Fashion, Nykaa Man, and Superstore. Delivering a comprehensive Omnichannel ecommerce experience, Nykaa offers over 4,000 brands and over 3.1 million product SKUs through its website and mobile applications. The Nykaa Guarantee ensures that products available at Nykaa are 100% authentic and sourced directly from the brand or authorized retailers. Through engaging and educational content, digital marketing, social media influence, robust CRM strategies, and the Nykaa Network community platform, Nykaa has built a loyal community of millions of beauty and fashion enthusiasts.

Website: www.beautyandyouawards.com

Instagram: @beautyandyouawards

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