Nail polishes and lipsticks are among top-selling beauty categories in the country, contributing more than 50 per cent share to nearly 176 million units of colour cosmetic products sold in the 10 key cities last year. New-age beauty brands are also fast catching up with legacy brands in terms of household penetration in these cities.

As per an analysis by Kantar, over 176 million units of colour cosmetics were sold in the 10 cities over last year (12-month period ended May 2024). The top seven formats contributed three-fourth of the share. Out of this, the nail polish segment contributed 24 per cent to the sales, while lipsticks, including liquid lipsticks, contributed 27 per cent of the sales in these cities. Eyeliner and compact powder contributed 7 per cent each, while sales of kajal and foundation was estimated at about 5-6 per cent each.

The 10 cities include Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Nagpur, Vijayawada and Guwahati.

K. Ramakrishnan, Managing Director - South Asia, Worldpanel Division, Kantar, told businessline, “The cosmetics market is a high potential sector in terms of growth. An interesting aspect is that not every part of India behaves the same way. South India, for example, is high on eye cosmetics, like Kajal and Eye-liners, and are mostly influenced by friends, family and colleagues in making brand or product decisions; while in the East, women make independent routine purchases more, rather than being influenced by a shopkeeper or a friend. These nuances reflect the multifaceted nature of the Indian market.”

Emerging brands

Emerging brands, established post 2012, now have a 41 per cent penetration in these cities compared with 46 per cent household penetration of legacy brands, which were established prior to 1990, the report noted. In terms of value, legacy brands’ contribution to colour cosmetics segment in these cities is pegged at 33 per cent compared with the 26 per cent share of emerging brands in the 12-month period.

“The newer brands, established after 2012, are already reaching four out of every 10 women in these cities, and given their greater success in the online arena, and with the continued thrust expected in e-commerce in the country, we can safely assume that these brands are enabling the category to spread into newer households and rather quickly,” Ramakrishnan added.

At the same time, the report noted that 16 per cent of cosmetic shoppers were seen buying premium products. These shoppers were seen spending 2x more than the average spends made by cosmetic shoppers in these 10 cities.