Beauty and wellness products retailer Nykaa believes that the next big global beauty brand could come from India for which the company is looking to partner with local brands to help them get global reach.
“We believe the next big beauty brand can come from India. We will be taking applications from unique brands. We will help them get established locally and if they have the potential to go global, we will help them reach global levels too,” Anchit Nayar, CEO of Beauty for NYKAA e-Commerce told BusinessLine.
Nykaa currently offers products from over 4,000 brands with 3.1 million product SKUs through its website and mobile applications. It has over 110+ retail stores, and aiming to have 300 stores in the future.
Nayar spoke to BusinessLine on the sidelines of the launch event of BEAUTY&YOU India. It is a partnership between Estée Lauder Companies’ (ELC) New Incubation Ventures and NYKAA which is aimed at discovering and propelling the next generation of Indian beauty brands. Nayar said that this partnership is aimed at providing mentorship and distribution support. Along with it, the partnership is aimed at creating awareness and giving financial support with a prize pool of up to ₹4 crore across the program.
When asked if the brands will be a part of the host of private labels Nykaa offers, he said, “While we have the ambition to become a house of brands, we are foremost a retailer. So the brands that get selected will be a part be retailed on our platform. Having said that, if we see an equity potential, we will look at acquiring the brands.”
The Estée Lauder Companies has been in India since 2005, and in partnership with Nykaa for the past six years. Shana Randhava, Vice President, New Incubation Ventures, The Estée Lauder Companies, said that she sees incredible potential in the Indian beauty market.
“With its vibrant economy and cutting-edge startup community, India represents an exciting opportunity for beauty creators and innovators. Our vision is for BEAUTY&YOU to harness the entrepreneurial energy in India to advance next-generation beauty brands by presenting opportunities that help put brands on a long-term, sustainable growth path,” Randhava said.
Festival demand
The omnichannel beauty and lifestyle retailers is optimistic that the festive season will give a boost to the demand.
“There is demand, and it has been picking up. We are very optimistic about the next few quarters of FY23. Usually, the H2 brings a huge demand due to the festival season. Our recent annual results have given us the confidence that despite two waves of covid, our numbers showed that we were resilient,” Nayar said
He added, “We believe India has a lot of potentials, we are just scratching the surface. While our online business will continue to grow, we aim to grow on both platforms because both have their benefits.”