The Estee Lauder Companies and NYKAA Announce BEAUTY&YOU 2023 Award Finalists

BusinessWire India
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 10: The Estee Lauder Companies (ELC) and NYKAA are excited to announce the finalists for BEAUTY&YOU 2023 India. Created by ELC's New Incubation Ventures and first launched in partnership with NYKAA in July 2022 with the aim to discover, spotlight and propel the next generation of Indian beauty brands, the second edition of BEAUTY&YOU invited founders, innovators and creators to apply for the award and an opportunity to compete not only for prize money, but also for learning and mentorship by leading industry experts.

The program reflects ELC and NYKAA's joint commitment to have a positive impact on the entire beauty ecosystem in India, and shared desire to fuel the growth of the Indian premium beauty segment by addressing the evolving needs and preferences of consumers, along with delivering breakthrough and locally relevant products, experiences and business models.

With over 600 entries from across 150+ cities, the application pool included a multitude of beauty brands across categories - skin care, hair care, fragrance and color cosmetics. Some interesting insights from this year's applicants:

2023 BEAUTY&YOU Application Breakdown:

Additional insights on this year's applicants.
* Women represented 68% of this year's applicant pool as founders.
* 235 total applicants in the entry pool.
* 17% of this year's pool were founders with pre-launch concepts.
* 62% of applicants have a sustainability mission statement.
All categories were represented this year with a strong focus on skincare.
* Skincare-75%
* Makeup-14%
* Body-3%
* Haircare-2.5%
* Fragrance-2%
* Home fragrance-2%
* Mens-1%
* Others-5%
Brand, product and marketing, and investment experts from ELC and NYKAA reviewed the entire application pool and shortlisted the most promising brands. The finalists represent a variety of concepts ranging from breakthrough product innovation to wellness-led concepts and new experiential storytelling.
IMAGINE (pre-launch businesses)
* Adikriya, Aditi Mundra & Riya Ranka, Co-Founders
* AMANAURA, Aman Dahele, Founder
* Baboski , Hetali Kamdar, Founder
* DR SONIA MD, Dr. Sonia Badreshia, Founder
* Havah, Giti Datt, Founder
GROW (in-market businesses)
* Beautywise, Anousha Chauhan and Shreyansh Chauhan, Founders
* Dearist, Meher Jadwani, Founder
* Flossy Cosmetics, Sanshi Aggarwal, CEO
* Call of the Valley, Jean-Christophe Bonnafous, Founder
* Glutaweis Cosmetics, Khayl Lalani, CEO and Co-Founder and Karim Lalani, President and Co-Founder
* MEGAGLOW, Shenai Bridglall, Founder
* SkinQ, Dr Chytra Anand, Founder & Chief Formulator and Meera Iyer, CEO and Co-Founder
* ver, Sanchaya Soundhar, Founder
BREAKTHROUGH (Innovation / R&D)
* Adapte, Surabhi Nimkar, Roshni Jaura and Vedant Hood, Co-Founders
* Biome Laboratories, Rhea Goenka, CEO and Founder
* C16 Biosciences, Shara Ticku, CEO and Founder
* Jasmine Concrete Exports Private Limited, Raja Palaniswamy, Director
* Keva Fragrances, Flavours & Aroma Ingredients, Kedar Vaze, CEO and Director and Dr. Avani Mainkar, Chief Scientific Officer
* Sohrai, Khanak Gupta and Rupesh Pawar, Co-Founders
* Waleria Healthtech Pvt Ltd, Komal Baldwa, CEO and Founder
CREATE (Creative Talents)
* Diya Ahuja, Creative Director / Stylist
* Nishanth Radhakrishnan (Fashion and Documentary Photographer), Shivani Joshi (Beauty Artist), James Lalthanzuala (Fashion Stylist)
* Doyel Joshi and Neil Balser, Artists and Co-Founders, Howareyoufeeling.studio
* Priya Minhas, Director
* Henry DaCosta, Director
* Sachin Gogna, Fashion & Celebrity Stylist
* Furmaan Ahmed, Photographer & Artist
Shana Randhava, Senior Vice President, New Incubation Ventures, The Estee Lauder Companies notes, "This year's finalists represent an incredibly diverse group of talent reflecting the whole beauty ecosystem - from innovative founders and R&D experts to creative photographers, filmmakers and experiential artists. Similar to last year, we are heartened that these founders have created ventures that speak to the broader role of beauty in our lives--whether supporting local communities or developing breakthrough sustainability approaches. We are inspired by their insightful views on the global opportunity for Indian-led concepts and businesses. We are excited for the world they are creating."
Anchit Nayar, Executive Director, CEO, Beauty, NYKAA notes, "The beauty ecosystem in India is witnessing the rise of the next generation of entrepreneurs and home grown brands that will fuel innovation and category growth for years to come. We at NYKAA along with Estee Lauder have always been committed to finding ways to give young brands of the future a chance to scale, and serve the community, and BEAUTY&YOU is the culmination of this mission of ours. We are excited to see all the winners scale new heights in the coming years."
From October 25 to November 1, 2023, the broader beauty community will also be involved in the decision-making process and will be invited to vote for their favorites via www.beautyandyouawards.com.
On November 2, 2023, finalists will present their final company presentation to the BEAUTY&YOU jury including Katrina Kaif, Bhumi Pednekar, Anaita Shroff Adajania, Gaurav Gupta and many others who have committed their time and expertise to the program. Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on the evening of November 2, 2022, including a special exhibition entitled 1000 Years Past, 100 Years Future: The Power of Indian Beauty.
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