ELC's New Incubation Ventures Launches Fourth Edition of BEAUTY&YOU India to Support the Next Generation of Indian Beauty Entrepreneurs

NEW YORK, U.S. & MUMBAI, INDIA – July 17, 2025 – The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL) (ELC) today announced the launch of the fourth edition of BEAUTY&YOU India, an initiative designed to discover and propel the next generation of India-focused beauty entrepreneurs. Created by New Incubation Ventures, the company’s early-stage investment and incubation arm, the programme offers financial support and industry expertise to entrepreneurs shaping the future of skin care, makeup, hair care, and fragrance in India. Under the theme Beauty Frontiers, the programme celebrates bold ideas and the emerging talent reimagining the future of beauty in India. Applications are now open through August 24, 2025, at https://beautyandyouawards.com.

Nykaa, India’s leading beauty and lifestyle destination, returns this year as lead partner, reinforcing its commitment to building the future of Indian beauty through strategic discovery, mentorship, and distribution. This year's programme also features Startup India following the launch of its partnership with ELC through a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of India’s Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) – the first-of-its-kind between a global beauty company and Startup India. The partnership reflects a shared commitment to supporting Indian entrepreneurs and women-founded startups.

Advancing Innovation & Entrepreneurship in India

Nadine Graf, President, Europe, UK & Ireland, and Emerging Markets, The Estée Lauder Companies, said: “India continues to inspire—not only as a dynamic beauty market, but as a global force for innovation and bold entrepreneurship. Through BEAUTY&YOU India, we have seen firsthand how ideas rooted in culture and courage can shape the future of beauty. This year, I am especially proud that the programme will launch a new Visionary Women’s Award—a tribute to the ambition, ingenuity, and leadership of women founders. Supporting them is more than an opportunity: it’s a responsibility we embrace with purpose.”

Shri Sanjiv Singh, Joint Secretary, DPIIT, said: “Our collaboration with The Estée Lauder Companies underscores the role of public-private partnerships in advancing innovation and strengthening India’s startup ecosystem. Building on the programme’s success, we are pleased to extend Startup India’s support to BEAUTY&YOU India 2025 and help create new opportunities for emerging entrepreneurs.”

Shaping India’s Beauty Ecosystem 

Falguni Nayar, Executive Chairperson, MD & CEO of Nykaa, commented: “At Nykaa, we’ve spent over a decade shaping India’s beauty ecosystem, from discovery to distribution, and from consumers to creators. As lead partner for BEAUTY&YOU India 2025, we are proud to extend that ecosystem to early-stage founders through a programme designed to transform bold ideas into scalable, future-facing brands. In collaboration with The Estée Lauder Companies, this initiative offers the resources, network, and credibility needed to empower the next generation of beauty entrepreneurs.”

Rohan Vaziralli, General Manager, The Estée Lauder Companies, India, added: “BEAUTY&YOU India reflects our ambition to not just participate in, but actively shape the future of beauty in India. With the support of Startup India and DPIIT, this platform has become a national engine for beauty entrepreneurship—grounded in cultural insight, commercial potential, and inclusive innovation.”

• GROW: Best in-market beauty brands 

• IMAGINE: Best pre-launch beauty concepts

• BREAKTHROUGH: Leading innovations in beauty, such as new product technologies and business model innovations such as ingredients, AI, and sustainability

• VISIONARY WOMEN’S AWARD: Inspired by ELC’s legacy as a beauty company founded by a trailblazing woman, this award, new in 2025 and presented with Startup India, will recognise the innovation and impact of outstanding women entrepreneurs.

Along with monetary awards, winners receive support and promotion, including: 

• One-on-one mentorship from global beauty and business leaders

• Distribution support through Nykaa retail network

• National visibility and strategic opportunities through Startup India, including participation in Startup Mahakumbh, the world’s largest startup event

BEAUTY&YOU India 2025 seeks applicants whose deep cultural insights and use of new technologies or formulations meet the evolving needs of Indian beauty consumers. Since its launch in 2022, the programme has become a powerful platform—receiving more than 1,500 applications from 150+ cities in India and around the world, with the majority from women entrepreneurs. Finalists for this year’s programme will be announced in September and invited to present their concepts to a panel of industry experts this October in Mumbai.

The Estée Lauder Companies is a leading prestige beauty company in India. Over the past 20 years, ELC has launched 14 brands locally across makeup, skin care, hair care, and fragrance. The company is committed to supporting rising brands, businesses, and talent in India through innovative programmes and strategic investment in Mountain Valley Springs India Private Limited, the parent company of Forest Essentials, India’s foremost luxury Ayurvedic skin care brand. Through BEAUTY&YOU India, ELC, and partners including Nykaa and Startup India, continues to champion innovation, elevate entrepreneurship, and shape the future of beauty.  

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2025 Judges

Experts Across The Estée Lauder Companies

• Akhil Shrivastava, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

• Michelle Freyre, Global Brand President, Clinique and Dermatological Brands

• Sumit Bhasin, Senior Vice President, Global R&D and Innovation for Fragrance, Makeup and External Partnerships 

• Aïda Moudachirou-Rébois, Senior Vice President and Global Chief Marketing Officer, Global General Manager, MAC Cosmetics

• Rohan Vaziralli, General Manager, The Estée Lauder Companies, India

• Ryan Piela, Executive Director, New Incubation Ventures 

Industry Leaders

About BEAUTY&YOU India
Created by The Estée Lauder Companies’ New Incubation Ventures, BEAUTY&YOU India aims to discover, propel, and support the next generation of India-focused beauty entrepreneurs. Launched in 2022, the programme offers financial support, mentorship, and strategic guidance to entrepreneurs shaping the future of beauty in India, helping them achieve scale and global relevance.

About The Estée Lauder Companies’ 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.