In a groundbreaking collaboration, The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) and NYKAA, a prominent beauty and lifestyle retailer, have unveiled the 2023 BEAUTY&YOU Awards Winners. This initiative, spearheaded by ELC’s New Incubation Ventures (NIV) and launched in tandem with NYKAA in July 2022, aims to spotlight and propel the next wave of Indian-focused beauty trailblazers.
At the second edition of the BEAUTY&YOU Awards, the finalists, a diverse cohort of twenty-seven individuals, presented their innovative concepts. The distinguished jury consisted of personalities such as Katrina Kaif, Bhumi Pednekar, Prudvi Kaka, Deepica Mutyala, Gaurav Gupta, Masaba Gupta, and Anaita Shroff Adajania, among others. These finalists showcased groundbreaking product innovations, reimagined fragrance and skincare rituals, and brought forth a plethora of transformative ideas.
The winners, spanning categories like Breakthrough, Create, Grow, Imagine, and Impact, were selected through a rigorous judging process led by the expert panel. Additionally, winners in the Community category were determined through independent voting on the official website and an analysis of social engagement.
The announcement ceremony, held at Snowball Studios in Mumbai on November 2, 2023, celebrated the triumphs of these visionaries. Shana Randhava, Senior Vice President of NIV at The Estée Lauder Companies, expressed excitement about supporting the winners in sharing their visions globally, emphasising the representation of entrepreneurs, scientists, and impact-focused founders within the winners’ circle.
BEAUTY&YOU Awards Winners
BREAKTHROUGH
$50,000 Prize for Innovation in Active Ingredients that Address Key Areas for the Indian Consumer
Biome Laboratories
Founder: Rhea Goenka
Keva Fragrances, Flavours & Aroma Ingredients
CEO and Director: Kedar Vaze and Chief Scientific Officer: Dr. Avani Mainkar
COMMUNITY
$10,000 Prize for The Best Community Engagement and Support
Beautywise
Founders: Anousha Chauhan and Shreyansh Chauhan
Havah
Founder: Giti Datt
CREATE
$50,000 Prize for The Next Generation of Creative Talent Submitting Work Around the Theme of ‘Experiential Beauty in India’
Priya Minhas, Director of Honey & Mud
GROW
$150,000 Prize for In-Market Businesses
Call of the Valley
Founder: Jean-Christophe Bonnafous
IMAGINE
$75,000 Prize for Pre-Launch Concepts
Baboski
Founder: Hetali Kamdar
IMPACT
$50,000 Prize for The Most Innovative Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Programming
Sohrai
Co-Founders: Khanak Gupta and Rupesh Pawar
C16 Biosciences
Co-Founder and CEO: Shara Ticku
Anchit Nayar, Executive Director and CEO of Beauty at NYKAA, lauded the BEAUTY&YOU Awards Winners for embodying innovative, consumer-centric thinking and highlighted the collaboration’s mission to democratise access to beauty for all.
The awards, featuring over 600 entries from 150 cities across diverse beauty categories, showcased the most promising brands and ideas. The winners, now armed with financial support, ongoing mentorship, heightened awareness, and distribution support, are set to benefit from the wealth of expertise within ELC and NYKAA, further amplifying Indian voices and addressing unmet consumer needs in the beauty landscape.