BEAUTY&YOU India is back in 2025: bigger and bolder than ever. It fuels bold ideas, backs innovation, and supports the future of beauty. Mentorship, visibility, and real growth await. Read along to know more about the fourth edition of the awards.
The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. announces the fourth edition of BEAUTY&YOU India. This dynamic initiative aims to discover and support the next generation of beauty entrepreneurs focused on the Indian market. New Incubation Ventures, the company’s early-stage investment and incubation arm, spearheads the awards.
The programme offers financial backing and expert mentorship to visionary founders shaping the future of skincare, makeup, hair care, and fragrance in India.
Under this year’s theme, “Beauty Frontiers,” the program honours bold ideas and emerging talent redefining beauty. Applications are now open through August 24, 2025, at www.beautyandyouawards.com.
Returning as the lead partner is Nykaa, reinforcing its pivotal role in driving India’s evolving beauty landscape. Also joining the initiative is Startup India, following the launch of a strategic partnership between Estée Lauder Companies and the Government of India’s Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). This landmark collaboration marks the first-ever MoU between a global beauty company and Startup India. It underscores a shared commitment to supporting homegrown innovation and women-founded businesses.
Expanded awards and a new focus on women founders
Winners will be selected across four categories, receiving funding from a prize pool of up to $500,000:
- GROW – Best in-market beauty brands
- IMAGINE – Best pre-launch beauty concepts
- BREAKTHROUGH – Most innovative solutions in areas like ingredients, product technology, AI, and sustainability
- VISIONARY WOMEN’S AWARD – This is a new award for 2025, in collaboration with Startup India. The award honours outstanding women entrepreneurs driving impactful change
In addition to financial support, winners will benefit from:
- One-on-one mentorship with global leaders in beauty and business
- Brand-building and distribution support via Nykaa’s extensive ecosystem, including discovery, consumer insights, digital marketing, omnichannel reach, and more
- National visibility and strategic opportunities through Startup India, including participation in Startup Mahakumbh, the world’s largest startup event
BEAUTY&YOU India 2025 invites applications from founders whose deep cultural insights and innovative use of technology or formulations meet the fast-evolving needs of Indian beauty consumers. Since its inception in 2022, the program has received over 1,500 applications from more than 150 cities. Most of these entries come from women entrepreneurs. This cements its place as a powerful platform for beauty innovation.
Finalists will be announced in September. They will be invited to pitch their concepts to a panel of industry experts this October in Mumbai.
Advancing innovation and entrepreneurship in India
Nadine Graf, President, Europe, UK & Ireland, and Emerging Markets, The Estée Lauder Companies
“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 program 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
“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 program’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
“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 program 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
“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.”