The Estee Lauder Companies, Nykaa, & Startup India Announce Finalists for BEAUTY&YOU India 2025

BusinessWire India

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], September 25: The Estee Lauder Companies Inc.’s (NYSE: EL) New Incubation Ventures, with lead partner Nykaa and the support of Startup India, are proud to announce the finalists for BEAUTY&YOU India 2025. Now in its fourth year, the program continues its mission to discover and support the next generation of India-focused entrepreneurs shaping the future of beauty in India.

Under the 2025 theme of Beauty Frontiers, 13 finalists have been selected, representing some of the most promising talent and ideas across skin care, makeup, hair care, and fragrance. Blending creativity, technology, cultural insight, and innovation, they reflect the diversity and dynamism of India’s beauty ecosystem, with concepts spanning Ayurvedic science, microbiome innovation, inclusive beauty solutions, sustainability, and novel delivery formats.

Finalists were selected across three award categories: IMAGINE (best pre-launch beauty concepts), GROW (best in-market beauty brands), and BREAKTHROUGH (leading innovations in product, technology, or business model). Finalists will pitch their brands and concepts to an esteemed panel of industry leaders in Mumbai on October 7. Winners will be announced that evening at a special event with leaders across India’s beauty, startup, creative, and innovation ecosystems.

As the program continues to grow each year, women entrepreneurs are the ones leading the charge. Over 80% of this year’s applicants included at least one woman founder. For the first time, BEAUTY&YOU India will debut the Visionary Women’s Award, a new jury prize presented with Startup India, the Government of India’s initiative to strengthen the nation’s innovation ecosystem and empower the next generation of entrepreneurs. Inspired by The Estee Lauder Companies’ legacy as a beauty company founded by a trailblazing woman, the award will recognize the innovation and impact of an outstanding woman entrepreneur, with the winner announced during the final event.

All winners will receive mentorship from global beauty leaders and gain access to a broad network of strategic support. They will also receive financial support from a prize pool of up to $500,000, national visibility through Startup India, as well as brand-building and distribution support through Nykaa’s powerful ecosystem–spanning discovery, consumer insights, digital amplification, omnichannel presence, and access to its extensive network.

The 2025 BEAUTY&YOU India finalists are:

IMAGINE

Best pre-launch beauty concepts

* Atypiical – Milli Patel, CEO: ATYPIICAL creates hybrid suncare that blends SPF, skin care, and makeup and is engineered for the modern Indian woman’s climate, skin tone, and beauty routine.

* DRENCH – Srishti Kumar, Founder: DRENCH is an ingredient-first luxury body care brand that aims to make body care as effective as skin care, with clinically powered, sensorially indulgent products.

* Skiom Pvt. Ltd. – Dr. Gautam Banerjee, Cofounder & CEO and Balaknath Datta, Cofounder & COO: Skiom is an Indian skin care brand that believes microbiome is the foundation of healthy skin, offering science-driven solutions that are tested on Indian skin.

* Mimiq – Harsha Soundararajan, Founder: Mimiq is a complexion-focused makeup brand, creating inclusive, high-performance, long-lasting products for people with visible skin differences, such as vitiligo.

* Allyv – Surabhi Sundarka, Founder & CEO: Allyv aims to bring the joy back into skin care by offering multi-functional, effective, and highly sensorial products.

GROW

Best in-market beauty brands

* Antinorm – Aparna Saxena, Founder & CEO: Antinorm simplifies beauty with high-performance, climate-tailored, and multitasking products that replace multi-step routines.

* Dermis Oracle – Ankit Tripathi, Founder & CEO and Kaksha Patel, Cofounder & Head of Product: Dermis Oracle is a pharmaceutical company offering clinically proven solutions to address specific skin concerns through its family of brands, including Seekcaus (suncare) and Anable (hair care).

* Justhuman – Roshini Sanah Jaiswal, Founder & CEO and Nitin Chawla, Cofounder & Head of Strategy and Compliance: Justhuman offers neurocosmetics that make people look and feel good by harnessing the skin-brain connection to support both skin health and emotional well-being.

* Project Qaafi – Aahan Chatterjee, Founder: Qaafi is a contemporary expression of Indian skin care, blending Ayurveda, botanicals, and science-backed actives with a design-first approach that’s culturally nuanced and crafted for today’s discerning consumer.

BREAKTHROUGH

Leading innovations in product, technology, or business model

* Atmiya Innovations Foundation – Dr. Mousumi Das, Founder & Assistant Professor: Dr. Das has created CYALIP, an advanced lipcare product that utilizes stabilization technology to offer vibrant, pH-resistant, and light-stable coloration while preserving the pigment’s bioactive properties.

* Cosmos Bio Private Limited – Dr. Bharat Somireddy, Cofounder & CEO and Sowjanya Venkata, Cofounder: Cosmos Bio is an industrial biotech company pioneering sustainable, cruelty-free bioactives for beauty and personal care.

* Hitech Formulations – Jaspreet Singh Gulati, Founder & Director: Hitech Formulations created Lipocell™, a breakthrough encapsulation technology that stabilizes retinoids and other unstable actives without solvents–delivering safer, more effective formulations for pigmentation, anti-aging, and antioxidant-driven skin care.

* Nanospin Technologies LLP – Naman H. Barot, Founder: Nanospin Technology LLP is changing skin care at the speed of sustainability with a quick-dissolve face sheet mask that delivers deep moisture and glow-boosting ingredients in seconds.

This year’s jury panel is composed of experts across The Estee Lauder Companies (“ELC”) and industry leaders including Akhil Shrivastava (Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, ELC), Michelle Freyre (Global Brand President, Clinique and Dermatological Brands, ELC), Sumit Bhasin (Senior Vice President, Global R&D and Innovation for Fragrance, Makeup, and External Partnerships, ELC), Aida Moudachirou-Rebois (Senior Vice President & Global General Manager, MAC Cosmetics), Rohan Vaziralli (General Manager, The ELC India), Anchit Nayar (Executive Director & CEO, Nykaa Beauty), Nivruti Rai (Head of Invest India), Katrina Kaif (Actor and Co-Founder, Kay Beauty), Gianandrea Ferrari (Chief Commercial Officer, Intercos Group), Dr. Jaishree Sharad (Celebrated Cosmetic Dermatologist, Author, and TEDX Speaker), Aabha Bakaya (Founder & CEO, Ladies Who Lead), and Gaurav Gupta (Couturier, Artist, and Designer).

For more information, visit www.beautyandyouawards.com.

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