Every beauty business begins with an idea: an everyday problem waiting for a better solution, a scientific possibility yet to be explored, or a local story ready for a wider audience. Turning that idea into a business, however, takes more than vision. It takes the right support.
Since 2022, BEAUTY&YOU India, The Estée Lauder Companies’ entrepreneurship platform in partnership with Nykaa and Startup India, has supported emerging beauty founders through funding, mentorship and industry expertise. Its 2026 winners reflect an Indian beauty industry that is increasingly inventive, diverse and confident in its own perspective.
Spanning skincare, fragrance, design and women’s entrepreneurship, this year’s five winners are each bringing a distinct perspective to the future of beauty.
Nirja Bhatt, Founder and CEO of Laani, won the GROW category for Best In-Market Beauty Brand. Her starting point is a familiar one: India’s heat, humidity and the everyday challenges they bring. Laani’s water-based clear deodorant stick tackles sweat and odour while addressing underarm pigmentation, with a quick-drying, residue-free formula. It is a reminder that sometimes the most interesting innovation starts with rethinking something we use every day.
For her, the opportunity lies in creating products that reflect how Indian women live today. “At Laani, we’re building high-performance odour and sweat control that is engineered for Indian climate, Indian skin and Indian genetics. It’s care that keeps up so nobody has to hold back or slow down on that account,” Bhatt says.
For Khatija Shabana, CEO, and Syed Mohammad Fouzan, Director of Boldpurity, the next skincare breakthrough could lie in how ingredients are delivered to the skin. The IMAGINE category winners are developing proprietary formulation technologies to enhance the delivery and performance of established active ingredients. Their scientist-led approach puts formulation research at the heart of a concept looking to push familiar skincare ingredients further.
Shabana’s background in pharmaceutical analysis and cosmetic science shaped this approach. “An ingredient can have great potential, but simply adding it to a product doesn’t mean it will perform as intended. That’s what I wanted to explore with Boldpurity. Our focus is on developing formulations where the delivery of actives is just as important as the actives themselves,” she explains.
Fragrance has a new innovation story emerging from India. Ajaykumar Mehta, Shriya Rambhia and Dheer Rambhia, Directors of Goyam Green Tech, won the BREAKTHROUGH category, presented by The Estée Lauder Companies’ Fragrance Atelier in Paris. Their platform uses biobased materials and green chemistry to develop high-performing fragrance solutions across formulations, formats and consumer experiences. It also brings a fresh perspective to the conversation around sustainability and the future of scent.
The founders see an opportunity to rethink the very foundations of fragrance production. “At Goyam, we are changing that using Green Chemistry. We turn Indian Feedstock into Fragrance molecules that are rich, olfactively superior and, more importantly clean and safe. The idea is simple: Great fragrance does not have to cost the earth,” they say.
Beauty doesn’t begin and end with what is inside the bottle. How a brand looks, communicates and connects with its audience matters just as much. Pankti Sheth, Founder and Creative Director of The Icebreaker Creative Studio, was recognised in the newly introduced DESIGN category. Her studio creates culturally aware, commercially relevant packaging and brand identities, helping businesses connect with local consumers while building a presence that can travel globally.
For Sheth, packaging is where an idea takes physical form. “Packaging had always been my first love because it brought all of this together. It allowed me to make an idea move from somebody’s mind to the physical world and become something that people could see, touch, hold and experience,” she says.
For Rinzing Choden Bhutia, Founder of Agapi Sikkim, the story of beauty is also a story of opportunity. The Visionary Women’s Award recognises her Himalayan skincare and lifestyle brand, which places women’s employment, training and financial independence at the centre of its business. By creating opportunities for women in Sikkim, Agapi is building a business that connects its regional roots with a wider ambition for economic participation.
For Bhutia, meaningful empowerment means creating opportunities that extend beyond conventional employment. “At Agapi, we believe that women empowerment must go beyond providing employment. It must create pathways to financial independence, entrepreneurship, and economic ownership,” she says. It is an approach reflected in the brand’s work with rural and indigenous women across Sikkim, helping them develop skills and build independent sources of income.
Five founders, five different ideas of what beauty can be. As BEAUTY&YOU India marks its fifth year, its 2026 winners offer a glimpse of an industry being shaped not just by new products, but by fresh thinking, scientific curiosity, creative expression and purpose-led entrepreneurship. The real story may be what these founders do with the doors that have now opened.
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