Beauty Industry

ELC Announces Beauty&You India 2025 Winners

The winners receive funding, mentorship, national visibility through Startup India, and brand-building and distribution with Nykaa.

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By: Rachel Klemovitch

Assistant Editor

Beauty&You India 2025 Winners (Names Listed Below)

The Estée Lauder Companies announced the winners of Beauty&You India 2025. This year’s program, supported by the Government of India’s Startup India and launch partner Nykaa, highlighted the emerging talent reimagining the future of beauty in India.

Since its launch in 2022, the company’s Beauty&You India program has grown into one of the most recognized platforms for beauty entrepreneurship in India. 

Over the past four application cycles, it has attracted nearly 2,500 applications from over 150 cities across India and around the world, with the majority from women entrepreneurs.

Stéphane de La Faverie, President and CEO, The Estée Lauder Companies, said, 

“When we launched Beauty&You, our vision was simple yet powerful — to discover and support visionary entrepreneurs transforming India’s beauty landscape. This year’s winners reflect the incredible creativity, ambition, and innovation shaping one of the world’s most dynamic markets.”

The 2025 program debuted the Beauty&You Visionary Women’s Award, presented by ELC and Startup India. 

The award builds upon a first-of-its-kind partnership between ELC and Startup India, formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of India’s Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), reflecting a shared commitment to supporting Indian entrepreneurs and women-led startups.

The 2025 winners, named across four categories, were selected for their bold ideas and innovative products that reflect the dynamism of India’s beauty ecosystem—from climate-tailored products to breakthrough encapsulation technology and inclusive makeup. 

Each will receive funding, along with mentorship from global experts, national visibility through Startup India, and brand-building and distribution support from Nykaa.

2025 Winners

  • Grow: Best in-market beauty brand
    AntinormAparna Saxena, Founder & CEO: For high-performance, climate-tailored, and multitasking products that replace complex routines for busy working women.
  • Imagine: Best pre-launch beauty concept
    Mimiq, Harsha Soundararajan, Founder: For inclusive, high-performance, and long-lasting complexion products for people with visible skin differences, such as vitiligo.
  • Breakthrough: Best in innovation
    Hitech Formulations, Jaspreet Singh Gulati, Founder & Director: For breakthrough encapsulation technology that delivers formulations for pigmentation, anti-aging, and antioxidant-driven skin care.
  • Visionary Women’s Award: Recognizing a trailblazing woman entrepreneur in partnership with Startup India
    Sohrai, Khanak Gupta, Co-Founder: For delivering high-performing products using an indigenous ingredient, Mahua, that is sourced through local partnerships that create economic opportunities for tribal communities and women.

Nadine Graf, President of EMEA, UK & Ireland, and Emerging Markets at The Estée Lauder Companies, said,

“The winners of Beauty&You India 2025 reflect the entrepreneurial spirit at the heart of The Estée Lauder Companies. India continues to inspire us—not only as a dynamic and fast-growing beauty market, but as a source of creativity and bold ideas. Every journey begins with a vision and a dream, and this program is about empowering founders to turn those into reality. I am especially proud of the new Visionary Women’s Award, which celebrates the ambition, ingenuity, and leadership of women founders.”

The 2025 finalists were evaluated by an esteemed jury of beauty and business leaders, including Akhil Shrivastava, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, The Estée Lauder Companies; Rohan Vaziralli, General Manager, The Estée Lauder Companies, India; Nivruti Rai, CEO, Invest India; Katrina Kaif, Actor and Co-Founder, Kay Beauty; and Anchit Nayar, Executive Director & CEO, Nykaa Beauty. The final event featured The Estée Lauder Companies’ Stéphane de La Faverie, President & CEO; William P. Lauder, Chair, Board of Directors; and Nadine Graf, President, EMEA, UK&I, and Emerging Markets; as well as Nykaa’s Falguni Nayar, Chairperson, MD& CEO.

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Image: Beauty&You India 2025 Winners. From L to R: Jaspreet Singh Gulati, Founder & Director, HiTech Formulations; Harsha Soundararajan, Founder, Mimiq; Aparna Saxena, Founder & CEO, Antinorm; and Khanak Gupta, Co-Founder & CEO, Sohrai Beauty.

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