After a flurry of acquisitions and strategic investments reshaped India’s beauty and personal care (BPC) sector over the past year, founders are setting their sights on a bigger prize: building globally recognised beauty brands. Homegrown players such as, Asaya, Kay Beauty and Forest Essentials are expanding into markets, including the US, the UK and the Middle East, betting that India’s expertise in Ayurveda, science-backed formulations and products designed for melanin-rich skin can travel well beyond domestic borders.The shift comes as the industry’s growth story evolves. Having spent the past few years building brands and strengthening their presence at home, many startups are now testing whether their products can find similar traction overseas. Investors believe the timing is favourable, arguing that companies which have cracked India’s intensely competitive beauty market are well positioned to replicate that success across emerging markets, and eventually in developed economies.Sunitha Viswanathan, Partner at Kae Capital, believes India’s first billion-dollar global beauty brand could emerge within the next four to five years. According to her, succeeding in India is a strong proving ground because brands already cater to diverse skin tones, climatic conditions and highly discerning consumers. Once that playbook is established, markets across Southeast Asia, Latin America, Europe and the US become natural expansion opportunities.She believes colour cosmetics are particularly well placed for global success. International brands such as Huda Beauty and Fenty Beauty built businesses by serving consumers with darker skin tones—a problem Indian brands have been solving from the outset. Skincare and haircare could follow a similar path, provided companies demonstrate product efficacy rather than relying solely on heritage-led positioning.For founders already testing international waters, the early signs are encouraging. Asaya, for instance, has begun selling in the US through Amazon and says it has already achieved product-market fit for its underarm spray. The company sees demand among consumers with melanin-rich skin across the US, Latin America, Southeast Asia and neighbouring markets such as the UAE, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan, although India continues to remain its primary focus.Swagatika Das, CEO and co-founder of Nat Habit, believes India’s biggest competitive advantage lies in what global rivals cannot easily recreate: centuries of formulation knowledge built around ingredients such as hibiscus, ubtan, multani mitti and amla. She argues that Indian beauty is not arriving late to the global stage, but rather at a point when founders are finally ready to tell a story rooted in authentic heritage instead of low-cost manufacturing.According to Das, the most successful brands will first build credibility among the Indian diaspora before winning over local consumers in overseas markets. The larger challenge, she says, is not competing with Korean or Western beauty brands, but changing the perception of India from being a manufacturing hub to becoming a source of beauty innovation. She adds that direct-to-consumer brands could have an advantage in that journey because they remain closer to consumers and can adapt more quickly to changing preferences.Published on July 5, 2026