Top 10 Personal Care Startups in India

1. Sugar Cosmetics:

One of the most popular and trending brands in India right now is Sugar Cosmetics. The headquarters of Sugar is situated in Mumbai, India. Sugar cosmetics was founded in the year 2012 by Vineeta Singh and Kaushik Mukherjee and is one of the fastest-growing cosmetics brands in the country.

At first, only two products, kohl pencil, and black eyeliner were available; now from eyeliners to lipsticks one can get find anything here. All the products are made to be fit for Indian skin. Sugar cosmetics supplies its products in more than 130 cities and has also expanded outside India as it has an outlet in Russia and has an online presence in the United States.

The current revenue is of INR 500 Crores.

Funding: $85.5M – Undisclosed

Sugar Cosmetics: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sugar-cosmetics/

Founders: Vineeta Singh – https://www.linkedin.com/in/vineetasingh/

Kaushik Mukherjee – https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaushikmkj/

2. Purplle:

Purplle.com is one of India’s largest e-beauty destinations with more than 7 million monthly active users. It was founded in the year 2012 in Mumbai. The beauty e-tailer has over 1000+ brands with nearly 50,000 products, available on its website and app. Purplle.com recently closed a $45M deal from Verlinvest, Sequoia Capital India, Blume Ventures & JSW Ventures. Purplle has successfully scaled its digital-first beauty brands like Purplle, Good Vibes, and NY Bae, amongst others. Good Vibes from this cohort has already become an INR 150 Cr brand and is one of the top 3 in the Naturals Skincare space on the app. Purplle has built a differentiated, highly personalized digital shopping experience for consumers through its app by creating detailed user personas, enabling customers to test make-up, and recommending products based on personality, search keywords, and purchase behavior. With over 800 employees and growing at more than 90% percent year-on-year, Purplle is well-positioned to be a leader in the burgeoning Indian e-beauty space.

Funding: $296.3M – Series E

Purplle: https://www.linkedin.com/company/purplle-com/

Founders: Manish Taneja – https://www.linkedin.com/in/manish-taneja-64657116/

Rahul Dash – https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahuldash/

3. Cure Skin:

Cure Skin was founded in the year 2017 in Bangalore. Cure Skin is providing AI-dermatologists on your smartphones.

The app is available on the Google Play store. It enables users to take photos and instantly get AI analysis for acne, dark spots, pigmentation, wrinkles, and others for free. 

Once the analysis is complete, it prepares a personalized treatment that can be purchased through in-app transactions. The plan includes free diet and lifestyle guidance.

For users with good skin, the app suggests a dermatologist-designed plan to maintain healthy skin and hair.

In March 2022, the beauty and personal care brand raised $5 million in a Series A round.

The startup plans to deploy these funds to grow its overall customer base, expand into adjacent categories and make further investments in technology.

Funding: 5.65 M – Series A

Cure Skin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cureskin/about/

Founder: Guna Kakulapati – https://www.linkedin.com/in/guna-kakulapati-6981ba2/

Charu Sharma – https://www.linkedin.com/in/charu-sharma-3959114/

Rama Rajanna – https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramakrishnarajanna/?originalSubdomain=in

4. Plum Goodness:

Plum Goodness was launched in 2013 by Shankar Prasad. It is a Mumbai-based vegan skincare brand Plum Goodness offers cruelty-free and toxin-free beauty products across skincare, haircare, personal care, and makeup. As per the start-up, its user base is close to two million across online and offline channels and getting the highest traction from Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai among metros.

Plum has raised $50 million so far since its inception.

In March 2022, it raised $35 million in Series C

Funding: $250 million

Plum: https://www.linkedin.com/company/plum-goodness/

Founder: Shankar Prasad – https://www.linkedin.com/in/shankarprasad/

5. Coloressence:

Coloressesnce is one of the fastest-growing cosmetics brands in India. It was founded in the year 2008 in India. The ingredients that are being used in the products of this brand are imported from Germany. It is quite affordable, and the brand has a huge range of cosmetic products to choose from.

Coloressence: https://www.linkedin.com/company/coloressence/about/

Founder: Suneeti Soni – https://www.linkedin.com/in/suneeti-soni-4495257a/?originalSubdomain=in

6. MyGlamm:

MyGlamm is a beauty products marketplace. It was founded in the year 2015 in Mumbai, India. The company’s online storefront has more than 600 stock-keeping units (SKUs) in the cosmetics and personal care markets. MyGlamm achieved a $100M valuation following its recent funding in March 2021.

Funding: $311.9M – Series D

My Glamm: https://www.linkedin.com/company/myglamm/

Founder: Priyanka Gill – https://www.linkedin.com/in/priyankagill/?originalSubdomain=uk

7. Nykaa:

Nykaa is one of the most used online platforms to buy cosmetics in the country now. The company was founded in the year 2012 in Mumbai by Falguni Nayar. The platform is definitely a perfect place to get a wide range of beauty and wellness products, one can find over 2000 brands on this platform supplying over 200000 products.

The company has over 5 million active users monthly, it has over 70 stores across the country. It is focusing on opening over 180 stores by 2024.

Funding: $64.4m

Nykaa: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nykaa-com/

Founder: Falguni Nayar – https://www.linkedin.com/in/falguni-nayar-845065a0/?originalSubdomain=in

8. Elle 18:

One of the most affordable brands of cosmetics, Elle18 is owned by Hindustan Unilever Limited, and the brand was founded in the year 1998. Its cosmetic products are full of bright colors that make them look lively and help in attracting the youth. Cosmetic products like Lipsticks and nail polish are quite famous for their affordability amongst the youth. Even the packaging of the products is quite modern and trendy, which makes it attractive.

Founder: Hindustan Unilever Limited – https://www.linkedin.com/company/hindustan-unilever123123/

9. Mamaearth:

Mamaearth is an online retailer specializing in natural beauty and personal care products for children and adults. It was founded in the year 2016 in Gurgaon, India. They experienced 400% growth through the pandemic, and name their Vitamin C face washes and move towards brick-and-mortar stores as major drivers behind their success.

Funding: $110.8M (Series Unknown)

Mamaearth: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mama-earth-in/

Founder: Ghazal Alagh – https://www.linkedin.com/in/ghazal-alagh-9755a0128/?originalSubdomain=in

10. Kay Beauty:

A beauty brand launched by one of India’s most loved Bollywood celebrities, Katrina Kaif. Kay Beauty has been able to make its presence felt since its very beginning. It was founded in the year 2019 in India. The brand has been able to provide some good products that are used daily such as lipsticks and blushes. Kay beauty collaborated with Nykaa during its launch, and it was found in 50 stores and in the online platform of Nykaa.

Kay Beauty: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kay-beauty/about/

Founder: Katrina Kaif