11.06.23
Big players in beauty—The Estée Lauder Companies and L'Oréal—have announced winners of their respective programs aimed at discovering new beauty brands and avenues for growth in fast-growing consumer markets.
The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) and NYKAA, one of India’s leading omnichannel beauty and lifestyle retailers, announce the winners of the 2023 Beauty&You Awards in India.
The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) and NYKAA, one of India’s leading omnichannel beauty and lifestyle retailers, announce the winners of the 2023 Beauty&You Awards in India.
Created by ELC’s New Incubation Ventures (NIV) and launched in partnership with NYKAA, Beauty&You India is an awards program launched in July 2022, with an aim to discover, spotlight, and propel the next generation of Indian-focused beauty founders, innovators, and creatives.
The 27 finalists presented to a jury of leading industry experts including Katrina Kaif, actor and co-founder, Kay Beauty; Bhumi Pednekar, actor, investor, climate warrior & UNDP ambassador; Prudvi Kaka, chief scientific officer, Deciem; Deepica Mutyala, founder & CEO, Live Tinted; Gaurav Gupta, couturier, artist & designer; Masaba Gupta, designer, actor & founder, House of Masaba and Lovechild by Masaba; Anaita Shroff Adajania, CEO, Style Cell; as well as leaders from ELC, NYKAA, Intercos, and Peak XV Partners. The finalists represent a variety of concepts ranging from breakthrough product innovation to re-imagining fragrance and skin care rituals.
The winners were announced at an awards evening at Snowball Studios in Mumbai, on Nov. 2. Winners for the Breakthrough, Create, Grow, Imagine and Impact categories were independently chosen by its panel of judges through a competitive judging process. Winners for the community category were determined via an independent voting process on www.beautyandyouawards.com and an analysis of social engagement.
In the Breakthrough Category, the $50,000 Prize for Innovation in Active Ingredients that Address Key Areas for the Indian Consumer went to Biome Laboratories' Founder Rhea Goenka. Biome Laboratories is a purpose-driven skin care company championing Indian skin inclusivity led by scientist Rhea Goenka Jalan with a firm belief that biology is the most advanced technology on the planet.
The second winner in that category went to Kedar Vaze, CEO and Director, and Dr. Avani Mainkar, Chief Scientific Officer earned the Flavours & Aroma Ingredients Award. S H Kelkar & Co (Keva) is a manufacturer of industrial perfumes and one of India's largest fragrance companies with an ever-expanding global presence into natural actives for cosmetics.
The $10,000 Prize for The Best Community Engagement and Support went to Beautywise Founders Anousha Chauhan and Shreyansh Chauhan. Beautywise is a dermatology-led supplement brand with the mission to empower everyone to embrace their unique beauty by incorporating sustainable, evidence-based solutions that work from within.
The second winner of the category went to Havah Founder Giti Datt. Havah draws from India’s rich heritage of perfumery, art, and philosophy to develop a unique perspective on the power of fragrance in contemporary life.
The $50,000 Prize in the Create Category for The Next Generation of Creative Talent Submitting Work Around the Theme of ‘Experiential Beauty in India’ went to Priya Minhas, director, Priya. Priya is a London-born creative director with over eight years of experience in artist development, directing, and content production. Her film concept called “Honey & Mud” is a short film that explores the relationship between perfume, memory and identity through individual stories.
The $150,000 Prize in the Grow Category for In-Market Businesses went to Jean-Christophe Bonnafous, founder, Call of the Valley. After a decade-long career as flutist and disciple of the revered classical flutist Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Bonnafous launched the Mumbai-based perfumery Call of the Valley in 2019 with a vision to bring single-ingredient simplicity back to beauty and highlight traditional Indian wellness practices and the centuries-old art of Indian perfumery on a global stage.
The $75,000 Prize in the Imagine Category for Pre-Launch Concepts went to Baboski founder Hetali Kamdar. Baboski is a luxury bath and body brand with products that are meticulously crafted using top-tier ingredients, including natural extracts and a proprietary EncapShield SPF technology.
The $50,000 Prize in the Impact Category for The Most Innovative Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Programming went to Sohrai co-founders Khanak Gupta and Rupesh Pawar. Sohrai is a revolutionary beauty brand that transcends skincare, ignites change, and enriches lives.
That prize also went to C16 Biosciences CEO Shara Ticku. Ticku is the CEO and Co-Founder of C16 Biosciences, the makers of Palmless: the platform for sustainable palm oil alternatives. C16’s proprietary technology platform uses biomanufacturing to create next-generation ingredients and materials that successfully address global ESG challenges—including climate change, food security, the environmental and safety impacts of natural resource extraction, and more.
“This year’s winners represent an exciting mix of entrepreneurs, creative visionaries, innovative scientists, and impact-focused founders — a true representation of the larger beauty ecosystem with the qualities required for long-term success,” said Shana Randhava, senior vice president, NIV, The Estée Lauder Companies. “We are excited about the opportunity to mentor and provide support to the winners so they can share their vision with a broader, more global community.”
With over 600 entries from 150 cities, the 2023 application pool included a multitude of beauty brands across categories – skin care, hair care, fragrance, and color cosmetics. Brand, product, marketing, and investment experts from ELC and NYKAA reviewed the entire application pool and shortlisted the ten most promising brands and ideas before selecting winners. The award winners will benefit from access to ELC and NYKAA relationships and expertise across the beauty ecosystem, nurturing emerging ideas that amplify Indian voices and address unmet consumer needs. Among other resources, Beauty&You India will provide winners with financial support, continued mentorship, increased awareness and distribution support.
L’Oréal’s North Asia Big Bang Beauty Tech Innovation Program Winners
L’Oréal has announced the 2023 winners of “L’Oréal North Asia Big Bang Beauty Tech Innovation Program” (Big Bang) which include 17 innovative companies from different markets.
Big Bang is the first regional program focused on driving opening innovation, inspiration and co-creation of innovative beauty solutions in North Asia. It is a multi-dimensional initiative to activate the region’s unique innovation ecosystem of the "C-J-K Beauty Triangle" to drive co-creation for future beauty.
Big Bang is the first regional program focused on driving opening innovation, inspiration and co-creation of innovative beauty solutions in North Asia. It is a multi-dimensional initiative to activate the region’s unique innovation ecosystem of the "C-J-K Beauty Triangle" to drive co-creation for future beauty.
Piloted in 2020 as the first beaty tech challenge in China, Big Bang was officially rolled out to Korea and Japan at Viva Technology in June 2023 through partnership with the Korea Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and J-Startup under the Japan Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Big Bang anchors on an open innovation challenge designed to leverage unique market strengths and discover promising companies with beauty tech and innovative sciences that can be scaled regionally and globally. It targets innovative startups in North Asia including China, Japan and Korea, and also has a special track for French startups in the China program.
2023 Big Bang winners were selected through a highly competitive process and stringent expert reviews which took place in China, Japan and Korea. The winners include 11 Chinese companies, one China-France track company, three Japanese companies and two Korean companies. These companies demonstrated a wide range of cutting-edge technologies and innovations, covering operations, digital, research & innovation, sustainability, genetic AI, green sciences and beauty devices. Big Bang winners will have the opportunity to explore potential co-development and collaboration with L’Oréal, join the North Asia Big Bang Entrepreneur Community for sharing and inspiration, and showcase their innovations at strategic regional and global platforms.
L’Oréal is also unveiling the “L’Oréal North Asia Big Bang Beauty Tech Innovation Incubation Exhibition” at China International Import Expo (CIIE). This is the first regional beauty innovation showcase where 16 overseas Big Bang participants from Japan, Korea and China-France track, exhibit their pioneering technologies and innovations for beauty. The exhibition features breakthrough sustainable beauty solutions such as advanced biotechnology, material science, latest skin diagnostics, beauty devices and innovative beauty research and development technologies.
Said Fabrice Megarbane, president of L’Oréal North Asia and CEO of L’Oréal China, "We are excited to see the great results of North Asia Big Bang, thanks to the close collaboration of all our partners across the region. Congratulations to the 17 Big Bang winners who have demonstrated strong innovation potential for future beauty solutions. The opening of the 1st regional beauty innovation incubation exhibition at CIIE is a key milestone in our drive for open innovation and co-creation together with innovative businesses, partners and governments. With the unique and powerful ‘Beauty Triangle’ innovation ecosystem in North Asia, I am confident that Big Bang will continue to unleash the power of co-creation on disruptive beauty solutions across China, Japan and Korea, to inspire the world.”