Over the course of human history, cosmetics have played an important role in defining and morphing traits of beauty for many cultures and societies. Online beauty and cosmetics stores are reporting healthy numbers not just from established names but private labels too. This trend is here to grow and it’s not just here in India. Also internationally, brands are looking at including natural or natural inspired products.

Growth of the cosmetic industry: So what’s been propelling this growth? More importantly, what trends can we expect over the next 5 years that will help the industry scale up at such a rapid pace? For starters, while globalization began the shift in Indian consumption back in the late 1990s, it’s only in the last decade or so that Indian consumption patterns have shifted in a big way. In today’s post-globalization era, India’s middle and upper-middle-class consumers are far more aware of the latest trends in personal grooming, not just in India but across the world. This increasing consciousness has opened up the way for a wide range of new-age cosmetics in a way that simply wasn’t possible before. Of course, there’s also the fact that Indian women now have increasing purchasing power, allowing them to make more adventurous purchase decisions. Finally, there’s India’s young demographic; 34% of the population comprises millennials. As a group, millennials across the world are willing to spend money on unique products and experiences, which is exactly where the Indian cosmetics industry is headed.

Role that the consumers’ play: The millennial consumers are leading the trend — they are increasingly seeking the natural, untouched, unmade-up look from their beauty care products. As they become savvier about ‘green’ choices, we are seeing a marked shift in preferences in favour of natural products. Executives at both supermarkets and online stores said ‘natural’ products have been flying off

store shelves clocking around 25% year-on-year growth versus 10% for regular ones. Consumers are looking for simplicity. Brands with too much complexity and claims hard to understand need to revisit their consumer proposition. Recently, the 'naturals' space has turned intensely competitive. While French cosmetics giant has rolled out ayurvedic shampoo, conditioner, oil and cream under its other popular brands and relaunched Ayush. Thus, the famous international brands getting competitors and rolled out by the manufactures that uses organic/natural (chemical-free) ingredients in these products.

Time-pressed consumers are seeking convenience in beauty and personal care routines and are aware of damaging effects of harsh chemicals. This has spurred demand for natural beauty and personal care products as a safer alternative. In a market like India where herbal and ayurvedic hair and skin care has a legacy of usage (henna, bhringraj or brahmi oil, or herbal face packs), awareness and benefits of herbal or botanical ingredients is high.

The over half of Indian consumers reported ‘natural or organic’ features influencing hair and skin care purchase decisions. While 71% of consumers’ surveys said that they would pick up a face cream or lotion if it claimed to be natural, 38% said they would buy a shampoo or hair oil if it was made with botanical ingredients.

The booming awareness of beauty products, increasing premium on personal grooming, changes in consumption patterns and lifestyles and improved purchasing power among women are expected to boost the industry. The country's cosmetics and cosmeceutical market is expected to register annual growth of 25% touching USD 20 billion by 2025, according to industry experts here. The market will maintain healthy growth due to rising preference for specialised cosmetic products such as organic, herbal and ayurvedic products. Principal areas that are expected to grow include colour cosmetics, fragrances, specialised skin care and make-up cosmetics.

Seeking business opportunities here, international exhibition organisers Bologna Fiere and UBM India are joining hands to launch Cosmoprof India, an event for the international beauty community. The Indianising portfolio has two R&D centres and two factories in India — 90% of the products we sell in India are made in India. And probably two thirds of the products that we sell in India are created in India.

From affected economy to kick-start of the economic development or improvement: Also people are starting to realize the long-term issues of using harmful chemicals on their body. So the Indian consumer market is facing a slowdown and few top brands had been affected in the last two years and the CEOs of Indian beauty brands and start-ups in the beauty-tech space are confident that they will achieve the growth of the company. Their mission is to outperform the market every year. Though at times the alternative cosmetic industries affect the economy, the government and administration are favorable for the business and are trying to kick-starts the chapter of economic development in the country.