The first such visit by L’Oréal’s board comes amid recent management changes at the India arm of the Maybelline lipstick maker.
While India still remains a value-driven market, global companies such as Hindustan Unilever and Estee Lauder Companies are launching their beauty products in the country to capitalize on the growing demand for international brands.
“The board is coming to study the market opportunity since growth among new customers is in India,” said a person aware of developments at the company.
L’Oréal’s board will visit Mumbai, where the company has its India headquarters, added this person, asking not to be identified.
In July, the French beauty company named Jacques Lebel as the new country manager for L’Oréal India and elevated managing director Aseem Kaushik as chairman. Both appointments were effective 1 October.
Global companies such as L’Oréal have been vying for a greater share of consumer spending in emerging markets like India, where millions of new beauty consumers are expected to enter the market, particularly online.
The domestic market for beauty and cosmetics has undergone a seismic change in the past decade, with more shoppers using platforms such as Nykaa and Amazon to buy everything from premium lip colours to Korean beauty serums.
India’s beauty and personal care market is projected to grow from $21 billion now to $34 billion in four years, making it the fastest-growing in the world, online beauty retailer Nykaa said in its 2024 beauty trends report.
L’Oréal’s board of directors is chaired by Jean-Paul Agon, with Nicolas Hieronimus serving as chief executive officer, and Jean-Victor Meyers and Paul Bulcke as vice chairmen. Meyers, the grandson of the late L’Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, is the board representative for the Bettencourt Meyers family, L’Oréal’s largest shareholder.
Bulcke recently stepped down as chairman of Swiss food and beverages giant Nestlé SA, which owns 20.1% of L’Oréal. The L’Oréal board also includes Sodexo CEO and chair Sophie Bellon, and Pernod Ricard’s CEO and chair Alexandre Ricard.
L’Oréal India declined to comment on the board visit.
Consumer spending
L’Oréal India’s revenue in 2024-25 increased 5% to ₹5,979 crore while net profit rose 23% to ₹598 crore, according to financial data accessed by business intelligence platform Tofler.
That growth came amid a slowdown in the broader fast-moving consumer goods market, which saw volumes increase 4.4% in the 12 months to 31 March, per Nielsen IQ.
However, more women are willing to spend their non-grocery income on beauty products, said Satish Meena, founder at consulting firm Datum Intelligence.
“This is true across both mass and premium beauty,” he said, adding that the beauty and personal care market is growing faster than the overall packaged goods market.
L’Oréal competes with Hindustan Unilever Ltd, India’s largest FMCG company that sells brands such as Lakme, Simple, Glow & Lovely, Pond’s, Dove, and Vaseline. HUL’s beauty and wellbeing division reported revenue of ₹13,073 crore for FY25.
In an interview with Mint last year, Aseem Kaushik, now L’Oréal India’s chairman, outlined plans to double the company’s business to €1 billion in 3-4 years. “We are on track for that,” he had said, attributing much of the future growth to e-commerce.
Earlier this year, L’Oréal CEO Nicolas Hieronimus, speaking at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York Conference in Florida, US, said 500 million new consumers in emerging markets would be able to afford L’Oréal products by 2030, with half of them in India.
“It’s (India) definitely a market that was not ready for L’Oréal in terms of distribution network, in terms of purchasing power, a couple of years ago. But now, it’s ripe for us and accelerating,” he had said.
Other international consumer companies are also looking at India as a growth market amid global uncertainties such as the US’s tariff war.
Last month, PepsiCo’s chairman and CEO, Ramon Laguarta, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi to discuss the company’s long-term commitment to India. Ramon Laguarta was accompanied by the full board in India.
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