Real growth in beauty coming from tier-2, 3 markets: Masaba Gupta

LoveChild, the beauty label founded by entrepreneur-designer Masaba Gupta and owned by Aditya Birla Group under the House of Masaba franchise, is looking at tier 2 and 3 markets as its core growth driver as it scales up amid a surge in the number of beauty brands competing for share. "If we ignore tier 2 and 3 markets, we’ll be making a big mistake. The real numbers are coming from these markets, and from younger consumers here,” Gupta said on Wednesday, while announcing scale-up plans for the House of Masaba brand, in which Aditya Birla group has 51 per cent stake.

India with its largest population of young people and increasing disposable incomes is seeing surge in demand in beauty and fashion categories, led by large retail, aspirational small city consumers, deeper e-commerce reach and social influencers.

Gupta, founder of LoveChild, said the brand’s packaging and branding targets younger, aspirational consumers across metros and smaller markets. The brand franchise includes fragrance line Meetha, Surya Namaskar sunscreen and lip range by the name of Masala Chai.


“There’s immense room to grow. The Indian beauty market is not as evolved as it is globally, and so far, only few colours sell,” she said.

Gupta said after one year of being online, LoveChild is setting up an offline presence to meet a surge in demand in physical retail, starting with tie-ups with retailers like SS beauty and Tira. So far, the brand has followed a largely digital and direct to consumer (D2C) retail approach, and its own House of Masaba stores.

A report by researcher Euromonitor said higher incomes, Internet access and the young population are leading to a beauty boom in India that is projected to reach $17.4 billion by 2025 from $15.6 billion in 2022. Besides larger traditional labels like Lakme. Maybelline, ColorBar, Lotus Herbals and Revlon, there's an influx of digital focused and global brands competing for share.

Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited (ABFRL) acquired the majority stake in House of Masaba Lifestyle, which straddles pret, Indian and indo-western apparel, beauty, personal care and accessories, for Rs 90 crore early last year. At the time of acquisition, ABFRL said the acquisition would help boost the group’s presence in fashion and beauty aimed at young consumers.