The Estée Lauder Companies named the winners of BEAUTY&YOU India 2026 on Oct. 15: Laani, Boldpurity, Goyam Green Tech, De Icebreaker Creative Studio and Agapi Sikkim. The company runs the startup program with the retailer Nykaa and the government’s Startup India initiative, and this was its fifth year.
The five winners came from a field of 14 finalists the company announced six days earlier. Comparing the two press releases shows how narrow the funnel was and which kinds of beauty business the judges favored.
The Five Winners and What They Make
Laani won the GROW award for the best in-market beauty brand. Founder and CEO Nirja Bhatt makes sweat and odor control products, led by a water-based clear deodorant stick, according to the Estée Lauder announcement.
Boldpurity won IMAGINE, the award for the best early-stage concept. Khatija Shabana, the CEO, and Syed Mohammad Fouzan, a director, lead what the company calls a scientist-led skincare concept built on proprietary formulation technology.
Goyam Green Tech won BREAKTHROUGH, the fragrance innovation award presented with the company’s Fragrance Atelier in Paris. Directors Ajaykumar Mehta, Shriya Rambhia and Dheer Rambhia work on greener fragrance ingredients, including material made from glycerol bio-waste. De Icebreaker Creative Studio won DESIGN, a category added in 2026. Founder Pankti Sheth runs a packaging and brand design studio.
Agapi Sikkim won the Visionary Women’s Award, now in its second year and presented with Startup India. Founder Rinzing Choden Bhutia runs a Himalayan skincare and lifestyle brand that employs and trains women in Sikkim. The company announced the winners at an event in Mumbai. Its release does not list cash amounts for any individual winner.
How Narrow the Funnel was
The Oct. 9 finalist announcement sorted the 14 finalists into four categories. Three competed in GROW, four in IMAGINE, four in BREAKTHROUGH and three in DESIGN. The Visionary Women’s Award was not tied to a category and was announced at the final event. The company did not say how many founders applied. It described only a “competitive application process,” so the odds from application to finalist cannot be calculated.
The odds from finalist to winner can. In a calculation from the company’s figures, a GROW or DESIGN finalist had a one-in-three chance of winning its category and an IMAGINE or BREAKTHROUGH finalist had a one-in-four chance. Four of the 14 finalists won a category, about 29%. Add the Visionary award and five startups took a top honor.
The finalists included a second hair care company besides the eventual winners. The Curl Co., founded by Rutvika Charegaonkar and Isha Mahabal, makes affordable textured haircare for Indian curl and wave patterns. 3TENX, run by Ankith Aroraa and Megha Arora, makes professional hair care for Indian hair. Neither won GROW, which went to the deodorant brand.
The Prize Pool and the Support behind It
The finalist release said winners share a prize pool of up to $500,000. It also promised mentorship, distribution support and what it called strategic opportunities through the Estée Lauder Companies, Nykaa and Startup India.
The winners release does not repeat the dollar figure, so the final split is not public. If the pool were divided evenly among the five winners, each would receive $100,000. That is arithmetic on the “up to” ceiling, not a stated payout, and the company has not said it divides the money equally.
Finalists presented to the judges in Mumbai, and the company announced winners the next evening. The panel mixed company executives with outside figures. Seven Estée Lauder Companies leaders sat on it, along with Samrath Bedi of Forest Essentials, Anchit Nayar of Nykaa Beauty, Ankita Pandey of the Ministry of MSME, actor Katrina Kaif, designers Gaurav Gupta and Masaba Gupta, Gianandrea Ferrari and Jaffrey Zaman of the ingredient maker Intercos, Ragini Das of Google for Startups India, and doctors Jaishree Sharad and Madhuri Agarwal.
Why Fragrance Science Got Its Own Track
The BREAKTHROUGH category stands apart from the others because it rewards laboratory work rather than finished products on a shelf. All four finalists in it described technology, not a retail brand. Ananthara Biotech uses bio-engineered yeast to produce aroma molecules. BABOSKI is building a biodegradable, skin-responsive fragrance delivery platform. La SerentiQa Innovations is working on a biomimetic delivery platform for cosmetic actives. Goyam, the winner, turns a waste stream into fragrance ingredients.
The company pairs the category with its Fragrance Atelier in Paris, the group that presented the award. The DESIGN category added this year points the same direction. Two of its three finalists, Guerrilla Art & Design and Rhevan, drew on Indian craft and artistry. Rhevan, founded by Vanshika Pherwani and Rhea Pherwani, pitched a craft-led beauty concept. Sheth’s studio won with packaging and brand design.
What the Company and Its Partners Said
Stéphane de La Faverie, president and CEO of the Estée Lauder Companies, said in the winners release that “India is one of the most exciting and inspiring forces in global beauty.” He described the fifth year as a sign of the company’s long-term commitment to beauty entrepreneurs. The company says it has operated in India for more than two decades.
Ateesh Kumar Singh, additional secretary at Startup India under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, called the program “an important platform for supporting the next generation of beauty founders.” Nayar, Nykaa Beauty’s executive director and CEO, said the program helps entrepreneurs bring new ideas to life.
The announcement came one day after the Estée Lauder Companies Charitable Foundation and Reliance Foundation said they would work together to reach one million girls and young women in India over two years, starting in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. That partnership is a separate program for girls ages 14 to 20, and the company did not disclose its funding. For the winners, the stated benefits are mentorship, distribution support and strategic opportunities through the three organizers.
