Estée Lauder supports Indian beauty entrepreneurs and invests in sleep science
The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) has partnered with Startup India to help strengthen the country’s beauty innovation and support Indian entrepreneurs in the personal care market. The beauty giant also appointed a Global Sleep Science Advisor to advance its nighttime skin care.
Stéphane de La Faverie, president and CEO at ELC, says: “India is a key strategic market for ELC, with a rapidly evolving prestige beauty industry and a vibrant, tech-driven start-up ecosystem redefining innovation. As the prestige beauty leader in India, ELC remains deeply committed to shaping the future of beauty in this dynamic landscape.”
The partnership was established through a Memorandum of Understanding between Estée Lauder’s subsidiary in India and the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) within India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Startup India is an initiative under the Indian government.
ELC’s entrepreneurial program in India, Beauty & You India, will leverage Startup India’s national platform, insights, and expertise. The program works to discover and propel new India-focused beauty brands, providing them with grants, mentorship, and industry access.
Shri Sanjiv, Joint Secretary, DPIIT, says: “India’s beauty industry is undergoing a major transformation, and collaborations like this play a pivotal role in fostering innovation and entrepreneurship. India’s beauty and personal care industry is undergoing a transformation, and collaborations like this are crucial to fostering innovation and entrepreneurship.”
Following International Women’s Day and in combination with this new partnership, ELC announced an expansion of Beauty & You India to include a new initiative tailored to recognizing and supporting women entrepreneurs. Over three years, the majority of Beauty & You India applicants have been women.
“We are honored to be the first global beauty company to partner with Startup India to help reimagine the future of beauty by nurturing the next generation of entrepreneurs — especially women, who have long been the backbone of our industry, from our founder, Mrs. Estée Lauder, to today’s inspiring founders,” adds de La Faverie.
Over the past 20 years, ELC has launched 14 brands in India, across makeup, skin care, hair care, and fragrance. The company previously invested in Mountain Valley Springs India, owner of Forest Essentials, the India-based luxury Ayurvedic brand.
Sleep’s impact on skin
The Estée Lauder brand has also signed Dr. Matthew Walker as its first-ever Global Sleep Science Advisor to deepen its nighttime skin care research and innovation. The cosmetics brand says it is tapping into the global sleep movement to educate consumers on the connection between sleep and skin health.
Estée Lauder looks into how sleep affects the skin.
“For more than 40 years, Estée Lauder has been pioneering research into night skin science, most recently focusing on the impact that poor sleep has on skin. By partnering with Dr. Walker, a renowned global sleep expert, we are able to deepen this understanding to inform how we engage, educate, and inspire our consumers,” says Jennifer Palmer, SVP, Global Innovation Development & Science Leadership at Estée Lauder.
The sleep scientist and professor of Neuroscience and Psychology at the University of California, US, will bring the latest insights, research findings, and resources to advance Estée Lauder’s understanding and resolve the impact of poor sleep on skin health.
“My mission is to educate as many people as possible on the fundamental importance of sleep for our overall health,” says Dr. Walker.
Estée Lauder will also serve as the exclusive beauty partner of Dr. Walker’s new Global Sleep Education Foundation, which aims to address the global sleep-loss epidemic through free transformational education programs and support sleep science research.
