Luxury beauty boom calls Lush back to India but analysts flag crowded market

Lush is returning to India after nearly twenty years, aiming to capture a share in the country’s growing personal care market. The UK cosmetics maker’s move comes as global beauty companies increasingly view India as a promising growth engine, following a free-trade agreement signed by the two countries earlier this year. 

The relaunch takes place through a licensing partnership with Bilberry Brands, a Bengaluru-based cosmetics manufacturing and retail company. Lush will reportedly first be made available online and later expand into stores across major cities over the next two years.

The company’s renewed push aligns with a broader surge in India’s premium and luxury beauty spending. India’s beauty and personal care market is forecast to reach US$40–45 billion by 2030, and multiple global brands have made strategic moves to tap into this market.

However, analysts caution that India’s “luxury boom” is nuanced and there are blurred lines between prestige, masstige, and true luxury brands.

“The definition of ‘luxury’ in India is very vague. At first glance, any imported brand may appear as a luxury brand, but it is not. It may be prestige, but not as luxury as for example Chanel,” Innova Market Insights’ project lead for Beauty Personal Care & Household division tells Personal Care Insights.

The project lead argues that Lush appears to be leaning into India’s “luxury boom” through premium storytelling, despite ultimately operating in the same mid-tier international segment as players like Body Shop and Bath & Body Works.

“The spa and wellness market in India has huge demand, but the costs make it aspirational for actual buyers who will be more in need of it,” she adds, suggesting that the country’s appetite for sensorial and fragrance-led experiences could work in Lush’s favor.

However, the Innova spokesperson warns that standing out in a crowded bath and body segment will be challenging. She suggests that fragrance innovation and distinctive in-store experiences are some of the strongest levers Lush can use to differentiate itself.

Expanding retail

Lush co-founder Rowena Bird says Lush’s return reflects a dramatic shift in India’s beauty landscape over the past two decades, particularly with the rise of the Internet, according to Reuters.

“Shopping retail has changed a lot. You have got a lot more Western brands [that] people are more aware of,” Bird says.

According to Bilberry Brands’ founder, Vishal Anand, the partnership will contact 25 top malls across the country to evaluate ideal locations and then plans to open stores in New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru within the next 18 to 24 months.

Lush will import the majority of its Indian offerings from the UK, but a portion of fresh items, such as face masks, will be produced locally using ingredients sourced in India. According to Bird, this allows the brand to maintain quality while creating opportunities for localization.

While the spa and wellness market in India has huge demand, high costs make the segment aspirational for the buyers who actually need it, notes the Innova analyst.The relaunch aligns with the UK–India free-trade agreement, which was signed in July this year. The agreement aims to phase out duties of up to 22% on imported UK cosmetics and toiletries. It creates a more favorable cost structure for British beauty companies, such as Lush, to enter the Indian market.

Competition in premium

The Innova spokesperson argues that while India’s luxury beauty market is expanding, the definition of luxury is highly fluid, meaning Lush may not be perceived as a luxury brand simply because it is an international brand.

The project lead tells us that India already views mid-priced international bath-and-body brands as premium, noting: “For example, Bath & Body Works appears luxury due to its prices, but in reality, it is not exactly a luxury brand in the US.”

Based on this, she forecasts Lush will likely operate in the same competitive tier as global retailers such as Bath & Body Works and The Body Shop. Indian brands that use premium storytelling, such as Kama Ayurveda, Forest Essentials, and the farm-to-face brand Ras, also fall under this tier.

The spokesperson expects Lush to find its strongest opportunity in fragrance-driven bath and body rather than skin care, explaining: “It will ultimately be active in the bath and body care segments, but skin care would be a harder nut to crack.”

She adds that India’s spa and wellness market has strong demand and that fragrance-led experiences could be a potential advantage for Lush.

However, she warns that because India’s so-called “luxury boom” has intensified competition, brands that do not offer a distinct experience or narrative may struggle to build loyalty or justify their premium positioning.

“Lush’s long-term success will ultimately hinge on packaging and fragrance innovation, as well as culturally nuanced scents and using limited editions to build urgency,” the project lead predicts.