Prevention first, K-beauty next: How Gen Z is reshaping India’s beauty market

From the advent of mall culture in India in the late 2000s, India’s beauty market was defined by luxury counters in Mumbai or Delhi. But those days of metro exclusivity for the few with disposable income are long gone. A new study revealed that the current market is being shaped by young shoppers in cities like Patna, Indore, Guwahati, and Imphal.

Myntra’s new report, Beauty in the Age of Gen Z, found that half of Gen Z beauty buyers on its platform are from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

The report, prepared with RedSeer, estimated that India’s beauty and personal-care market could grow from about $23 billion now to $40 billion in 2030.

But the spending gap still remains. On average, India spends roughly $15 per head on beauty products, against $38 in China and $383 in the United States. For the layman, that gap looks like a negative, but for brands, they see India as a long-term opportunity rather than a saturated market.

And increasingly, these brands are finding out that Gen Z is central to that expansion.

Myntra says the current youth generation allocates a 75 per cent higher share of its wallet to beauty and personal care than other cohorts, while its spend per customer has risen 1.2 times year on year.

“For Gen Z, beauty is self-expression. It’s how they show up, plan their looks and live their social lives,” Sharon Pais, Head of Myntra, said. And most of these beauty products are more about protection rather than looks.

Sunscreen rules the roost

A decade ago, well into my late 20s, I learned a harsh lesson, during a visit to the dermat—Sunscreen was paramount. Then came the journey to find the right one for my skin—a gel-based zinc-oxide water resistant one that do not have the white cast. Problem is, I had to visit 10-15 beauty shops, and when I almost thought my luck ran out, I found one in a pharmacy. But for the youngsters of today, thanks to awareness and the advent of e-commerce in the sector, getting a sunscreen with similar specs is a matter of a few clicks.

Sun-protection products rose 60 per cent year on year among Gen Z shoppers, while searches increased 80 per cent for spray sunscreens, 70 per cent for ingredient-led sunscreens and 60 per cent for tinted sunscreens.

“Sun protection has become a year-round habit among Gen Z shoppers,” the report revealed, underlining the demand for gel-based, fragrance-free and non-sticky textures.

K-beauty goes mainstream

Demand for K-Beauty grew a massive 200 per cent year on year, with searches up more than 300 per cent. Myntra said it now lists more than 1,000 products from over 90 Korean brands.

But be it essential sunscreens or trendy K-beauty, access matters. Gen Z shoppers outside the metros increasingly bought serums, toners, sunscreens and hair masks alongside everyday products, the study revealed. These cities accounted for half of Myntra’s international beauty demand.

The report also credited ingredient transparency, affordable trial sizes, and credible creator-led discovery as clear differentiators rather than the age-old metro-centric advertising. For, beauty products is no longer a Delhi-Mumbai-Bengaluru thing, it is a Ludhiana-Patna-Bhopal-Indore-Guwahati-Surat, Varanasi-Imphal thing.