According to the India Cosmetics Market Outlook 2021, India’s cosmetic market has been growing at a compound annual growth rate of 17% over a five-year period. Due to the increase in standards of living and changing lifestyles, the demand for cosmetic products is increasing rapidly providing an impetus to India’s cosmetic market.
Hair care accounts for a majority of the market share, followed by oral care, skin care, and fragrance and color cosmetics. Hindustan Unilever Limited dominates the cosmetic industry in India due to its vast product portfolio in every segment.
The fragrance market in India is one of the largest in terms of production, consumption, and import. According to BusinessWire, deodorants currently dominate the market led by Fogg followed by Park Avenue and Wild Stone, while the market leaders for perfume are Givaudan, IFF and Firmenich.
India’s hair care market is considered matured and is segmented into four categories – hair oil, hair shampoo, hair colors and hair styling products. Hair oil dominates the market followed by hair shampoo along with its various variants. Marico is leading in the hair oil category while Hindustan Unilever Limited and Proctor & Gamble have the top brands in the shampoo market.
India’s skin care market is segmented into five categories: facial care, body care, sun care, hand care and other makeup removal & depilatory products of which facial care products dominate the market. Hindustan Unilever’s Fair and Lovely Cream and its Vaseline Body Lotion are market leaders.
India’s oral care market is made up of toothpaste, toothpowder, mouthwash, oral care chewing gum and more. The toothpaste segment dominates this market. Companies that lead the organized oral care market include Colgate-Palmolive India, Hindustan Unilever Limited and Dabur.
Color cosmetics registered strong growth in 2014. This market consists of four broad categories: eye makeup, facial makeup, lip products and nail products. Lakme, Revlon and L’Oreal are known to be the big three brands in the category, followed by scores of unorganized players.
Last updated: December 26th, 2025
