L'Oreal's India push goes beyond beauty counters

New Delhi: French cosmetics major L'Oreal sees its India business "doing a great turnaround", driven by improving team capabilities, increasing localisation, accelerating online commerce and rising demand for haircare and skincare products, said its global Chief Executive Officer Nicolas Hieronimus.

India recorded a "double-digit growth" in the group's consumer products division business in the September quarter. Besides, its "emerging markets delivered spectacular growth, particularly in Brazil and India" in the professional products, according to the company's latest earnings update.

L'Oreal's SAPMENA-SSA region posted adjusted like-for-like growth of 19.2 per cent in the third quarter of 2026, with India and Indonesia "further accelerated", driven by haircare and skincare, the cosmetics major said.

The region comprises South Asia Pacific, the Middle East, North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa, and is one of L'Oreal's key operational and financial reporting regions.

In the earnings call, Hieronimus, who visited India a few weeks ago, said the country was witnessing a strong turnaround, supported by improvements in team capabilities and a greater focus on developing products tailored to local consumers.

"India, where I was just a couple of weeks ago, is doing a great turnaround there, both in terms of teams' quality. We create for India much more than we did before," said Hieronimus.

The company is also accelerating its online commerce strategy, particularly quick commerce, while expanding its skincare brands CeraVe and La Roche-Posay into new cities to tap the growing demand for specialised skincare products.

"We are accelerating in commerce, with a focus on quick commerce, which is an important part of the e-commerce market there," he said.

L'Oreal is also expanding its presence in the dermatological beauty segment, with its skincare brand CeraVe gaining traction and entering new cities in India.

"India is one of the countries where CeraVe is still a baby brand, but growing fast and expanding to new cities," Hieronimus said.

The company has also launched La Roche-Posay, another brand in its dermatological beauty portfolio, in India. The brand is positioned at a relatively higher price point, and L'Oreal expects the two brands to complement each other in the market.

The expansion comes as the French beauty major looks to tap growing consumer interest in skincare and specialised beauty products in India.

In another move to strengthen its local presence, L'Oreal has completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Innovist, a digital-first Indian personal care company that owns a portfolio of beauty and personal care brands.

The acquisition is expected to support the acceleration of L'Oreal's business in India by strengthening its access to the country's rapidly evolving digital-first beauty market.

L'Oreal's corporate venture fund BOLD has also partnered with Nykaa, India's largest beauty retailer, to take minority stakes in high-growth Indian beauty, personal care and wellness brands.

The partnership is aimed at identifying and supporting emerging brands in a market where digital platforms are playing an increasingly important role in consumer discovery and product purchases.

L'Oreal's latest investments underline its strategy to deepen its presence in India by combining its global brand portfolio with locally relevant offerings and digital-first distribution channels.

Globally, L'Oreal reported sales of 11.56 billion euros in the third quarter of 2026, up 7.2 per cent on a like-for-like basis. In the first nine months, sales amounted to 35.33 billion euros.