Nykaa: Top Beauty Retail Platform of India

The demand for beauty goods, especially from teens and young people, is driving the cosmetics industry's extraordinary rise. The industry's fast digitalization has accelerated its growth even more.

Nykaa has become a major force in this thriving market, providing physical and virtual customers with a wide selection of beauty, fashion, and wellness products. In addition to its current standing, Nykaa's deliberate foray into the women's and men's innerwear markets with Nykd and GLOOT signifies its goal to leave a lasting impression in the personal care industry.

Nykaa is positioned for even greater success in the rapidly changing cosmetics industry because of the intersection of consumer trends and digital innovation. Nykaa’s journey has been impressive, growing from an online beauty store into a big brand with strong sales and higher profits.

Read the success story of Nykaa, Founders and Team, Nykaa history, Funding and Investors, Marketing Strategy, Business Model, Revenue Model, Growth, Acquisitions, Future Plans, and more.

Nykaa - Company Profile

About Nykaa
Nykaa - Industry
Nykaa - Founder and Team
Nykaa Startup Story | How Did Nykaa Start?
Nykaa - Mission And Vision
Nykaa - Name, Tagline and Logo
Nykaa - Business Model
Nykaa - Revenue Model
Nykaa - Challenges Faced
Nykaa - Funding and Investors
Nykaa - Investments
Nykaa - Acquisitions
Nykaa - IPO
Nykaa - Growth
Nykaa - Marketing Strategy
Nykaa - Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns
Nykaa - Awards and Achievements
Nykaa - Competitors
Nykaa - Future Plans

About Nykaa

Nykaa is a beauty retail company that sells cosmetic commodities and fashion products, including men's innerwear, both online and offline. The company also offers comprehensive content that includes product reviews, beauty how-to videos, expert-written articles, and even an e-beauty magazine.

The Nykaa helpline is designed to help its customers choose products and services that are tailored to their needs. The products that beauty and wellness brands boast of are sourced directly from the manufacturing brands and are therefore authentic, and are also available for delivery!

Nykaa - Industry

Based on an estimate by Statista, the Beauty & Personal Care market in India is expected to generate US $31.51 billion in revenue by 2024, indicating significant growth ahead. With a projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.00% from 2024 to 2028, the market exhibits a positive trend.

The Personal Care area is the largest in this dynamic landscape, with an expected market volume of US $14.31 billion in 2024. This data highlights the strong potential and changing dynamics of the Beauty & Personal Care market in India and comes from Statista's extensive study analysis.

Nykaa - Founder and Team

Nykaa was founded by Falguni Nayar (Co-Founder and CEO).

Falguni Nayar

Falguni Nayar, the Co-Founder and CEO of Nykaa, is a very successful woman with an excellent background in both education and work. At Sydenham College, she pursued a Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com.) degree with an emphasis on accounting and business/management. After that, she continued her education at the esteemed Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, where she graduated with a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) and a General Finance concentration.

As a Manager at A F Ferguson & Co., Falguni began her professional career by sharing her knowledge. She held important positions at Kotak Securities as the Head of International Business and, subsequently, as the Director and Head of Institutional Equities Business. Her wealth of skills combined with her spirit of entrepreneurship resulted in the establishment of Nykaa in 2012.

Falguni Nayar is a notable example of someone who has achieved amazing success. She is regarded as the richest self-made woman in India, in 2022 her wealth grew by 345% and ranked fifth among the Top 10 Biggest Gainers List. Her remarkable rise in fortune is a testament to her outstanding business sense and market leadership in the cosmetic and beauty sectors.

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Nykaa - Startup Story | How Did Nykaa Start?

Nykaa was established in 2012 by Falguni Nayar in reaction to the disparities she saw in the Indian market for cosmetics. Falguni Nayar found the gaps in product availability across the country, motivated by the huge demand for beauty and cosmetic products in India and inspired by the flourishing marketplaces in nations like France and Japan. These differences served as the impetus for the creation of Nykaa, which aims to fulfill unmet customer needs.

With just three workers, Falguni Nayar started Nykaa with little experience in the retail, beauty, or IT sectors. The business completed about 60 orders in its first few days of operation because it was steadfast in its belief that quality should come before quantity. Falguni Nayar said something that summed up her thinking perfectly: "We’d rather sell the proper shade of lipstick at full price than the wrong shade at half price."

Nykaa was first created as an online platform and then switched to an omnichannel approach. With its headquarters located in Mumbai, Nykaa has gained recognition for offering a wide variety of fashion, intimate apparel, and beauty and cosmetic products. Enhancing women's extraordinary in all facets of their lives is Nykaa's objective, which it pursues through its physical stores, app, and online platform.

Nykaa - Mission And Vision

The mission on the company's website states, "To create a world where our consumers have access to a finely curated, authentic assortment of products and services that delight and elevate the human spirit."

The vision on the company's website states, "Bring inspiration and joy to people, everywhere, every day."

Nykaa - Name, Tagline and Logo

The brand name 'Nykaa' is derived from the word 'nayaka', which means 'one in the spotlight' in Sanskrit. The Nykaa parent company name is Fsn E-Commerce Ventures Ltd. Nykaa's tagline is Your Beauty, Our Passion.

Nykaa - Business Model

Nykaa is a D2C consumer products eCommerce brand, that relies on an inventory-based business model. The company purchases its products directly from the manufacturers and keeps them in its designated warehouses located in New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore. These products are sold either on the website of Nykaa or through its 3 offline store formats: Nykaa Luxe, Nykaa On Trend, and Nykaa Kiosks.

The business model of Nykaa is the inventory-led model that helps the company witness high profit margins and has resulted in a profitable business. Besides, the company also ensures the authenticity of products and follows competitive pricing.

Nykaa experienced major growth in 2015, moving from an online-only business model to an omnichannel strategy. This change allowed the business to sell things through physical stores as well as its website and apps. Enhancing consumer reach and engagement has been made possible by the implementation of the omnichannel approach.

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Nykaa - Revenue Model

Nykaa earns its revenues through the below-mentioned means.

Sale of products

The brand sells its products and the products of its partnered brands, which is the primary source of revenue for the brand.

Banner advertisements

The banner advertisements of the company also help it bring in a lot of traffic, many of which turn into sales.

Discount income, income from commissions, and miscellaneous income are some other sources of revenue for the brand.

Nykaa - Challenges Faced

Being a relatively young player in the cosmetics industry, Nykaa has faced several difficulties in this fiercely competitive field. Prominent entities like Ajio and Myntra pose intense competition, contributing to the intricacy of Nykaa's market dynamics. It becomes essential to create a unique USP in the fashion industry to successfully navigate this fiercely competitive climate.

Nykaa experienced technical difficulties in its early stages, with its website routinely crashing as order volume increased. Overcoming these difficulties, particularly the early system outages at 100 orders showcased Nykaa's tenacity and dedication to improving its platform for a flawless client experience.

Nykaa has become a dominant force in the Indian beauty e-commerce market, but it is important to recognize that competition is always changing. Rivals like Ajio and Myntra are constantly launching new products, offering tempting promotions, and improving the general consumer experience. Nykaa faces a variety of obstacles as a result of its competitors' constant evolution, necessitating constant innovation and tactical adjustment.

Every rival, including Nykaa, has established a distinct market niche for itself in the cosmetics industry by catering to a range of client demands and preferences. Although this diversity makes Nykaa's problems more complex, it also fosters healthy competition that benefits customers. The competition creates a market with lots of options, affordable prices, and better services, which eventually improves the Indian consumer's entire experience shopping for beauty products.

Nykaa - Funding and Investors

Nykaa has raised a total of $215.4 million in 15 rounds of funding.

Here are the funding details:

Nykaa - Investments

On April 22, 2022, Nykaa made a minority investment in Earth Rhythm, acquiring an 18.51% stake in the clean beauty and personal care brand for INR 41.65 crore. This investment evolved into a majority stake acquisition in November 2024, through a combination of primary and secondary transactions.

Nykaa - Acquisitions

Nykaa has acquired the following companies to date. Here are the details for the same:

On November 27, 2024, Nykaa acquired a majority stake in Earth Rhythm, following its earlier purchase of an 18.6% stake in 2022, bringing its total acquisitions to 7 companies.

Nykaa - IPO

Nykaa opened its IPO on October 28, 2021, and it was not just an IPO but a real test for an Indian eCommerce player. It attracted 82X subscriptions in 3 days. The bids that Nykaa shares attracted were worth around $32.53 billion.

Nykaa shares are listed at a premium of nearly 80%. On the BSE, the shares of Nykaa were listed at Rs 2,001, at a premium of 77.87% over its issue price of Rs 1,125. On the other hand, the scrip was listed at Rs 2,018 on the NSE at a premium of 79.38%. The Nykaa shares were open for subscription from October 28 to November 1, 2021.

Nykaa - Growth

Some of the growth milestones of Nykaa are:

• It has 1900+ brands with 1.2 lakh+ products as of 2024.
• Nykaa has occupied over 5 million square feet of warehouse space as of January 2024.
• Nykaa had 9.87 million website visits in January 2024.
• Nykaa claims to have $21 million users as of November 2023.
• It has 187 physical stores across 68 cities as of 2024.
• It has 37 fulfillment centers in 15 cities as of 2023.
• It has 44 warehouses across India as of 2024.

Nykaa Financials

According to unaudited financial statements from the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), Nykaa's revenue increased to INR 1,874.74 crore in Q2 FY25, compared to INR 1,507 crore in Q2 FY24. Its revenue from operations grew by 24.4% in the quarter ending September. Its profit also jumped by 66.3%, reaching double digits.

In FY23, Nykaa had an operating revenue of INR 5,144 crore with expenses of INR 5,136 crore, leading to a small profit of INR 21 crore. In FY24, the company grew, with operating revenue reaching INR 6,386 crore and expenses at INR 6,346 crore, resulting in a profit of INR 40 crore.

Expenses

Nykaa's total expenses rise from INR 5136 crore in FY23 to INR 6346 crore in FY24.

EBITDA

Nykaa - Marketing Strategy

Nykaa has stood as one of the most competent players in the beauty and fashion space due to its robust marketing strategy, which is carved with digital marketing at its core. The brand not only focuses on marketing in Tier 1 cities but also pitches all the potential customers from Tier 2, 3, and 4 cities.

Social Media Marketing

Nykaa has 4 social media accounts for the marketing of its in-house brand My Nykaa, Nykaa Beauty for the promotion of its e-commerce platform, Nykaa Fashion to promote its e-commerce apparel store, and Nykaa beauty book, which helps the audience with numerous beauty and makeup tips.

The company has its accounts on diverse social media platforms to extensively promote the brand on social media. The brand is also engaged in posting content created by its influencers via its social media handles. Therefore, influencer marketing plays an important part in the promotion of Nykaa.

YouTube Marketing

Nykaa has a full-fledged YouTube marketing strategy. The brand refrains from focusing on selling its products via its YouTube channel but concentrates more on offering consumable content, including beauty, personal care tips, makeup hacks, and much more, to its target audiences.

Furthermore, the brand also runs YouTube ads from time to time to target its customers. Thus, the YouTube marketing of Nykaa is fueled with quality content that keeps the audience engaged and relevant ads.

Content Marketing

Nykaa relies majorly on its content marketing. The D2C beauty and fashion marketplace offers a variety of consumable content to the audience, which helps them convert into its customers.

Nykaa has its blog, “Nykaa Beauty Book,” which the brand uses to publish blogs on beauty, makeup, and personal care. Furthermore, the brand is also engaged in creating video content like makeup tutorials, DIYs, and more.

Event Marketing

Event marketing is another important marketing strategy that Nykaa leverages to pitch the target customers at the right time and place.

Nykaa has successfully sponsored the popular Femina Miss India event, one of the largest beauty events in India on several occasions, and is still tied to the same event.

Besides, Nykaa also sponsors numerous college fests and events like the Red Brick Summit, 2019 IIM Ahmedabad, and the Mumbai college fest, Mood Indigo.

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Nykaa - Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns

Nykaa's campaign, which consists of four powerful films, skillfully evokes strong feelings in viewers. Scripted by creative powerhouse The Script Room and directed by acclaimed ad filmmaker Prasoon Pandey, the campaign opens with "Kya Khoob Lagte Ho."

This ad skillfully weaves a tapestry of sincere emotions to depict the essence of relationships and daily living. The movies have a deep message: genuine praises have a special ability to soften hearts and for feelings to bloom. The campaign, which has its roots in authenticity, embraces the notion that, especially in the eyes of those closest to oneself, one's true, unguarded self is frequently the most beautiful one.

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Nykaa - Awards and Achievements

Nykaa won several awards and achievements. Some of the prominent ones are listed below:

Isidoro Alvarez Lifetime Achievement Medal (Spain, 2023): Falguni Nayar, the creator of Nykaa, was honored with the esteemed Isidoro Alvarez Lifetime Achievement Medal in Spain for her noteworthy contributions to the field.

Falguni Nayar was honored in the FMCG category of the 2023 DNA Women Achievers Awards, which is a testament to her extraordinary accomplishments as the creator of Nykaa Cosmetics.

Asia's Best Integrated Report Category (Bronze Award) at the 2023 Asia Integrated Reporting Awards (AIRA): At the 8th Asia Integrated Reporting Awards (AIRA), Nykaa was recognized for its proficiency in integrated reporting with a bronze award in Asia's Best Integrated Report category.

Nykaa - Competitors

The top Nykaa competitors are:

• Purplle
• Myntra
• Tata Cliq

Nykaa - Future Plans

Nykaa, a prominent participant in the eCommerce industry, is proactively molding its future through the expansion of its multichannel reach, to flawlessly merge customers' online and offline purchasing experiences. As part of its plan for the future, Nykaa is dedicated to improving its physical footprint even with the expenses that come with opening new locations. Nykaa plans to double its store count from 187 to 400 by 2027. The company expects its fashion vertical to grow by 2.5-3X over the next three years.

Nykaa's commitment to fostering stronger client relationships and offering a variety of channels for customers to access its vast array of health, fashion, and beauty items is exemplified by this progressive approach. Setting lofty objectives, a substantial advancement in its brick-and-mortar expansion strategy the company hopes to build a strong future.

FAQs

Who is the founder of Nykaa?

Falguni Nayar is the founder of Nykaa.

When was Nykaa founded?

Nykaa was founded in 2012.

What is Nykaa?

Nykaa is India's biggest lifestyle and fashion portal with a collection of cosmetics, skincare, haircare, fragrances, bath and body, personal care, and wellness products for both women and men.

Who are the competitors of Nykaa?

Some of the prominent competitors of Nykaa are:

• Purplle
• Myntra
• Tata Cliq

Is Nykaa Indian brand?

Yes, Nykaa is an Indian lifestyle retail brand of beauty, wellness, and fashion products with headquarters in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

How to sell on Nykaa?

Selling on Nykaa is easy. You just have to go to www.nykaa.com/sellonnykaa and then you need to go to fill up a form where you need to enter the Name of your company, Company Website, Pincode, Address, Product Categories, Brand Name, and other details, and then you would be ready to sell on Nykaa.

Who is Nykaa CEO?

Falguni Nayar is the Founder and CEO of Nykaa.

Where is the Nykaa headquarters?

Nykaa headquarters is in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

What is Nykaa tagline?

Nykaa tagline is Your Beauty, Our Passion.