IPPMI: Beauty with intention as L’Oreal India leans into growth with conscience

When Aseem Kaushik joined L’Oreal three decades ago, his first job was not in a boardroom. “I started with a bag on my shoulder, selling shampoos,” he says. His retail grounding now influences his approach to leadership at L’Oreal India, where he sits at the helm of a company navigating a complex, multi-speed market. “India is not one market. It is 28 different markets,” he explains, referencing the diversity of languages, habits, income segments and regional preferences.

This localisation imperative is not just a marketing line. Kaushik insists that understanding on-ground realities — from consumer aspirations in Indore to service challenges in Nagercoil — requires leadership that listens more than it dictates. L’Oreal India’s frontline sales and field training teams provide weekly reports that flow directly into category and product strategies.

That approach is working. In the last ten years, L’Oreal India has tripled its market share. The beauty and personal care market in India is projected to reach over INR 1.4-trillion by 2027. While global brands often over-index to urban metros, Kaushik sees the engine of future growth elsewhere. “There is magic in the tier-2 and tier-3 towns,” he says, noting that per capita consumption of beauty products outside the top 10 cities is rising at a faster pace than within them.

Kaushik also notes that affordability and aspiration are not in conflict. “Even in smaller towns, consumers want the best,” he says. They are not looking for cheap products, but for quality products that respect their needs and values. This insight has driven L’Oreal to rethink pricing, pack sizes, and outreach programmes tailored for vernacular audiences.

Crucially, Kaushik’s model of leadership avoids centralised, one-size-fits-all playbooks. Instead, it leans on decentralised teams that are empowered to make decisions quickly. Regional sales heads have greater autonomy to tweak assortments or launch targeted campaigns. “You cannot run India from a spreadsheet,” he quips.

His larger belief is that growth must be built on relevance. “Consumers don't wake up thinking about brands. They wake up thinking about their lives,” he says. And unless a brand fits into that life seamlessly, it will not survive India’s competitive, crowded FMCG shelf.

Scaling distribution through data and community ties

One of the biggest shifts in L’Oreal India’s growth strategy is its approach to distribution. From servicing 1.2-million outlets a few years ago, the company now reaches over 2-million retail points. But Kaushik clarifies that this is not just a brute-force expansion. “We use heat maps to predict where consumption will happen, not just where it is happening,” he says.

These heat maps are generated by analysing pin-code level sales data, demographic trends, infrastructure access and even competitor activity. The data then feeds into decisions about where to open new depots, where to scale direct distribution, and how to deploy resources efficiently. “It is not enough to be available. You have to be visible and desirable,” Kaushik explains.

One pilot in Andhra Pradesh, where the company introduced mobile beauty vans for training and sampling, resulted in a 32% sales uptick in less than six months. The initiative, designed to engage women in smaller towns, combined product education with entrepreneurship. “We trained women as beauty advisors and equipped them with tablets and catalogues,” he says. “It empowered them — and it helped us reach consumers we hadn’t touched before.”

Another area of focus has been bridging the rural-urban parity in service levels. L’Oreal now uses hybrid service models — where a mix of traditional stockists, modern trade, eCommerce and DTC platforms ensures product availability across touchpoints. “We see the line blurring between online and offline,” Kaushik notes, pointing to rising digital orders even in non-metro areas.

The company’s integration of technology into the hands of beauty advisors has also changed the game. Tablets loaded with diagnostic tools, customer profiles and demo videos have helped improve conversion rates, especially in high-footfall outlets. “It’s not tech for the sake of it. It’s tech that closes the loop,” he explains.

But Kaushik is also realistic about last-mile challenges. Supply chain volatility, weather-linked disruptions and localised stocking issues still exist. To counter this, L’Oréal is investing in more regional warehouses and has launched a supply visibility dashboard to pre-empt bottlenecks.

For Kaushik, distribution is not a cost centre. It is a brand moment. “Every time your product is or is not on the shelf, it says something about who you are as a brand,” he says. And that makes logistics a deeply strategic function.

Innovation as a localised leap, not a global transplant

One of Kaushik’s central beliefs is that innovation must begin in India, not end here. “We used to get products designed for Paris and test them here. That doesn’t work anymore,” he states. Instead, L’Oreal India now leads the innovation pipeline with products conceptualised and developed at its Mumbai-based R&D centre.

A standout example is its sulphate-free shampoo range, which addresses the specific climate, water hardness, and hair texture concerns of Indian consumers. Similarly, skin formulations are now developed to suit melanin-rich skin tones and tropical humidity. “We don't want Indian consumers to adjust to global products. We want global products to adjust to Indian lives,” Kaushik says.

The company has also deployed Smart Mirror technology in premium outlets. This AI-driven mirror scans facial features and recommends customised skincare routines. While such tech might seem niche, Kaushik insists it drives business. “Conversion rates improved by 28% in pilot locations,” he says.

More important is the message it sends. Consumers, regardless of city or income, increasingly expect brands to understand them. “The consumer in Guwahati wants the same dignity of experience as the one in Gurugram,” Kaushik explains. That belief is fuelling the company’s ambition to bring tech-based engagement to tier-2 retail stores in 2025.

Kaushik also underscores the shift in how product success is measured. Earlier, the goal was to achieve national volumes quickly. Now, hyperlocal success is equally prized. “If a product sells like hotcakes in Odisha but not in Gujarat, that’s okay,” he says. “It means we’re hitting real needs.”

This model of product design also opens doors for global exports. Some of L’Oreal India’s locally developed products are now being evaluated for launch in other emerging markets. “India is not just a consumer base. It is becoming an innovation base,” Kaushik adds.

The payoff is visible. In the last two years, sales from locally designed and developed products have grown by more than 4%. And with India’s FMCG market projected to touch INR 7-trillion by 2027, Kaushik sees this as just the beginning.

Building innovation that sticks with consumers

Innovation at L’Oreal India does not arrive in quarterly bursts. It is designed to be persistent, intuitive and consumer-centric. Kaushik underscores that the company leads in patents globally, a reflection of its long-term commitment to R&D. But what makes innovation truly sticky, he argues, is how it gets woven into everyday life.

This philosophy has led L’Oreal India to embrace beauty tech that balances fun and function. “We’re the first company to have a makeup add-on in Microsoft Teams,” says Kaushik. “You can go on a video call and try out lipstick.” It is not just a gimmick. It reinforces how the company’s virtual try-on technologies are no longer limited to retail or apps — they are embedded in tools people use daily. It brings the beauty conversation into new contexts, and in doing so, keeps the brand top of mind.

L’Oreal’s AI-powered offerings are built on real consumer needs. The virtual skin diagnosis tool analyses over 100 parameters to recommend customised products. AI in the back end helps R&D teams iterate faster based on feedback loops from dermatologists and salons. Kaushik adds that nearly every new product has a tech-driven layer, whether it is in formulation or user experience.

Beyond product, innovation also touches how the brand is consumed. For instance, in-salon digital tools allow hairstylists to visualise results before treatments. Retail partners use AI dashboards to forecast demand at the SKU level. Kaushik believes these connected systems not only build efficiency, they create customer intimacy.

This also extends to packaging innovation. In India, L’Oreal leads the charge on recyclable and refillable packaging and has introduced QR codes that tell the provenance of ingredients. It is a move towards radical transparency, where even hair colour packs inform users about water consumption and waste impact.

Innovation is not confined to cities. L’Oreal’s low-unit-price sachet strategies, once seen as a necessity for rural markets, are now being evolved with smarter packaging and pricing logic. “The INR 2 shampoo sachet taught us about scale,” says Kaushik. “Today, it teaches us about agility.” It is also a case study in how frugal innovation in India has become a global learning lab for L’Oreal Group.

What ties all these threads together is a belief that innovation is not just invention. It is adaptation, iteration and cultural resonance. Kaushik puts it plainly: “Consumers don’t care about your tech. They care about whether it solves their problem.” In that sentence lies the ethos that makes L’Oréal’s brand promise both high-tech and human.

Embedding inclusion into performance and policy

L’Oreal India’s approach to inclusion is not framed as CSR or optics. It is embedded in operations. “Over 50% of our leadership team is women,” Kaushik shares, adding that this ratio is consistent across functions — from supply chain to marketing to finance.

The company’s parental transition programme ensures new parents, especially mothers, have flexible work options and support. Workshops on unconscious bias, allyship, and gendered language are now regular fixtures across functions. These are not add-ons. They are considered essential to how teams function and communicate.

One innovation Kaushik is proud of is ‘Voice at the Table’ — an anonymous employee suggestion programme. “We received 1,400 ideas in the last cycle. Six of them were implemented and resulted in measurable gains,” he notes. These included improvements in warehouse layout design and content translation for rural outreach campaigns.

The impact of inclusion is also reflected in hard numbers. Teams with high inclusion scores are 23% faster in project delivery and 14% higher in employee retention, according to the company’s internal HR metrics.

Kaushik believes that inclusion must go beyond gender. The company has initiated conversations around neurodiversity, disability inclusion and regional representation. “Diversity without inclusion is a wasted effort,” he says.

In field sales, L’Oreal India has actively recruited women in markets traditionally dominated by men. This includes hiring women beauty advisors and sales representatives in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Assam. “When women see other women representing brands, it changes how they perceive us,” Kaushik says.

More recently, the company has started measuring inclusion as a core performance metric — at par with profitability. “What you measure is what you prioritise,” he notes. Inclusion is now part of quarterly business reviews, ensuring that talk translates into action.

Sustainability beyond slogans and into systems

Kaushik closes his presentation with a strong pitch on sustainability. But rather than vague commitments, he shares data. “We have reduced water consumption per unit by 59% since 2019,” he states. This includes closed-loop systems at L’Oreal’s Baddi plant and rainwater harvesting at regional offices.

Kaushik’s pride in L’Oreal’s sustainability is infectious. “The entire operation of L’Oreal is 100% renewable,” he says, highlighting carbon-neutral offices and factories. The Chakan, Pune plant, visited by some delegates, is set to become 100% water-neutral, recycling all water except for drinking.

L’Oreal’s manufacturing footprint grew 49% in units, yet energy intensity dropped 23%, thanks to efficient machinery, many built by Envision’s attendees. 

Packaging is another major thrust. “We collect back and recycle more plastic than we put in,” Kaushik adds, addressing the packaging industry’s challenge of reducing plastic use. The company aims to ensure that 100% of plastic used is either recyclable, refillable or compostable by 2030. Already, over 82% of its packaging is in compliance. Initiatives like offering refill pouches for shampoos have been well received, especially among digitally aware, price-sensitive consumers.

The company’s ethical sourcing practices are also expanding. Over 95% of its palm oil now comes from RSPO-certified sources. A blockchain pilot to trace mica — a mineral used in cosmetics — is underway to eliminate child labour in its supply chain. “Compliance is not enough. We want transparency,” Kaushik says.

Social sustainability is equally important. L’Oreal runs free skincare education workshops in low-income regions, focusing on adolescent girls. “We want to be part of their confidence-building journey,” Kaushik says. The initiative has already touched 40,000 girls across six states.

Sustainability is also being linked to vendor development. The company now trains and certifies its suppliers on energy use, safety and waste management. Vendors that meet higher sustainability scores get preference in procurement cycles.

These efforts are beginning to show commercial returns. Consumers, especially Gen Z and millennial segments, are more likely to choose L’Oreal because of its sustainability claims, provided they are backed by facts. “Greenwashing doesn’t work anymore. People want proof,” Kaushik says.

Ultimately, Kaushik believes sustainability must be built into every link of the business chain — from product conception to disposal. “It is not a project. It is our licence to operate,” he says.

A call to dream big

Kaushik’s 45-minute talk concludes with a poignant reflection. “There’s a moment in time for each one of us, where we could not read, write, walk or talk.” Yet, through resilience, delegates have built businesses and impacted society. “You can become what you want to become,” he says, inspiring manufacturers to dream big. 

His vision for 3x growth by 2030, built on 1.8-million outlets, 50,000 salons, and 1,100 distributors, is a testament to disciplined growth.

For packaging manufacturers, Kaushik’s journey, from explaining ‘soap-free’ face wash to baffled retailers to building 50,000 salons, offers a playbook. Invest in teams, embrace digital tools, innovate relentlessly, and balance profit with purpose.