Southeast Asia, India are ‘next gold rush’ for luxury beauty brands

The luxury beauty markets in the markets will reach $7.6b by 2026.

International brands should set their footprint in “fast-emerging” Southeast Asia and India markets over the next decade as they will likely secure higher capital returns and business development.

In a statement, Kearney said the luxury beauty markets in Southeast Asia and India are expected to increase by $7.6b by 2026, with an 11% compound annual growth rate from 2021.

“Compared to the estimated global luxury beauty industry growth rate of between 4% and 6%, the region is clearly the place to invest in and the place to be,” Kearney said.

“There is no more time to delay. Brands that hope to capitalize on and dominate the region need to enter now,” it added.

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These markets are also nearing an inflection point and will see double-digit growth in the luxury beauty segment within a decade, conditions which could result in the rise of local beauty brands. 

As local beauty brands belong to the masstige category, Kearney said this allows international brands to penetrate the luxury beauty segment.

Kearney said international brands will continue to dominate Southeast Asia and India’s luxury beauty markets.

Local brands accounted for up to 40% of the segment in mature markets, compared to emerging markets where local luxury brands have a much lower presence.

“As observed in the growth journey of the China, Japan, and South Korea luxury beauty markets, we find that homegrown luxury beauty brands tend to emerge and compete against international ones as a market matures,” Kearney said. 

“We believe SEA and India are still far from this point—and therein lies a limited but timely window of golden opportunity for global luxury beauty brands,” it added.