6 South Asian women on the challenges of establishing a beauty brand overseas

More and more international consumers are embracing Ayurvedic wisdom and inclusivity-forward cosmetics, thereby championing their South Asian culture

There are 281 million migrants around the globe today, and 18 million of those are Indians, according to United Nations estimates from 2020. While the South Asian diaspora has been present across the globe, predominantly in the West, it is only recently that South Asian culture is more prominently represented, especially in the beauty landscape. Previously, beauty was an intimidating, non-inclusive space for women of colour. From being unable to find a nude shade that doesn’t wash out a brown-skinned girl to struggling to find the right match for deeper skin tones, there was very little in terms of representation, and therefore availability.

Over the years, the presence of brown skin-friendly beauty influencers like Deepica Mutayala, Arshia Moorjani, Diipa Khosla-Büller, Monica Ravichandran, Jovita George and many more have created a strong demand for heterogeneity in the Western markets and brands like Maybelline, Estée Lauder and L’Oréal have reciprocated. Moreover, from appreciating Ayurveda to acknowledging the presence of BIPOC-owned (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) and AAPI-founded ( Asian American and Pacific Islander) brands, much has evolved in the Western beauty markets.

The success of brands like Kulfi Beauty, RANAVAT, Live Tinted and Fable & Mane serves as a testament to the changing mindset of a global consumer, making the markets in the West favourable for beauty entrepreneurs—South Asians included. More and more international consumers are embracing Ayurvedic wisdom and inclusivity-forward cosmetics, paving the way for other brands to enter the beauty market by championing their South Asian culture. We speak to the founders of six nascent players who open up about the obstacles that they faced during the initial stages of their business. We tell you why they deserve your attention.

Mango People Cosmetics

Last month, in a first-of-its-kind event, Mango People Cosmetics became the first-ever Ayurvedic make-up brand to launch on Sephora. Founded by Sravya Adusumilli in September 2020, the brand was born out of the need for the perfect MLBB (my lips but better) lipstick for all skin tones. What makes the brand stand out is the user-friendly twist-up packaging in a stick format, except all their products are completely natural—even the pigments derived from fruits such as apples, oranges and cherries. 

The founder, who is also a chemical engineer, aspired to simplify make-up with an array of shades and ingredients like mango butter, orange peel oil and ashwagandha. What’s next? The Multi Stick went viral on TikTok, and Adusumilli won a loyal fanbase among Gen Z, owing to the list of clean ingredients and compact packaging. Despite that, “one of the biggest challenges that we continue to face on a daily basis is the perception held by many that our products are only for South Asians. We worked very hard to create products for all skin types. While the imagery we use on our website and social media consists of a diverse group of models and creators, we still get asked, ‘I am not Indian, can I use your products?’” To break this perception, the brand continues to work with models and creators and showcase its products on as many skin tones and types as possible.

Sachi Skin

If not through your grandmother, you must’ve discovered, or heard of, the many virtues of triphala—a complex of three dried fruits namely amla (Indian gooseberry), behada (Bibhitaki) and harada (Haritaki)—during the Coronavirus pandemic. From improving your skin and hair to boosting immunity and overall well-being, triphala is multi-beneficial, particularly in the case of pigmentation. Beauty blogger and aficionado Farah Bashir tapped the ingredient’s potential and created Triphala Pigment Corrector, her beauty brand Sachi Skin’s first product release. 

Bashir created the brand in 2020 to cater to the needs of all skin states, not types, particularly melanin-rich skin that is often susceptible to pigmentation and unevenness. The complex of Ayurvedic and barrier-fortifying ingredients along with potent actives that make up all four products’ formulations is the UK-based brand’s USP. However, it took time for users to become receptive towards this blend. “Establishing a skincare brand comes with its own set of challenges and, at times, they can become more complex when you’re introducing heritage ingredients or Asian traditions to consumers who may not have prior exposure to them or comprehend their inherent value as transformative,” says Bashir. “However, Sachi Skincare has received praise from the community of researchers and the beauty industry as a whole; they have embraced our approach of blending heritage practices with advancements in dermal science.”

Squigs Beauty

When a beauty editor creates her beauty line, she has an edge over other founders, for she’s been through product trials for years to identify the hits and misses, and poured all the takeaways from the experiences in the preliminary stages of her brand. That’s exactly what Nikita Ramsinghani Charuza did while launching Squigs Beauty in 2022. She started out with two products, Gooseberry Delight Hair Oil—which contains Indian gooseberries to enhance the classic hair-oiling ritual —and Double Shot Face Serum, a universally flattering product comprising niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, glycerin and other indie ingredients such as turmeric and neem to provide anti-inflammatory, anti-acne and nourishing benefits. The US-based brand hopes to make beauty fun, real and effective. The hair oil from the brand has also bagged Byrdie’s Eco Beauty Award last year.

“It’s easy to get pigeonholed when you are a South Asian-owned brand but we’ve really made it our mission to break the mould on what an Indian-inspired brand looks and feels like,” shares Charuza. And, the kitschy packaging of the products testify to her claim. “While it's hard to prove to people that Indian-inspired haircare and skincare deserve its dedicated space like other segments such as K-Beauty, I’m so proud that just a year after launching Squigs, we've won multiple awards. Plus, we're the only South Asian-owned and inspired brand on Urban Outfitters’ shelves.”

Basma Beauty 

It’s viral on the Internet and it has made it to Kourtney Kardashian’s make-up vanity. We’re talking about Basma Beauty’s Foundation Stick, available in 40 shades. Packaged in striking magenta pink cases, the brand’s foundation sticks have piqued the interest of beauty fanatics in a short span of time. It is one of the rare light-to-full coverage foundation sticks that glide like cream and sit like second skin. However, for Basma Hameed, co-founder of the brand, the make-up sticks mean much more than just coverage. As someone who suffered from third-degree burns as an infant, make-up was the ultimate resort for her. When she discovered permanent make-up, Hameed delved deeper and pioneered the Scar Camouflage Procedure, a treatment that involves implanting skin-tone pigments into scar tissue. The skin tone-first versatile foundation sticks are an extension of her efforts to provide everyone with a complexion that bestows confidence.

According to co-founder Parisa Durrani, they did not have to face any separate set of challenges because of our cultural backgrounds; in fact, BASMA has been celebrated because of it. “Representation is so important and the beauty community is actively seeking more diversity—from shade ranges and formulas to the founders developing new brands. Being South Asian and Middle Eastern has allowed us to bring a fresh perspective to everything we do, from brand imagery to product development, and it’s resulted in a key point of differentiation for BASMA Beauty.” At present, Basma Beauty has amassed over 4.4 million likes on TikTok within two years, and it’s easy to tell why. 

Shaz & Kiks

From a clay-based hair cleanser to a chai-based hair spray, sisters and co-founders Kiku Chaudhuri and Shaz Rajashekar have left no stone unturned to convert several Indian kitchen staples and Ayurvedic ingredients into some or the other hair care product under their hair care brand, Shaz & Kiks. The journey of the American brand commenced in 2020 and successfully broke into the clan of Credo clean beauty brands in 2022. The recipes of each of the products are deeply rooted in Indian culture, albeit with a modern twist. For instance, the Back To Your Roots Scalp + Prewash product boasts Ayurvedic ingredients that help with healthier, thicker locks—amla, reetha, shikakai, bhringraj, neem, tulsi and sesame oil among others. It isn’t your typical hair oil but a cream-like textured product that spreads easily and can be washed off sans any hassles. The other products from the brand, such as ‘Nourishing Naram Conditioner’ and ‘Moringa Anti-Breakage Serum with Peptides’ also reflect a similar philosophy and ingredient chemistry.

However, this innovation-first approach didn’t guarantee immediate success. “There is a lot of heavy-lifting in education and really breaking down stereotypes of South Asian culture. We have to work doubly hard in showcasing how something rooted in South Asian tradition is of premium quality and how it is universally beneficial,” begins Chaudhuri. “We get a lot of questions asking if our products are for ‘non-Indian hair’. Honestly, there are a lot of barriers, especially in beauty. You don’t use Provence lavender soap and think it’s only for the French. But such is the mindset that things that are attached to people of colour are only applicable to that group of people. Being one of the first few South Asian-rooted hair care brands in the US, this is definitely challenging but we feel we are really carving out an important path for our culture and community.”

CTZN Cosmetics

For Aleena, Aleezah and Naseeha Khan, who co-founded CTZN Cosmetics, the need for the perfect nude lipstick for every skin tone, including the brownest skin, formed the foundation of their brand back in 2019. Hailing from Pakistan, the sisters were born in Los Angeles and raised in Dubai. They realised that a typical ‘natural beige’ cannot pass as a nude shade across the board, which is why they launched their brand with the ‘Nuniversal collection’, comprising 25 diverse nude shades for every skin tone—from the palest flesh colour to chocolate brown. Over the years, they expanded their lip make-up collection to include lip liners and bullet matte lipsticks too. CTZN Cosmetics also offers dual-ended eyeshadow sticks and a lightweight, clear glow-enhancing balm. 

“As a co-founder of a colour-cosmetics brand, I notice that when mainstream beauty brands attempt to focus more on diversity and inclusion, the South Asian demographic is still overlooked or unaddressed. It feels as though the community is not top of mind and that there is no deep interest in trying to understand our wants, needs and habits,” begins Aleena. “For example, product formulations reflect a lack of comprehension of our undertones and deeper lip tones, which implies that brands are possibly not engaging South Asians within product-testing focus groups. Campaign casting is another strong indication of where a brand’s attention lies, so continuously observing the underrepresentation of South Asian models within mainstream campaigns only reinforces this further. We’re determined to further champion South Asian models and brown-girl-friendly products because our needs are equally important. We won't see change unless we are loud about it.”

Also Read: How entrepreneur Michelle Ranavat re-imagined some of the most time-tested Ayurvedic beauty rituals

Also Read: How make-up brand Kulfi Beauty is trying to reclaim South Asian beauty

Also Read: Here’s how these siblings made traditional Ayurvedic hair rituals a global phenomenon