

Estée Lauder completes Forest Essentials buy, cements its big bet on India's booming luxury beauty market
The Estée Lauder Companies has signed an agreement to acquire the stake it doesn’t already own in Indian luxury beauty company Forest Essentials, with the transaction expected to close in the second half of 2026, said Stéphane de La Faverie, president and chief executive officer of The Estée Lauder Companies.The deal completes an 18-year partnership with the luxury Ayurveda brand, which was founded by Mira Kulkarni.Forest Essentials sells Ayurvedic skincare and haircare products and competes with premium labels such as Kama Ayurveda. Estée Lauder had a 49% stake in the company in 2013, which it increased from a 20% stake it took in 2008.Speaking to Mint, La Faverie, said, “Today, this brand is the leader in prestige skincare in India, which is still a very small segment of the larger beauty business in India.
It has about 200 freestanding stores and has been able to grow net sales in low double digits. We expect to continue to do that and India is becoming an increasingly bigger contributor to the growth algorithm and we are going to accelerate growth here, and help shape the future of prestige beauty here,” de La Faverie said.Estée Lauder manufactures, sells and distributes brands such as M·A·C, Bobbi Brown, Too Faced and Clinique.
The acquisition is part of Estée Lauder’s broader push in emerging markets. It expects India to be one of its largest emerging markets and is a "priority" market, including Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Middle East, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand and Turkey.“Emerging markets are very important for us as a whole, and within emerging markets, India is among our largest,” de La Faverie said.India’s premium beauty market remains small relative to developed markets, accounting
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