India’s beauty and personal care market is no longer just growing; it is being culturally reimagined. According to a RedSeer report titled India BPC 2030: Growth, Shifts, and Opportunities, the sector is on track to become a $40 billion opportunity by 2030, up from roughly $23 billion by fiscal 2025. But it’s not just the top line that matters. What stands out is how Gen Z and Gen Alpha are reshaping demand, discovery and delivery.

This is not a cyclical upswing driven solely by revenue or distribution. It’s a behavioral reset, which is reconfiguring the consumer journey from the ground up.

Not just online: behaviorally online

India’s beauty shopping landscape has changed dramatically in recent years. E-commerce represented only a small fraction of total beauty spending a few years ago. Today, it’s approaching a significant share of about a fifth, and Redseer projects that it will dominate more than a third of beauty sales by 2030. Much of this growth isn’t just happening in traditional markets; it’s happening where consumption meets immediacy.

Enter the fast trade.

What was once the realm of groceries and essentials is now a major driver of beauty growth. According to the report, flash commerce could expand from contributing about 15% of online beauty sales today to nearly 40% by 2030, becoming the largest online format in the category. Impulse buys, replenishment buys and trend-driven orders are increasingly happening not in weekly shopping baskets, but in real-time moments.

This change reflects more than convenience; it reflects a change in mentality inherent in younger consumers.

How are Generation Z and Generation Alpha driving this change?

According to Redseer, by the end of the decade, Gen Z and Gen Alpha are expected to account for roughly half of all beauty spending in India. This projection is not just statistics. It indicates a generational takeover of category culture.

What distinguishes these cohorts?

• Digital native discovery: Instead of browsing in stores, product discovery happens in channels, through influencers, reviews, viral trends and short videos.

• Intent meets immediacy: products go from “something I want” to “something I’m buying now” in minutes, often in the same swipe.

• Identity-driven consumption: Beauty is not just functional; is expressive Ingredients, ethics, brand ethos and community are important.

The report’s perspective on demographic change matches the broader trends of social media penetration in India, already over half a million users and expected to grow further, creating an ecosystem where trends don’t run out; explode sideways

Next Generation Brands Ride the Wave

This shift in behavior has opened up opportunities for newer digital native brands. Redseer estimates that more than 150 new-age brands are likely to exceed 100 million rubles in revenue by 2031, with several brands poised to break the 1 billion mark.

These brands are not only rising; they are reshaping category norms, leveraging creator-led marketing, community engagement and cross-platform distribution instead of legacy mass advertising and offline networks.

In contrast, India’s beauty ecosystem historically saw only about 20 brands cross Rs 1.5 billion in revenue, a reflection of the structural hurdles that limited scale in the past.

What does this mean for the market?

The implications of this change extend beyond shared formats and revenue projections:

• Immediacy is the new standard: beauty is no longer a planned ritual, it’s a spur-of-the-moment purchase in sync with how Gen Z lives, buys and connects.

• Digital ecosystems shape preferences: Social platforms have become the primary discovery channels, often ahead of traditional advertising or in-store experiences.

• Value and speed matter: Fast trading thrives not only on speed, but on the agility to match emerging microtrends with instant execution.

In other words, growth is not just about the size of the market, but the speed and difference with which it is being experienced.