Once upon a not-so-distant 2022, India’s beauty shelves looked like a Pinterest board of Scandi minimalism, soft beige palettes, sleek fonts, and packaging so understated you almost whispered when you picked it up. Fast forward to 2025, and it’s a different mood altogether. Beauty brands are strutting out in bold colours, layered textures, and packaging that’s selfie-ready straight out of the shopping bag.
And this isn’t a case of everyone going rogue with neon, it’s a calculated, consumer-driven shift rooted in market opportunity, Gen Z’s visual appetite, and the industry’s own growth curve. The Indian cosmetic packaging market was worth USD 3.66 billion in 2024 and is projected to touch USD 5 billion by 2033 (IMARC Group). Personal care packaging alone is on track to grow from USD 0.92 billion in 2024 to USD 1.48 billion by 2030 at an impressive 8.01% CAGR (Mordor Intelligence). That’s a lot of room to make a visual statement.
“The design concept was driven by an evolving consumer landscape, particularly the growing influence of Gen Z,” says Harmeet Singh, Chief Brand Officer, The Body Shop Asia South, about the brand’s India-inspired Bath & Body range The India Edit. The line launched in 2024 with colourful, vibrant packaging to “celebrate the vibrancy, diversity, and creativity of modern India while staying rooted in our ethical and sustainable ethos.”
It’s a sentiment echoed by Vidushi Goyal, CMO, Swiss Beauty, who notes: “Today’s beauty shoppers are drawn to products that reflect their individuality and stand out visually, whether on shelves or social media.” For Swiss Beauty, that meant evolving from strict minimalism to designs with “dynamic colour palettes, layered graphics, and richer visual textures” while still keeping the core brand assets intact.
At Mila Beaute, co-founder and CEO Saahil Nayar puts it plainly: “We swapped sleek minimalism for colors that pop, just like the product and purpose inside.” But even with the vibrancy, brands are careful not to lose usability. Nayar points out that their bright monoboxes also double as storytellers, calling out hydration, SPF, or nontransfer benefits upfront.
One part of the answer is economics. Globally, the cosmetic packaging market was worth USD 58.8 billion in 2024 and is projected to hit USD 88.2 billion by 2034 (Global Market Insights). Premium packaging, where these vibrant designs often live, accounts for 39% of a USD 5.4 billion segment in 2025, set to grow to USD 8.6 billion by 2035 (Future Market Insights). In India, where retail is increasingly omnichannel and e-commerce thrives, a product has seconds to stand out on a scroll or a shelf.
Another driver? The rise of “minis”, smaller, more affordable formats popular among first-time buyers and Gen Z shoppers. These tiny packs need strong visual identity to be remembered, making bold, playful packaging a natural fit.
While long-term sales impact is still being measured, early signs are encouraging. Goyal points to “stronger visual interest across retail touchpoints” and “more user-generated content and shares,” especially in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities where impulse buys are often driven by eye-catching visuals. Nayar says the moment they “dialed up the vibe,” the brand saw more unboxings and social media stories.
All three leaders agree: this isn’t a seasonal whim. “A long-term evolution rather than a short-lived cycle,” Singh says of The India Edit. Goyal frames it as keeping pace with consumer mood: “We believe it’s a longer-term shift.”
Nayar is even more emphatic: “We’re betting on it being beautiful forever.
From muted minimalism to vibrant maximalism, Indian beauty brands aren’t just chasing trends, they’re redesigning the language of the shelf, one bold box at a time. As Nayar puts it, “We’re not just dressing up our products, we’re dressing up the mood, and if that means beauty gets a little louder, we’re all for it.”
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