Sephora, L’Oréal And Armani Want South Asian Beauty’s Seal Of Approval

For years, South Asian consumers in Britain have been an afterthought in beauty: shade ranges that stopped short, campaigns that didn’t reflect them and products that ignored the rituals many grew up with. On September 21, the inaugural South Asian Beauty Collective Awards , founded by Aarti Pal and supported by the British Beauty Council, set out to change that. Hosted by ITV presenter Ranvir Singh at London’s The May Fair Hotel, the evening handed out 13 awards across retail, digital engagement, product innovation, service, wellbeing, community impact and representation.

The winners read like a cross-section of global beauty. Sephora took the Retail Excellence Award and L’Oréal Paris won for Digital Engagement. Armani Beauty’s Luminous Silk Foundation received the Inclusive Beauty Award, presented by Qatar Duty Free, while Indian Ayurvedic brand Kama Ayurveda won the South Asian Beauty Excellence Award.

That mix is the story: multinational conglomerates and South Asian-founded businesses competing in the same room for recognition from a community that has long been underserved.

“Many brands connect with audiences across South Asia, yet there is still an opportunity to build stronger relationships with British South Asian consumers here in the UK. We want these awards to be a wake-up call.” Aarti Pal, Founder South Asian Beauty Collective

A market too big to overlook

People identifying as Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh made up 9.3% of the population of England and Wales in the 2021 Census, around 5.5 million people, up from 7.5% and 4.2 million a decade earlier. Across the UK, the largest South Asian communities are of Indian heritage (roughly 1.93 million), followed by Pakistani (about 1.66 million) and Bangladeshi (about 652,000). Across these groups spending is substantial, and often underserved. The Black Pound Report 2022 , promoted by the British Beauty Council, valued health and beauty spending by the UK’s multi-ethnic consumers at £2.7 billion a year based on figures from 2018, roughly a tenth of the £27.2 billion the Council estimates Britons spend on beauty overall. These shoppers spend 25% more on health and beauty than others, partly because 22% must rely on specialist shops to find what they need. And 59% say they are more likely to buy from a brand with an inclusive range. Ethnic disaggregated data is needed to demonstrate the potential of the skincare market by ethnicity for persons of colour. A 2022 WPP study of 8,300 people, including 2,000 South Asians, projects that minority ethnic groups will make up almost a third of UK adults by 2061, representing a £10.5 billion-a-year beauty opportunity.

“Representation and inclusion are vital to building a beauty industry that reflects the communities it serves.” Millie Kendall OBE, CEO of the British Beauty Council.

A platform built on a commercial argument

The Collective was founded to push for greater representation, opportunity and cultural understanding across British beauty. It positions itself as a bridge between communities and brands, retailers and decision-makers, championing emerging founders and urging brands to engage South Asian consumers year-round rather than through one-off campaigns.

“The ambition was never simply to create greater visibility for the South Asian community,” Pal said. “It was to help create meaningful, lasting change within the British beauty industry, opening doors, creating opportunities and ensuring that a community which has contributed so much culturally and commercially to beauty has a voice within it.”

She frames the awards as proof of economic weight, not just cultural visibility. “Our winners reflect the influence and commercial impact of South Asian beauty across the UK,” she said, calling the event “a defining moment for British beauty.”

Pal describes South Asian beauty as focused on nourishment and root causes, addressing concerns such as pigmentation, sensitivity, scalp health and hair density. Those needs have long gone unmet on the high street. South Asian founders spent years developing shade ranges for brown skin that rarely reached major retailers’ shelves. That pattern is only now shifting, as brands such as Kulfi Beauty move into Space NK.

Founders and creators alongside the giants

Beyond the big brands, the awards spotlighted entrepreneurs building South Asian beauty from the ground up. Rosemin Beauty was voted People’s Choice South Asian Founded Beauty Brand, and Sebina Hussain was named People’s Choice South Asian Beauty Creator. Nikita Patel of BEBI received the Rising Star Mentorship Award in partnership with Fable & Mane . Mira Manek took the Holistic Wellbeing Award, presented by Kama Ayurveda.

Service businesses were also recognized. Blink Brow Bar won the South Asian Beauty Service Award, the business provides the traditional art of threading and brow care, which South Asian practitioners helped bring to the British high street. The House of Creed received the Community Service Award. The fragrance company sources premium ingredients from India, Sri Lanka and China, is now owned by L’Oréal following its €4 billion acquisition of Kering Beauté. “It is a real honour to have our commitment to community recognised in this way,” said Rory Jordan, general manager, UK & Ireland, L’Oréal New Luxury Brands.

Honoring the people who opened doors

Kendall received the Beauty Icon Award, presented by Armani Beauty. Author and journalist Anita Bhagwandas won the Breaking Barriers Award. Actor and writer Dame Meera Syal , whose work has shaped how British South Asian life is portrayed on screen for decades, received The Collective Award.

“Representation matters because it helps people feel seen and creates space for those who follow,” Meera Syal

Guests included actors Priya Kansara, Priya Davdra and Nikkita Chadha, entrepreneur Eshita Kabra-Davies, Dragons’ Den’s Abhilasha Bhohi, musician Anoushka Shankar and chef Asma Khan.

What it signals for the industry

Awards rarely change an industry on their own. What they can do is set a benchmark, and brands pay attention to benchmarks tied to consumers with spending power. Multi-ethnic shoppers already account for roughly a tenth of UK beauty spending. Against that backdrop, the presence of Sephora, Armani Beauty and L’Oréal Paris as winners, and in several cases as partners, suggests the majors now see South Asian consumers as a market to earn rather than a niche to acknowledge.

Pal calls the first year “just the beginning of building a more visible, representative and connected future for South Asian beauty.” The harder test is whether that visibility turns into year-round decisions on:

  • Product development
  • Shade ranges
  • Shelf space

The real test is how the moment creates investment in founders serving the burgeoning market for South Asian beauty brands.