MUMBAI: Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla’s eldest daughter, Ananya Birla, is foraying into the multi-billion dollar beauty and personal care business, marking her third entrepreneurial venture after artificial intelligence and microfinance.
The brand names of her makeup, fragrances and other product lines, as well as other details, are being kept under wraps. This move will put her in competition with Reliance Industries (where the beauty and lifestyle segments are led by chairman Mukesh Ambani’s daughter, Isha Ambani), Tatas, HUL, and L’Oreal.
Ananya’s company – Birla Cosmetics – will launch the beauty and personal care brands this year. The 30-year-old, who is the brand ambassador of Maybelline (owned by L’Oreal) is banking on the potential of the beauty and personal care business projected to reach $34 billion by 2028, with a growth rate of 10-11%, driven by rising disposable incomes, deeper e-commerce penetration, and growing consumer openness to new products.
Apart from Ananya, her mother Neeraj Birla, sister Advaitesha Birla and manager Akshita Shah are directors of Birla Cosmetics, which was established on July 26, 2023, according to filings with the corporate affairs ministry.
In recent years, many business and entertainment personalities have entered the beauty and personal care segment. In Feb 2023, Reliance Industries launched Tira, a platform that sells makeup, skincare, haircare and fragrances. A year later, actress Nayanthara and others launched a skincare brand called 9Skin.
At the age of 17, Ananya launched Svatantra Microfin, which is now the second-largest player in the microfinance sector. Recently, she introduced a Beta version of Sophius, a homegrown AI platform unveiled at IIT Bombay, with plans for a national rollout. In addition to her entrepreneurial ventures, Ananya is a director of several Aditya Birla Group companies, including Hindalco, Grasim and Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail.
About The Author
