MAM
Women’s Day 2026: The women rewriting India’s beauty economy through science, trust and innovation
Science, trust and innovation drive transformation led by female entrepreneurs.
MUMBAI: The Indian beauty and wellness industry is undergoing one of its most significant transformations in decades. Once dominated by aspirational advertising and celebrity endorsements, the sector is now evolving into a far more complex ecosystem driven by science, credibility, ethics, and consumer awareness.
Today’s beauty consumer is no longer passive. They read ingredient labels, question exaggerated marketing claims, and seek expert backed guidance before investing in products or treatments. As a result, brands are being pushed to move beyond aesthetic storytelling toward deeper credibility.
Interestingly, many of the leaders driving this transformation are women.
Across skincare science, luxury product manufacturing, brand experience design, and aesthetic medicine, women entrepreneurs and experts are redefining how beauty businesses are built in India. Their approach reflects a broader shift within the industry where authority is increasingly earned through expertise, transparency, and responsible communication rather than traditional advertising narratives.
In many ways, the beauty industry is moving from a marketing economy to a trust economy.
One example of this shift can be seen in the rise of Indian luxury personal care brands that are competing globally through product quality, sustainability, and storytelling rooted in authenticity.
At Kimirica, a luxury bath and body care brand present across thousands of international hotels, Co-founder and Head of Brand Experience Kimi Jain has played a key role in shaping how the brand communicates with modern consumers.
For her, brand building is no longer about simply selling products but about creating emotional and sensory experiences that reflect deeper values.
“Women are rebuilding today’s workplace in ways that make us rethink power, authority, and leadership,” she says.
Within Kimirica, women represent a significant portion of the workforce across formulation, manufacturing, brand, and retail teams. This diversity of perspectives influences not just product development but also how the brand interacts with consumers.
As she explains, the presence of different voices within leadership structures naturally leads to decision making that is more thoughtful, balanced, and inclusive.
In an industry where brand narratives are often shaped by perception, the credibility of those narratives increasingly depends on what happens behind the scenes.
That is where operational leadership becomes equally important.
Rica Jain, Co-founder and Head of Quality Assurance, Systems and Process Optimization at Kimirica, approaches the beauty industry through the lens of scientific rigor and manufacturing precision. With a background in medicinal chemistry, she oversees formulation testing, quality control, and product integrity across the company’s growing portfolio.
“When you master your craft, confidence follows naturally,” she says.
For Rica, leadership in manufacturing is about consistency and expertise. Every ingredient, formulation, and production process must meet high standards before it reaches consumers.
This emphasis on technical depth reflects a broader evolution within the beauty industry. Consumers today expect brands to demonstrate scientific credibility rather than rely solely on marketing language.
In many ways, product integrity has become the most powerful form of storytelling.
This increasing demand for science backed skincare is also shaping a new generation of Indian beauty entrepreneurs who are challenging conventional industry narratives.
Rachna Bahadur, Founder of precision skincare brand Flout, entered the beauty sector after a successful career as a Partner at Bain & Company. Her transition into entrepreneurship was driven by a realization that the global skincare industry had overlooked the unique biological realities of Indian skin.
Indian skin, she explains, is often melanin rich, more prone to hyperpigmentation, and exposed to high environmental stress. Yet many international skincare brands design products primarily for Western skin profiles.
At the same time, several domestic beauty brands rely heavily on traditional or “natural” positioning without rigorous clinical validation.
Flout was created to bridge that gap.
Under Bahadur’s leadership, every product undergoes in vivo clinical trials conducted specifically on Indian women aged between 35 and 60. The brand combines dermatologist grading, instrumentation testing, and high-resolution imaging to evaluate results.
This scientific approach also brings attention to an often-overlooked conversation within the beauty industry: the impact of hormonal transitions such as perimenopause and menopause on long term skin health.
By addressing these biological realities openly, Bahadur is contributing to a shift away from outdated “anti-ageing” narratives toward a more empowering and evidence-based understanding of skin longevity.
The intersection of science, wellness, and beauty is also reshaping the field of aesthetic medicine.
In recent years, the popularity of cosmetic treatments has grown rapidly in India, driven in part by social media trends and the increasing visibility of aesthetic procedures. However, this rise has also created new conversations around ethics, patient education, and responsible treatment practices.
Dr. Aisshwarya Panddit, Celebrity Cosmetic Doctor and Founder of AuraEdge Aesthetic and Wellness, represents a new generation of aesthetic physicians advocating a more medically grounded approach to beauty.
Widely recognised as “Doctor Beautiful,” she has built her practice around consultation led care, preventive aesthetics, and subtle enhancements that prioritise long term skin health.
“Aesthetic medicine should enhance confidence, not replace identity,” she says. “Responsible storytelling in beauty begins with honesty about what treatments can and cannot do.”
Her philosophy stands in contrast to the exaggerated cosmetic trends often amplified through social media filters and viral beauty culture.
Instead, she champions facial harmonisation, micro dosing techniques, regenerative treatments, and collagen preservation strategies that focus on maintaining skin quality rather than dramatically altering appearance.
Increasingly, this approach resonates with younger audiences who are moving away from unrealistic beauty ideals and toward authenticity.
Together, these diverse leadership perspectives reveal a deeper shift within India’s beauty ecosystem.
The industry is no longer defined solely by advertising campaigns or celebrity endorsements. It is being shaped by entrepreneurs, scientists, and medical professionals who are building brands rooted in expertise, research, and responsibility.
On this International Women’s Day, the stories of leaders like Kimi Jain, Rica Jain, Rachna Bahadur, and Dr. Aisshwarya Panddit highlight how women are not only participating in India’s beauty industry but actively redefining its future.
They are building companies where creativity is balanced with credibility, where storytelling is backed by science, and where leadership reflects a deeper understanding of consumer trust.
In doing so, they are helping shape a new beauty economy for India.
One where confidence is not manufactured through advertising.
It is built through knowledge, integrity, and authenticity.
MAM
Filmcity Media CFO Mohit Jain quits; CEO Kirti Vishnu Tiwari takes charge of finance
Board appoints Prabhat Modi as additional director and approves Rs 1.9 crore preferential share issue
MUMBAI: Filmcity Media has reshuffled its top deck. Chief financial officer Mohit Jain has stepped down, prompting the board to hand the finance reins to chief executive Kirti Vishnu Tiwari even as the company lines up fresh capital and new boardroom muscle.
In a regulatory filing to the BSE, Filmcity Media said Jain resigned from the roles of director and chief financial officer with effect from March 11, 2026, to pursue another career opportunity. He ceased to be a key managerial personnel of the company at the close of business on that date.
The board swiftly moved to plug the gap, appointing Kirti Vishnu Tiwari as chief financial officer from March 12, 2026. Tiwari, who already serves as executive director and chief executive, will now hold the combined role of executive director, CEO and CFO, taking charge of the company’s finance function while continuing to lead operations.
The leadership changes were approved by the board following recommendations from the nomination and remuneration committee, with the audit committee also backing Tiwari’s appointment as CFO to ensure governance oversight. Under the arrangement, Tiwari will continue as a key managerial personnel under Section 203 of the Companies Act, 2013.
Filmcity Media also expanded its board, appointing Prabhat Modi as additional director with effect from March 13, 2026, for a term of five years. The appointment, categorised as a non-executive non-independent directorship, will require shareholder approval at the next general meeting.
Modi brings capital market experience to the role. He holds a B.Sc in accounting and finance from the University of Essex in the United Kingdom and a PGDM from the National Institute of Securities Market. His professional experience includes stints at SBI Mutual Fund, BSE India and Morningstar India, where he worked on market research, financial analysis and capital market operations.
Tiwari, meanwhile, brings experience spanning finance, marketing and hospitality. A graduate of Lucknow University, she has previously worked with Hotel Holiday Inn, Hotel Leela Kempenski and Hotel Sea Rock, along with roles at Pawan Hans Helicopter and CBRE South Asia.
Separately, the board also approved a preferential issue of equity shares to members of the promoter and promoter group as well as non-promoter investors. The proposed fundraising, subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to raise up to Rs 1.9 crore.
The company said both appointees meet all regulatory requirements under SEBI regulations and the Companies Act and are not barred by any regulatory authority from holding their positions.
With a new board face, a CEO doubling as CFO and fresh capital on the table, Filmcity Media appears to be tightening its leadership and balance sheet in one swift move.
