L’Oréal India is allegedly in talks to take a majority stake in beauty company Innovist.
The beauty giant is rumoured to be in “advanced” talks to acquire the Indian personal care start-up – which owns Bare Anatomy and Vinci Botanicals – to help revive its growth in the region, according to a report by The Economic Times India.
Innovist, previously known as Onesto Labs, was founded in 2018 by Rohit Chawla, Sifat Khurana and Vimal Bhola.
It owns several direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands, including Bare Anatomy, a personalised hair care brand, and Vinci Botanicals, a botanically-infused bath and body care range.
In 2025, Innovist received US$16m Series B investment, which was led by ICICI Venture.
Cosmetics Business has reached out to L’Oréal for comment.
L’Oréal India’s rumoured deal is allegedly valued at approximately Rs 4,000 crore (US$427.45m), read The Economic Times India’s report, which claims to cite insider sources.
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“Discussions have been ongoing for about a year and negotiations are in advanced stages,” the alleged industry source told the publication.
L’Oréal is focused on the Indian market, having recently announced it is investing €350 over the next five years to create its first global Beauty Tech Hub in the region.
This hub will be a flagship centre for creating the beauty giant’s artificial intelligence- (AI) powered beauty innovations and services.
L’Oréal CEO Nicolas Hieronimus also revealed in summer 2025 that the business is planning to more than double its India operations over the next few years.
At the time, he stated that India is a key market for the group, and one of the world's fastest-growing beauty markets.
As part of this pledge, L’Oréal made two senior leadership appointments in the region in July 2025.
Aseem Kaushik was named Chairman of L’Oréal India, while Jacques Lebel took on the role of L’Oréal India Country Manager.
Lead image caption: L'Oréal building.
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