Bain & Company and DSG Consumer Partners reveal how insurgents are driving 4x faster growth and redefining beauty in India
Mumbai, July 21, 2025: Insurgent beauty and personal care (BPC) brands in India are rewriting the rules of the industry, growing more than 4 times faster than the broader BPC market compared to FY19, according to insights shared by Bain & Company in collaboration with DSG Consumer Partners. Eleven BPC insurgents have now made it to the prestigious Insurgex Index, highlighting their meteoric rise.
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These 44 shortlisted insurgent brands have collectively scaled to nearly $1 billion in revenue within five years—surpassing the size of several incumbent beauty companies. They’ve done so by capturing an affluent, digitally-forward, beauty-centric consumer base that spends 10X more on beauty than the average consumer while embracing new formats and benefits at a faster pace.
“Insurgent brands have reshaped the BPC landscape—building new consumer partitions like clean beauty and actives, accelerating nascent formats such as serums and sunscreens, and pushing the limits on premiumization and digital-driven adoption,” said Rohit Shankar, Partner at Bain & Company.
He added, “These insurgents have developed a distinctive winning formula, setting new benchmarks in digital marketing, digital commerce, and innovation. For example, on a leading e-commerce platform, more than 50% of revenue in select sub-categories now comes from products launched in just the last 4 years. As they scale, the playbook for the next ₹500 Cr or ₹1000 Cr will need to evolve—especially around portfolio management and demand generation.”
The Insurgent Advantage: Speed, Innovation, and Smarter Scaling
Key insights into their success include:
Unaided awareness among affluent consumers, even beyond metro cities
A ‘stage-gate’ innovation model, where multiple products are launched with minimal investment, and only proven winners are scaled
Rapid category reshaping, driven by data-driven decisions, fast product cycles,and smarter scaling strategies
While insurgents are still in the early stages of their scaling journey, they require a different growth playbook than traditional incumbents, striking a balance between evolution and preserving the unique traits that made them successful.
About DSG Consumer Partners
Founded in 2012 by Deepak Shahdadpuri, DSG Consumer Partners is the first venture capital firm focused exclusively on consumer brands across India and Southeast Asia. Backed by over $300 million in assets, DSG has partnered with 80+ brands, including Veeba, Arata, Farmley, Chai Point, Epigamia, Ugaoo, Deconstruct, Go Zero, and Sleepy Owl. The firm provides patient capital and a brand-first approach, prioritizing sustainable growth over hyper-scaling.
About Bain & Company
Bain & Company is a leading global consultancy working alongside the world’s most ambitious changemakers to redefine industries and deliver sustainable impact. Operating in 65 cities across 40 countries, Bain combines integrated expertise with a vibrant ecosystem of digital innovators. Since 1973, Bain has consistently set benchmarks for client success and industry-leading advocacy.
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