Kay Beauty is about embracing your real self. It’s not about covering your skin, it’s about enhancing your natural beauty and feeling confident in it.
I wanted to create a brand that celebrates real skin, real beauty, and real confidence- Katrina Kaif
Company Name: Key Beauty
Headquarters: Mumbai
Sector: Cosmetics, Beauty, Personal Care
Founder: Katrina Kaif
Founded: 2021
Website: keybeauty.in
Key Beauty is a premium, clean, and minimalistic beauty brand created to simplify makeup for modern consumers. Unlike heavy, full-coverage beauty trends, the brand focuses on “skin-first, makeup-second”, encouraging users to enhance their natural features rather than hide them. The products are vegan, cruelty-free, dermatologically tested, and specially designed to suit Indian skin tones, weather conditions, and lifestyle needs. This philosophy has helped the brand quickly position itself as a modern, confidence-driven beauty label.
Key Beauty was founded by Katrina Kaif in strategic partnership with Nykaa, which manages the brand’s manufacturing, distribution, and retail operations. Katrina has played a hands-on role in the brand’s journey, from shade selection and product testing to brand positioning and campaign strategy. This combination of celebrity vision and Nykaa’s strong beauty ecosystem has been a key factor behind the brand’s rapid growth and credibility.
The idea for Key Beauty came from Katrina’s personal experience working in the film and fashion industry, where she observed that most international products did not cater well to Indian skin tones and climate. She identified a gap for a brand that could deliver global-quality formulations with local relevance.
The brand went through nearly two years of research and development, focusing on texture, long-wear performance, and inclusive shade ranges. Launched in 2021 , Key Beauty entered the market with a curated product range, focusing on quality over quantity — a strategy that helped it build strong early customer trust.
Mission: The mission of Key Beauty is to simplify beauty routines by offering high-performance products that are easy to use and suitable for everyday wear. The brand aims to promote self-confidence, authenticity, and effortless beauty.
Vision: Its long-term vision is to become a globally recognized Indian beauty brand, representing modern, inclusive, and minimal beauty standards.
Key Beauty follows a direct-to-consumer (D2C) and platform-led model, with Nykaa acting as its primary sales and distribution partner. The brand initially adopted an online-first strategy, leveraging Nykaa’s strong digital presence and customer base to scale quickly.
It operates in the premium pricing segment, focusing on limited but high-quality product launches to maintain exclusivity and brand value. Over time, the brand has also expanded into offline retail through Nykaa stores, strengthening its omnichannel presence.
COVID-19 Launch: The brand was only a few months old when the pandemic hit, forcing a pivot to a strictly digital-first strategy.
Crowded Market: Competing against affordable local giants like Sugar Cosmetics and luxury international brands like Estée Lauder.
Celebrity Stigma: Overcoming the "vanity brand" perception by proving product efficacy through professional makeup artist (MUA) endorsements.
Key Beauty is not an independent venture-funded startup. Instead, it operates as a strategic partnership brand under Nykaa, which provides investment support, supply chain infrastructure, and market access. The brand benefits from Nykaa’s established ecosystem rather than raising separate external funding.
Kay Beauty hasn’t just existed — it has thrived. Here are the figures:
| Fiscal Year | Metric | Performance Highlights |
| FY2024 | Annual Revenue | Crossed the ₹200 crore milestone. |
| FY2025 | Gross Merchandise Value | Scaled to ₹240 crore GMV. |
| FY2026 | Gross Sales | Reached ₹350 crore (46% YoY growth), ranking in Nykaa’s Top 5. |
Furthermore, the brand’s expansion into the UAE (Nysaa) and the UK (Cult Beauty) indicates a strategic shift toward the Indian diaspora and international consumers seeking "clean-beauty" alternatives from the East.
Kay Beauty isn’t just online — it’s now stocked in over 300 retail outlets across 1,600+ cities.
In recent years, Kay Beauty has expanded internationally — launching in the UAE and even the UK, extending its global footprint beyond India.
The brand follows a joint ownership structure between Katrina Kaif and Nykaa. However, the exact shareholding distribution has not been publicly disclosed.
Since its launch, Key Beauty has experienced strong brand recall and rapid customer adoption, driven by its clean positioning and celebrity credibility. The brand’s complexion products, lip range, and everyday essentials have received particularly strong demand.
Its presence has expanded from online exclusivity to multiple Nykaa offline stores, helping the brand reach a wider audience across India.
Revenue: Not disclosed separately (included within Nykaa’s overall brand portfolio performance).
Profit/Loss: Not publicly disclosed.
The brand’s marketing strategy revolves around authenticity, minimal beauty, and founder-led storytelling. Katrina Kaif plays a central role in campaigns, product demonstrations, and brand communication, creating a strong emotional connection with consumers.
Key Beauty also leverages social media, influencer collaborations, tutorials, and content marketing to highlight real skin, everyday use, and clean beauty values rather than heavily edited or glam-heavy promotions.
Within a short time of its launch, Key Beauty has been recognized as one of India’s fast-growing celebrity beauty brands. The brand has received strong customer ratings, industry attention, and features in major beauty and fashion platforms.
Key Beauty operates in a competitive premium beauty segment alongside:
These brands compete on pricing, distribution reach, and product innovation.
Looking ahead, Key Beauty aims to expand its product portfolio into skincare and hybrid makeup-skincare categories. The brand is also focused on increasing its offline retail footprint, strengthening its omnichannel presence, and eventually entering international markets.
With its strong foundation, celebrity leadership, and Nykaa’s ecosystem support, Key Beauty is positioning itself to become a global Indian beauty brand in the coming years.
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