This iconic Indian beauty brand has been sold, and Estée Lauder is the buyer

Something interesting is happening in the beauty world, and it involves one of India’s most loved luxury skincare brands. The global cosmetics giant Estée Lauder Companies is planning to deepen its partnership with Forest Essentials, the Delhi-based brand known for its rich Ayurvedic skincare and that unmistakable royal packaging.

So here’s what’s going on. Estée Lauder has announced that it intends to buy an additional 51% stake in Forest Essentials. If everything goes through, that would eventually give the company full ownership. The deal still needs regulatory approvals, and it’s expected to close sometime in the second half of 2026. But this isn’t a sudden move. The two companies have been working together for nearly two decades now. Estée Lauder first invested in Forest Essentials back in 2008 and later increased its holding to 49% in 2020. This new step simply takes that long relationship to the next level.


Forest Essentials itself has quite a story. It was founded in 2000 by entrepreneur Mira Kulkarni, who believed that Ayurveda could sit comfortably in the luxury beauty space. At the time, that idea felt a bit bold. But over the years, the brand slowly built a loyal following. Its products combine traditional Ayurvedic recipes with a modern, high-end feel, and that mix clearly worked. Today the company runs nearly 200 standalone stores and is widely seen as one of the biggest names in India’s prestige skincare market.




And despite the ownership shift, the brand isn’t packing its bags or changing its identity overnight. Kulkarni will continue to lead the company, along with her son Samrath Bedi, who serves as executive director. The headquarters will remain in New Delhi, and the brand will continue to rely on its existing Indian ecosystem - from botanical sourcing to research and in-house manufacturing rooted in Ayurvedic science.

For Estée Lauder, the decision says a lot about how seriously it views the Indian market. Luxury beauty in India has been growing steadily, and global companies clearly see the country as a major opportunity. By bringing Forest Essentials fully into its fold, Estée Lauder is essentially placing a bigger bet on that growth while also preparing to take the brand to new international markets.


But the idea, at least on paper, isn’t to change what people already love about Forest Essentials. The plan is to expand its reach. With Estée Lauder’s global distribution network and experience in scaling beauty brands, Forest Essentials products could soon start appearing in more stores outside India as well.


For Kulkarni, it’s another chapter in a journey that began more than two decades ago. Her dream was always bigger than just building a skincare label. She wanted Luxury Ayurveda to stand proudly on the global beauty stage. And now, with one of the world’s biggest cosmetics companies putting its full weight behind the brand, that dream might travel a lot further than she first imagined.