At 13, Mumbai-based Anoushka Poddar realised that teen-specific products were largely overlooked in the personal care market. Adult skincare irritated her, and the kids’ range wasn’t effective enough. Recognising the gap, she launched Snazz in 2022, a clean, teen-specific personal care brand, after securing Rs 30,000 from the Young Entrepreneurs Academy, a programme to groom budding entrepreneurs.
Poddar’s brand offers sulphate- and paraben-free shampoos and conditioners tailored to adolescent scalps and hair. Snazz will soon expand into sunscreens and lip balms for oily and dry skin types. With 15-16% annual growth, Snazz is gaining strong traction in metro cities where awareness around clean beauty and age-appropriate care is rising. “My goal is to build a complete range that grows with teens, even tailoring products by more specific age ranges within adolescence. Since we are not a mass market brand, we have limited SKUs like shampoos and conditioners in two different sizes, aimed at teen skin type,” says Poddar, now 17, eyeing a Rs 250 crore turnover within the next five years.
Teen First, Science Forward
Snazz is part of a rising wave of teen-first personal care brands in India, a country with the largest Gen-Z population in the world, approximately 377 million people aged 10-27 years. According to Technavio, the global teen personal care market is set to grow by $11.86 billion by 2029, at a CAGR of 6.5%. In India, the beauty and personal care (BPC) industry is projected to touch $30-35 billion by 2030. Teenagers account for at least 15% of India’s BPC market and their influence is only growing.
Like Snazz, Sammmm was launched by Rishi Seth and Mantosh Roy in 2024, and has taken a community-first approach. Sammmm’s formulations include hybrid beauty products like blush balms, mascara-serum duos, acne patches, and microneedle innovations, all tailored for young, evolving skin. Sammmm plans to become a Rs 1,000-crore brand by 2030 with the strategy—let teens lead. “Teens aren’t just our audience, they’re our collaborators. They care about ingredients, routines, and results, but this is also a generation who are deeply value-driven; they expect the brands they patronise to be ethical, inclusive, and culturally resonant,” adds Seth, who has roped in a panel of over 400 young co-creators to test and review new launches.
More Than Beauty—It’s Identity
For Vidya Madhavan, co-founder of Y Play Z, the driving force to start her brand was personal. Watching her teen daughter struggle with adult skincare misinformation on social media, she realised the market lacked clinically-backed, age-appropriate solutions. After extensive research, Y Play Z launched FOMO, an anti-dandruff shampoo; Clear Club, an acne-safe moisturiser; and Slide & Glide, a deo stick designed for freshly shaved, sensitive underarms, among others. “From beauty standards to social identity, teens today are not only discovering who they are but also, knowingly and unknowingly, curating it. They are the biggest consumers of online content, with many of their influences coming directly from platforms like YouTube, and Instagram,” adds Madhavan. The brand’s products are rooted in skin science and habit-building, not hype. While still early-stage, Y Play Z is seeing consistent growth, with its teen segment driving sales.
“Most teens today use baby products that don’t address their changing skin needs or adult products that are far too aggressive, that’s the whitespace we’re building in—giving young people credible, science-backed alternatives designed just for them,” adds Madhavan, whose brand caters to kids in the age groups of 4-10 years; and 11-18 years.
Similarly, Tikitoro offers a personal care range designed for teens, from face care to body care which is endocrine disruptor-free (chemical-free) products. “In India, the demand for clean, age-appropriate solutions is accelerating like never before. We’re witnessing a clear shift—parents and teens are actively moving away from chemical-heavy products and gravitating toward safer, gentler alternatives that are tailored for growing skin. It’s not about beauty, but building long-term, healthy skincare habits that begin early,” says Prasanna Vasanadu, founder of Tikitoro, whose revenue has shown consistent quarter-on-quarter growth and projects 3x increase in revenue over the next 24 months, fuelled by both category expansion and deeper market penetration.
Driven by a potent mix of influence, access, identity, and intent, Gen Z teens in India are redefining beauty not as perfection, but as play and personality. This evolution inspired Ashutosh Valani, co-founder of RENEE Cosmetics, to start Princess by RENEE, a makeup line crafted specifically for teens aged 13-16 years in 2022. “For teens, makeup becomes fun. It’s play and personality,” says Valani, who has seen this line of products grow 300% in the past year, fuelled by Instagram reels, influencer campaigns, and Gen Z’s appetite for authenticity. The brand offers dermatologically tested, paraben-free, sulfate-free, cruelty-free, and vegan products which also include moisturising ingredients like jojoba oil, shea butter, and vitamin E across its tinted lip balms, nail paints, and beginner-friendly kits.