MUMBAI: India’s younger generation is not obsessed with fair skin but, rather, favours brands offering skin free of blemishes, said L’Oreal global chief executive Nicolas Hieronimus, terming it a generational shift in a country where fairness products still make up a quarter of total skincare sales.”Part of what we call brightening is eliminating spots that create irregularities. A makeup artiste told me, ‘When I am making up a bride, I make sure the mother is not in the room because she’s trying to teach me what to do, she’s always the one saying to make the bride fairer’,” Hieronimus told ET in an exclusive interview. “I think the young generation is changing and it’s good.””If you want darker skin or fairer skin because you think it shows good health, it’s your choice. (But) it shouldn’t be imposed by society or external pressure,” he said. “If you look at all our ads, we promote a total diversity of skin tones, hair, hair colour etc.”According to chief of the world’s largest cosmetics firm, which owns Maybelline and Garnier brands, the region historically saw people working in the fields being dark-skinned and the nobles, untanned. This led to the belief that high society had fair skin. “But if you take Europe or France, it’s the contrary,” said Hieronimus.Digitalisation Increasing AwarenessThere, “people who have money go on holiday and take a tan. It’s very generational,” said Hieronimus, adding that the company’s brightening products are not for lightening skin or fairness, but to give it an even tone.With influencers-turned-beauty gurus popularising products from cleansers and moisturisers to serums and lotions – with many claimed to be backed by dermatologists – younger consumers, especially Gen Z, are far more conscious of what they use on their skin compared to millennials and Gen X.According to L’Oreal, Indians have always aspired for beauty, but what has changed of late is widespread digitalisation. The consumer spends more than seven hours on smartphones and is very much aware of the latest trends in developed markets such as France and the US.”Gen Zs are super experts. They are online and extremely aware of international brands, local brands, and the different routines. So, it’s accelerating,” said Hieronimus. “That’s why I say India’s time is now because I see this new generation who is way more sophisticated and knowledgeable about beauty in general. They are buying into more sophisticated routines.”The surge in ecommerce and, more recently, quick commerce, have been a game changer since until a few years ago, L’Oreal’s premium products were mostly sold in modern trade and supermarkets, limiting reach. “Anybody can have any product in 10 minutes and that is spectacular. The availability of information, knowledge about beauty, about what is a serum, what is a liner, a primer, as well as the capacity to shop these products online has tremendously exploded after that,” said the 60-year-old executive.”What I see – like in many countries, but particularly true in India – is this blend of aspiration to get the best that the world has to offer, mixed with Indian pride and traditions,” Hieronimus said.The Beauty of IndiaL’Oreal has about 8% share of India’s face care market and a total of about 10%, including ecommerce, in a market dominated by Hindustan Unilever’s more than 40% share.The French cosmetics firm is the market leader in the hair colour segment and has, over the past decade, trained about 3.3 million hairdressers.The company entered India three decades ago, selling affordable packs and sachets, including its largest selling product, Garnier hair colour. Its reach is, however, limited to only about 230 million people who have a purchasing power parity of over $20 a day.”It will be 310 million people in 2027. There are 60 million inhabitants in France, and it is my third-largest market. So, it’s a lot of people, and it’s a lot of very young people. One of the other specificities of India is that men are also very much into beauty and interested in grooming. So, there’s big potential,” said the global CEO.India currently accounts for just over 1% of L’Oreal’s annual sales of over 41 billion euros, making it the 15th largest market for the company worldwide. It is targeting an annual revenue of 1 billion euros in India in the next few years, when it expects the country to rank among its top 10 markets.L’Oreal believes the stars are perfectly aligned in India, with stable politics, a dynamic economy with a growing base of affluent middle-class consumers highly aware of global beauty trends, more women in the workforce and surging online retail growth.”There are 820 million internet users in India, and these people are connected. They are discovering products online in a country that is very stable and are optimistic. For beauty, confidence and optimism are very important drivers,” said Hieronimus.”And the last reason why the stars are aligned in India is that every year, I see more women working. It’s true that women working is a strong driver of beauty because they want to present their best self in the work environment, as they do in their private life. All these put together, creates a very particular moment for acceleration and for sophistication of beauty,” he said.Hieronimus, who is on a three-day visit to India, has spent over 38 years at L’Oreal, becoming the chief executive in 2021.Not Skin DeepFocused beauty brands such as L’Oreal, Mamaearth, Nivea and Nykaa currently have a combined 33% share of the Indian market, which is expected to rise to 42% in five years. Established firms such as HUL and Procter & Gamble currently account for two-thirds of the market and will see their shares fall 9 percentage points to 58% by 2027, according to a joint report by Redseer Strategy Consultants and Peak XV.Apart from global rivals such as Unilever, Shiseido and Estee Lauder, the Indian market has seen a flurry of local brands such as Minimalist, Sugar Cosmetics and Plum.Many of these brands sell their products disclosing active ingredients at a granular level of the exact percentage of acid used in the product.Hieronimus said, “Anybody can put an ingredient in a product like salicylic acid or collagen. But consumers are more demanding about products and are not just settling for very basic things. That’s where L’Oreal has the best cards to play, and that’s where we really thrive.”