The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved L'Oréal India's proposal to acquire beauty and personal care company Onesto Labs on Tuesday, clearing the way for the transaction. According to the anti-trust watchdog's statement, the proposed combination involves acquiring 100% shareholding in Onesto Labs Pvt Ltd by L'Oréal India Pvt Ltd. The CCI approval comes after L'Oréal announced in June this year that it would acquire a majority stake in Innovist, a digital-first Indian personal care company. As per the CCI release, the regulator stated 'Commission approves acquisition of Onesto Labs by L'Oréal India' on X, with deals beyond certain thresholds requiring CCI approval to ensure they do not adversely affect competition in the market.
L'Oréal India is a wholly owned subsidiary of French beauty and cosmetics giant L'Oréal SA and has been present in the Indian market since 1994. The company operates a portfolio of 26 brands, including L'Oréal Paris, Garnier, Maybelline New York and NYX Professional Makeup, catering to the mass-market beauty and personal care segment. L'Oréal India has two manufacturing units located in Chakan, Maharashtra, and Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, and operates Research and Innovation facilities in Mumbai and Bengaluru. The company did not disclose financial details of the transaction, with the regulator keeping track of unfair business practices and promoting fair competition in the marketplace.
The acquisition involves Innovist, a digital-first Indian personal care company founded in 2019 by Rohit Chawla, Sifat Khurana and Vimal Bhola. The company follows a science-focused, digital-first business model and owns personal care brands including Bare Anatomy, Chemist at Play, SunScoop and Anecdote. Its skincare and haircare products are distributed through direct-to-consumer platforms, leading e-commerce and quick-commerce services, as well as offline retail networks across India. As part of the proposed transaction, Innovist's founding team will remain responsible for running the business, with its brands being brought under L'Oréal's Consumer Products Division portfolio. In 2022, Onesto Labs officially rebranded to Innovist and serves as an umbrella 'house of brands' platform that designs, formulates, and sells science-first personal care products.
The CCI approval represents L'Oréal's strategy to strengthen its presence in one of the world's rapidly expanding beauty markets. The acquisition expands L'Oréal's footprint in India, one of the world's fastest-growing beauty markets, as the company seeks to capitalize on the digital-first personal care segment. The transaction involves acquiring the entire shareholding of Onesto Labs, with the founding team continuing to manage the business operations. The CCI examines combinations such as mergers and acquisitions that cross prescribed thresholds to ensure they do not adversely affect competition in the market.
