In conversation with BW Retail World, founder Rishika Bhargava discusses building a modern Indian beauty brand through design-led products, clean formulations, offline expansion and community-driven growth
What inspired you to launch Pali Beauty, and what gap did you identify in the market?
Beauty has always been a passion of mine since my early teens. Back in 2013–14, quality makeup products were not easily available in India, and that made me realise there was a clear white space in the market. Later, after studying at UCLA and returning to India, I began shaping the idea into a business.
What stood out to me was that many consumers found makeup intimidating or overly complicated. With Pali Beauty, we wanted to simplify beauty by creating high-performance, easy-to-use products. At the same time, I felt there was space for a modern Indian beauty brand with a strong design identity and global sensibility.
The Indian beauty market is highly competitive today. How do you align with evolving consumer expectations around clean beauty, sustainability and authenticity?
For us, clean ingredients were non-negotiable from day one. Today’s consumer is far more aware of formulations, so we only partnered with vendors who work with clean products.
However, good ingredients are just the starting point. Consumers may buy because of branding, but they only return if the product performs exceptionally well. That is why our focus has been on creating staples that customers want to repurchase repeatedly because they truly work.
Your portfolio remains selective rather than crowded. Was that a deliberate decision?
Absolutely. We launched with five products and 33 SKUs. We wanted to create a capsule range featuring essentials for a basic makeup routine rather than overwhelm customers with endless choices.
Every product must solve a problem or serve a purpose. For example, our liquid eyeshadow makes eye makeup easier and faster for users who may otherwise feel intimidated by it. That sense of intentionality guides all our launches.
What were some of the biggest challenges in building the brand?
One of the biggest challenges was building the right vendor network. We travelled extensively across India and Hong Kong to identify partners who matched our standards in quality and innovation.
Another key challenge was finding the right creative collaborators who could translate the brand vision into reality. I am deeply involved in every creative touchpoint, from packaging to PR kits, so finding people who understood the brand language was critical.
How does Pali Beauty plan to differentiate itself against both Indian and global beauty brands?
Great products at the right price point are one part of the equation. Beyond that, we are focused on building a real community around the brand.
Pali Beauty celebrates a global Indian identity—someone shaped by multiple experiences, cultures and aspirations. We want customers to feel represented in a way that is modern, authentic and nuanced. Alongside that, we are investing in community events, guerrilla marketing and deeper engagement with our audience.
What is your long-term vision for Pali Beauty?
In the near term, we are focused on strengthening our position in colour cosmetics, which is where we specialise. We have exciting launches coming soon.
Over time, I would love to explore adjacent categories such as skincare, fragrance and body care. We built the brand with a global mindset, so international expansion is definitely part of our long-term thinking.
We are also enthusiastic about offline retail. Beauty performs strongly in physical retail because once customers try the products, conversion is immediate. We are already available in Pune and expanding into Hyderabad and Mumbai soon.
Packaging has become a standout feature of Pali Beauty. Why was it so important?
We wanted every touchpoint of the brand to tell a story. Packaging was never an afterthought—it was central to the experience.
Our boxes open like books, feature prints inspired by Pali Hill, and reflect the idea that beauty should feel playful, fluid and personal. We wanted to surprise consumers at every turn and make them feel connected to the brand’s roots.
