Mila Beauté’s CEO Sachin Chadha On Building An ‘Elevated Mass’ Colour Cosmetics Brand

Mila Beauté’s cofounder and CEO, Sachin Chadha, shared how the company is making accessible and affordable colour cosmetics without compromising on quality

With over 10,000 retail counters across 300 cities, Mila Beauté is building an elevated mass beauty brand focussed on performance, disciplined SKU expansion and repeat-led growth

The brand operates largely in the ₹100–₹300 price band, redefining affordability as value-for-money while prioritising shade relevance and offline productivity

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Have you ever stood at a beauty counter, staring blankly at what seemed a hundred shades of the same foundation, and still walked away confused? 

The high-end options promise perfection – but at prices that make you drag your feet. The affordable ones are easier on the pocket, but often raise questions like whether they suit your skin, whether the ingredients are safe, or whether the shade will oxidise. And, when you finally pick up something, you return without any guarantee that it will actually match.

For millions living beyond metro cities, dependent on local retailers with fewer options, buying colour cosmetics is less about indulgence and more about balancing price, performance and poise. Shopping malls in metros offer a wider spread to consumers ready to splurge on indulgence. 

But, at the end, the confusion is common.  Andit gets deeper as the $34 Bn beauty and personal care (BPC) market expands, unlocking a $10.73 Bn opportunity for colour cosmetics over the next decade. But as the category expands and premiumises, the real gap isn’t just more shades or trend-led launches. It’s reliability – products that match Indian skin tones, work in Indian climates, feel safe to use daily and still stay affordable.

In this confusion, Sachin Chadha found clarity in Mila Beauté’s positioning. Built as a colour cosmetics brand designed specifically for the Indian consumer, Mila Beauté focusses on the everyday price point – largely between ₹100 and ₹300 – while emphasising performance, shade relevance and repeat use. Instead of positioning itself as aspirational luxury, the brand is building what it calls an elevated mass play: accessible, not cheap, and not compromised.

In a relatively short span, Mila Beauté has expanded to more than 10,000 retail counters across 300 cities, building one of the widest offline footprints in the category. Its growth has also made it a standout portfolio company for Rukam Capital, which backed the brand early and has since played a role in sharpening its category focus, strengthening SKU economics and institutionalising systems as the company scales.

In an exclusive conversation with Inc42, cofounder and CEO Sachin Chadha breaks down how India’s beauty consumer is evolving, why affordability today means value rather than just low prices, how offline scale is built counter by counter and what it takes to turn colour cosmetics from a one-time experiment into a daily habit. 

Here are the edited excerpts from the conversation…

Inc42: India’s beauty market is expanding and premiumising at the same time. What’s really changing in consumer behaviour today? How does it reflect in colour cosmetics? In the same context, how do you see the idea of ‘affordability’ evolving?

Sachin Chadha: India’s beauty market is truly witnessing two shifts in parallel – expansion and premiumisation and this dual movement is what makes the category especially interesting.

What’s fundamentally changing is the consumer intent. Beauty is no longer limited to occasional indulgence or experimentation, but has increasingly become part of everyday self-expression and routine. Consumers today are far more informed, ingredient-aware, and outcome-focused than they were even a few years ago, a shift significantly accelerated by social media and creator-led education.

The colour cosmetics category is moving from being largely discovery-led to increasingly habit-led, though discovery still plays an important role. Earlier, consumers would try lipstick or foundation for novelty. Today, once they find a shade, texture, or formulation that truly works, they stick to it.

At Mila Beauté, we see strong repeat behaviour across categories, which tells us consumers are building routines, not just experimenting.

Moving on to affordability, there has been a reset. It is no longer about the lowest price point; it is about value for money. Brands like Mila Beauté are benefiting from this democratisation by offering globally benchmarked quality at prices that feel attainable across metros and Tier II and III markets.

Inc42: As premiumisation accelerates, mass beauty brands risk getting squeezed. Where does that squeeze show up first – product, pricing, channels, or brand perception? How does Mila Beauté avoid becoming neither mass nor premium?

Sachin Chadha: The squeeze shows up first in brand perception, even before it hits the P&L. Consumers start questioning what the brand stands for. If you’re not clearly mass or clearly premium, you lose permission on both price and relevance.

Our focus at Mila Beauté is not to chase premiumisation, but to be very deliberate about where we elevate. We are building an elevated mass brand that is performance-led, not status-led. That means premiumising the product experience where it matters, while keeping entry points accessible and honest.

The risk isn’t premiumisation, it’s ambiguity. A brand has to avoid drifting into a fuzzy middle by being intentionally elevated mass, not aspirational premium.

That means owning a clear value promise rather than vague labels like ‘affordable luxury’ or ‘premium at a price’. Using premiumisation selectively, with hero categories and icons stretching while entry SKUs stay sharply priced. We focus on channel discipline, so Mila isn’t trained as a discount brand on marketplaces, and we build credibility through performance, not luxury cues like price or packaging alone.

Inc42: What are the core operational pillars that will take Mila Beauté to the next level of growth?

Sachin Chadha: There are three core operational pillars that will support Mila Beauté’s shift to the next phase of growth.

First is product leadership with discipline. Growth will not come from launching more; it will come from launching better. This means a tight innovation funnel, clear hero categories, faster reformulation cycles, and fewer but bigger bets. Every SKU must earn its place on velocity, margin, and repeat, not just novelty.

Second is channel-led scale with control. We scale by being very clear about each channel’s role. D2C is for brand building and insight, marketplaces are for reach, and offline is for trust and penetration. Expansion without channel economics and brand control is not growth – it is leakage.

Third is a data-driven operating engine. As we scale, intuition has to be backed by systems. From demand forecasting and inventory turns to cohort-level retention and CAC discipline, data enables faster, better decisions and prevents complexity from creeping in.

Inc42: You’ve built one of the widest offline footprints in colour cosmetics. How has your past retail experience shaped Mila Beauté’s offline strategy and what did you bring into this playbook that digital-first founders often miss?

Sachin Chadha: Offline scale is not about footprint. It is about productivity.

My retail background taught me early that doors do not matter if counters do not convert. At Mila Beauté, we built offline with a clear playbook: the right stores, the right assortment, and fast feedback loops.

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What digital-first founders often miss is that offline is a people-and-process business, not just a distribution one. We focussed on store-wise assortment discipline, rather than flooding every counter, and on frontline training and incentives, because the beauty advisor is the algorithm offline. Experience also teaches patience. Offline does not scale in sprints; it scales through compounding. We resisted the temptation to over-expand and instead built trust with retailers by delivering turns, margins, and predictability.

Inc42: With more than 10,000 retail counters, what are the key signals you track to decide which cities/regions are ready for deeper penetration?

Sachin Chadha: With over 10,000 counters, we look for proof of repeat and resilience before adding depth.

The first signal is steady velocity, not spikes. We look for consistent per-counter sales over multiple replenishment cycles. A festive spike does not qualify a market – a steady run-rate does.

Second is reorder behaviour at the store level. When retailers reorder without push and start asking for a wider assortment, it is a clear signal that the brand is pulling, and not being pushed.

Third is portfolio mix maturity. Cities that are ready for deeper penetration show movement beyond entry SKUs into face base and hero categories. That tells us the consumer trusts the brand.

Inc42: Once you enter a city or open a counter, what tells you the bet is paying off? What metrics or on-ground signals decide whether you should double down or course-correct?

Sachin Chadha: We decide very early whether a city is earning the right to more capital.

After counters open, the first signal we track is how quickly they reach a steady sales velocity. Spikes do not count; consistency does. Second, we track reorder behaviour. If retailers reorder without incentives and start asking for a broader assortment, we know the brand is working.

Inc42: How does Mila Beauté ensure products at ₹100–300 meet the performance and ‘clean’ expectations GenZs and Millennials have, without quality drift at scale?

Sachin Chadha: Affordability does not come from cutting quality; it comes from cutting waste.

At Mila Beauté, we design ₹100–300 products bottom-up. Formula, packaging, and sourcing are engineered to deliver performance first, without unnecessary frills. We prioritise performance-critical ingredients and avoid label clutter. 

Clean, for us, means safe, compliant, and effective, not expensive buzzwords. We standardise platforms such as shared bases, shade systems, and packaging so scale improves quality, rather than diluting it. Quality is locked in through tight supplier partnerships, batch-level testing, and post-launch tracking of velocity and complaints.

GenZs and millennials are value-smart, not price-blind. If performance slips, they do not repurchase. Our repeat rates are the real guardrail against quality drift.

Inc42: Colour cosmetics can be trend-led and high-churn. What actually drives repeat at scale – performance, shade range, price, retail availability, creator discovery, or something else?

Sachin Chadha: Repeat is driven by reliability. The same product, the same shade, the same performance, being available when the consumer needs it, alongside constant updates based on consumer feedback. At Mila Beauté, we design for that reliability. Trends bring consumers in; consistency is what keeps them coming back. When a brand becomes dependable rather than just exciting, repeat purchases scale.

Inc42: With more than 40 SKUs in the pipeline, how do you decide what should be launched digitally first, what needs an immediate offline push, and what internal filters prevent the ‘SKU sprawl’?

Sachin Chadha: We don’t launch by excitement; we launch by role.

Every SKU in our pipeline has a clearly defined job before it goes live. Digital-first launches are products that benefit from education, trials or creator-led discoveries such as new textures, formats, or trend-led extensions. Digital allows us to test language, pricing, and repeat behaviour quickly.

Offline-first launches are products that rely on shade matching, tactile experience, or immediate trust, such as face base, core lip shades, and replenishment SKUs. These need physical validation and advisor advocacy from day one.

Inc42: Lip and nail are strong anchors today. Which category do you expect would become the next breakout driver for Mila Beauté over the next 12–18 months and why?

Sachin Chadha: Face will be the next breakout driver for Mila Beauté. While lips and nails continue to be strong anchors, the next phase of growth will come from building depth and authority in the face. Face is where repeat behaviour is built at scale. When a consumer finds a base product that matches their skin tone, texture, and everyday needs, it becomes part of their routine, not just a purchase. That creates stronger loyalty and higher lifetime value.

Our approach to face is anchored in three areas. First, formulations that deliver real performance for Indian skin, including coverage, wear time, and comfort across climates. Second, shade systems built specifically for Indian undertones, not adapted to global ranges. Third, a tiered architecture that allows consumers to enter with simple products and trade up within the category as their needs evolve.

Face also scales well across channels. It builds credibility offline through shade matching and advisor trust, while digital enables education, reviews, and creator-led validation. Together, this makes face a powerful long-term growth engine.

Inc42: How has Rukam Capital’s investment shaped Mila Beauté’s growth journey so far and beyond capital? What specific strategic or operational inputs have made the biggest difference at this stage?

Sachin Chadha: Rukam Capital’s involvement has been valuable far beyond capital. What they brought early on was an operating perspective and discipline at scale.

They helped us sharpen our focus on what truly moves the business, including clearer category prioritisation, tighter SKU economics, and stronger governance around expansion decisions. The biggest shift after investment has been moving from founder-led intuition to institution-ready systems.

At this stage, the most meaningful inputs have been around capital allocation discipline and preparing the organisation for the next phase of scale. Rukam has pushed us to think in terms of repeatable models and that mindset has strengthened both our execution and decision-making.

Inc42: As you aim for over 300 cities, what are the biggest operational hurdles you’re facing – supply chain, inventory, working capital, team structure, or retail execution?

Sachin Chadha: At this stage of scale, the biggest growing pain isn’t one function; it’s coordination.

When you move towards more than 300 cities, small inefficiencies compound very quickly. Our sharpest focus areas today are inventory discipline and retail execution. Forecasting at city-level SKUs, maintaining high fill rates without bloating stock, and ensuring consistent execution across metros and emerging towns is both hard and critical.

Working capital and supply chain are enablers, but they’re manageable if demand signals are clean. The real risk is letting complexity outrun systems or people.

Inc42: With quick commerce bringing a paradigm shift, how is Mila Beauté adapting to inventory and fulfilment for ‘instant delivery’ without hurting offline partner economics and where do you want the brand to be over the next 3–5 years as you push towards ₹100 Cr and beyond?

Sachin Chadha: Quick commerce is a distribution channel, not a brand strategy.

At Mila Beauté, we are clear about the role it plays. We treat quick commerce as a convenience and replenishment channel, not a discount or discovery engine. Inventory for quick commerce is ring-fenced, with tightly controlled assortments and pricing parity to ensure it does not cannibalise offline partners or distort brand value.

We are selective about which SKUs enter instant delivery. These are typically high-velocity, replenishment-driven products that consumers trust. This allows us to meet evolving consumer expectations without disrupting offline economics or retailer relationships.

Over the next three to five years, our ambition is to build Mila Beauté into a ₹100 Cr-plus brand with strong fundamentals. That means profitable growth, leadership in core colour categories, deep offline penetration across India, and a brand that is trusted for performance and consistency.

Scale, for us, is not just about revenue. It is about building a durable, repeat-led beauty brand that can compound over the long term.

© Inc42