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If a thing of beauty is a joy forever, people in the beauty business are experiencing this joy like no one else. For the once non-existent beauty industry is today worth millions of dollars thanks to the urge to look good, rising disposable incomes and increasing exposure to global fashion and lifestyles.

So, while you have Olay launch in India, you also have Yash Birla invest in a joint venture for a holistic healthcare company that is currently scouting for suitable locations for its spas. The

Future group is readying to launch its line of spas across cities by Septembaer this year and VLCC plans to announce an IPO later this year.

The figures are impressive, too. While the World Beauty Report 2006, pegged Indian healthcare and services industry at Rs 2,280 crore, last year Euromonitor International, a global market intelligence firm, put the Indian skincare industry at Rs 1,272 crore.

Closer home, industry chamber CII estimated that the beauty and cosmetics market in India was worth Rs 4,500 crore in 2005 and is growing at 20% per year. The colour cosmetics market comprising lip care, nail polish and make-up is worth Rs 800 crore and is growing at 30% per annum.

According to the CII estimate, there were 61,000 saloons in the top 23 cities and towns (those with a population of one million and above), and the organised domestic saloon market alone was estimated to be worth Rs 1,000 crore, growing between 20% and 25%. The top-end salon market worth Rs 400 crore is growing at 30% annually.

The ayurvedic herbal care products market comprising skin care, toiletries, hair care and body care was estimated to be worth around Rs 2,500 crore and the herbal cosmetics market was valued at Rs 450 crore.

“Today, awareness of beauty products, treatments and grooming is at an all time high,” says herbal beauty expert Shahnaz Husain. The beauty business has evolved through several stages as have Indian customers, she says matter of factly.

In fact, things are changing dramatically. Companies that were into services are introducing products and vice-versa. For example, VLCC, which began as a slimming centre, launched its product line in 2002 and a variety of these have been occupying shelf space at malls and shops.

Explaining the logic of adding services to the products business, Vandana Luthra, the brain behind VLCC, says, “Owing to the expansion in the personal care market and people’s willingness to spend more on their health, fitness and looks, VLCC introduced various innovative products along with services to fulfil the growing needs of an individual.”

With changes in behavioural patterns and lifestyle trends, Indian consumers have changed significantly, says Luthra. “In fact, one of the reasons for our success has been the understanding of this evolution and accordingly enhancing our own business to suit individual needs and requirements. Today, consumers are more conscious about their looks and fitness. They want better looking products with more features and functions. They are also clued in to what they want.” The personal care division contributes 10% of VLCC’s revenues.

Devender Shinde, head, marketing, Kaya Ltd, opines that when Kaya opened its first clinic in Bandra, it took it a little while to get its first few customers. Today, says Shinde, they have four lakh happy customers.

“It’s wasn’t easy to sell the concept of a good skin to a market, which mostly knew of one product fits all categories. After research about dissatisfaction of people at local parlours, the unavailability of products and services to match individual customers, we ventured into analysing individual skins and offering productsaccording to the skin type. And the idea clicked, thanks to the growing awaress.”

He adds, “It’s not easy to trust someone with 5.2 sq mt of your skin but people are actually doing it. Some people trust us enough to spend lakhs of rupees on our services and products.”

Selling concepts is not as difficult today as it was a few years back. While Blossom Kocchar had to struggle hard to explain the concept of essential oils in 1993, today her brand Aroma Magic not only offers 212 products but also finds keen takers abroad.

The concept of day spas, too, has clicked with the looking good and feeling young conscious generation. And trust original herbal queen Shahnaz Husain to master the art. While her products have a rather huge fan following, her parlours were the first ones to catch on the trend of men who want to be well groomed. So, she not only introduced a line of men’s products much before everyone else did, but also started offering them services like manicure and relaxing massages.

For the woman who started her first herbal clinic from her verandah in her home, from Rs 35,000 borrowed from her father, she has now gone ahead with her latest venture, Sparlours. Explaining the logic behind her project , she says, “India, with her traditional heritage of a holistic system like Ayurveda, can be a major spa destination. With well being concept gaining ground, I believe that day spas have an exciting future.”