Indian beauty and fashion giant Nykaa has made a bold move in FY2025 by significantly increasing its marketing expenditure. The company spent a whopping ₹994.8 crore on advertising and marketing this fiscal year—a 34% jump compared to FY2024.
More than just a number, this surge in marketing spend reflects Nykaa’s strategic direction: investing heavily in customer acquisition, expanding its offline footprint, and enhancing its digital experience with technologies like AI-driven personalization and virtual try-on.
Let’s dive into what led to this sharp rise in spending, how it aligns with Nykaa’s goals, and what it means for the future of India’s digital-first beauty and fashion retail market.
The Numbers Behind Nykaa’s Marketing Surge
In FY2024, Nykaa spent approximately ₹740 crore on marketing. Fast forward to FY2025, and that number has grown to ₹994.8 crore, accounting for 12.5% of the company’s net revenue. In comparison, marketing spend was 11.6% of revenue in the previous year.
According to the company’s annual report, this increase is part of a broader push to build long-term brand value, capture new users—particularly in Tier II and Tier III cities—and support offline store expansion.
It’s important to note that this isn’t reckless spending. Even as marketing costs climbed, Nykaa improved its profitability, with net profit nearly doubling to ₹72 crore and EBITDA rising by 37%.
What’s Driving This Marketing Investment?
1. Customer Growth & Acquisition
One of the biggest motivations behind this push is acquiring new customers. In FY2025 alone, Nykaa added over 9 million new customers, bringing its total customer base to over 42 million. This kind of scale requires serious brand visibility, especially in newer markets.
The company is focusing on a younger audience, particularly Gen Z, who are expected to dominate discretionary spending in the coming decade. These users are digital-native and respond well to visual storytelling, influencer marketing, and personalized experiences.
2. AI-Powered Personalization
Nykaa has been integrating artificial intelligence into the customer journey, helping shoppers find products that match their preferences, skin tone, and budget. With virtual try-ons, AI-driven search, and product recommendations, the platform has created a more personalized, engaging shopping experience.
This kind of advanced technology requires not only product development but also marketing support to educate and convert first-time users.
3. Offline Store Expansion
While Nykaa began as a digital-first company, its omni-channel strategy is now a major part of its growth story. The brand now operates 237 stores in 79 cities, up from just 63 stores in FY2020.
Marketing campaigns are essential to drive foot traffic to these new stores. From geo-targeted ads to in-store promotions and influencer events, offline expansion demands its own marketing budget—and it’s clear that Nykaa is ready to invest.
4. Scaling the Nykaa Superstore
Nykaa is also pushing hard into B2B retail through its Superstore platform, which connects brands to local retailers. In FY2025, the Superstore platform served over 2.76 lakh retailers and drove ₹941 crore in GMV (Gross Merchandise Value).
To grow this channel, Nykaa has invested in brand awareness campaigns aimed at small-town shopkeepers and regional resellers—an area that still relies on physical engagement and community marketing.
Campaigns That Stood Out in FY2025
The rise in ad spending isn’t just a line in a financial report—it’s visible in the real world.
Some of Nykaa’s notable campaigns in FY2025 included:
- Nykaaland – A beauty festival that brought influencers, consumers, and brands together in a massive offline-meets-online format.
- Nykaawali Shaadi – A digital campaign themed around weddings, which targeted bridal beauty and fashion needs.
- #BFFWithNykaa – A Gen Z-focused influencer campaign highlighting Nykaa as a ‘beauty best friend’.
These campaigns helped Nykaa create buzz across social platforms, generate UGC (User Generated Content), and drive measurable sales lifts.
How the Investment Paid Off
Despite a large increase in spending, Nykaa delivered strong results:
- Net revenue for FY2025 stood at ₹7,950 crore, a 24% YoY increase.
- Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) reached ₹15,604 crore, up 25%.
- EBITDA improved to ₹474 crore, showing better operating efficiency.
- PAT (Profit After Tax) grew 81% to ₹72 crore.
This shows that the marketing investments were strategic and effective, not just costly.
Focus on Tier II and III Markets
As internet penetration and disposable income rise in smaller towns and cities, Tier II and III consumers are becoming a powerful demographic. Nykaa’s campaigns have increasingly targeted these regions with vernacular content, localized promotions, and mobile-first experiences.
The marketing spend increase is not just about digital ads—it’s also about building relationships with local influencers, regional retailers, and new customer segments who are just starting to engage with online shopping.
What Nykaa’s Leadership Has to Say
According to Nykaa’s CFO P. Ganesh, the marketing increase is part of a “long-term brand and category-building strategy.”
The company believes that awareness and trust are still growing in the Indian beauty and personal care segment, and that brand recall plays a vital role in online conversion rates and app stickiness.
This is why Nykaa is committed to multi-year investments in brand equity, not just short-term campaign ROI.
The Road Ahead
Looking forward, Nykaa has made it clear that:
- It will continue investing in AI, personalization, and beauty tech.
- Retail expansion will remain a priority, with more stores planned in Tier II/III cities.
- The Nykaa Fashion division will get its own focused marketing campaigns to drive category growth.
With digital-first campaigns, experiential events, and a powerful offline presence, Nykaa is setting a benchmark for integrated marketing in Indian retail.
Nykaa’s ₹994 crore marketing spend in FY2025 isn’t just a headline—it’s a strategic move backed by technology, expansion, and consumer insight. It signals how serious the company is about holding its leadership in India’s fast-evolving beauty and fashion market.
In a landscape where consumer loyalty is hard-won and trends shift fast, Nykaa’s heavy investment in marketing—especially AI, personalization, and multi-channel campaigns—shows foresight, not just ambition.
