Stéphane de La Faverie is beginning to make his mark on M&A since taking the helm of the Estée Lauder Cos. in January 2025.

The company has entered into an agreement to acquire the remaining 51 percent of Indian ayurvedic beauty brand Forest Essentials. 

The transaction, terms of which were not disclosed, is expected to close in the second half of 2026.

The Estée Lauder Cos.’s history with Forest Essentials runs deep, first making a minority investment in 2008 and increasing its stake to 49 percent in 2020, before taking full ownership. 

In an interview, de La Faverie drew parallels between this acquisition and that of Deciem, which it first invested in in 2017, upping its stake to become majority owner in 2021, and then purchasing the remaining interests for an estimated $860 million in 2024, taking the total to $1.7 billion.

While Lauder has received criticism for the way it has handled some past acquisitions and onboarding of brands, Deciem appears to be the most successful model.

“With Deciem, we had a similar model where we went from minority to majority, and then, ultimately, long-term partnership. This is what we’ve decided to do with Forest Essentials,” said de La Faverie. “But always with this intent to find what is the right inflection point where it is really meaningful to just get into the next level of partnership so we can scale a beautiful brand.”

On why now is the time to complete the full acquisition of Forest Essentials when the Estée Lauder Cos. is still recovering from a downturn in part caused by an overreliance on China and travel retail as well as a slump in its home market of North America, de La Faverie responded: “It’s a brand that is unique in so many ways in a market that is full of potential. 

“The concept of luxury ayurveda is at the center of the brand. At a moment where consumers are more and more in search of wellness, this brand represents a perfect opportunity, not only to continue to nurture it beautifully in India, but also expand globally,” he continued.

Founded in 2000 by Mira Kulkarni, as an ayurvedic skin, body and hair care manufacturer based in Nida, a suburb of New Delhi, Forest Essentials has expanded to nearly 200 freestanding stores, primarily in India, and is forecast to grow net sales low double-digits over the next few years.

As part of the deal, Forest Essentials will continue to be led by Kulkarni and her son, executive director Samrath Bedi, and will remain headquartered in New Delhi. 

As for white space for the brand, it’s global expansion, according to de La Faverie, who just visited the London store. “I went to the store, not just to see how we are going to do India for India, but India for the world. This for me is one of the big opportunities that we both see in the expansion of this beautiful brand.”

In addition to the London store, there are a few in the Middle East, but run by partners.

Kulkarni added that the brand is now ready for rapid expansion because of the groundwork that has already been laid in its home market.

“It’s an important time for us and for the Estée Lauder group to be at an inflection point today, where we think that things can go to new heights, very rapidly, because there is a certain foundation that has been built in India, which is very strong, very credible,” she said. “We have an incredible backward integration, where everything is made the way it’s supposed to be made: handmade at the right time, the herbs are plucked at the right time, we use all the ancient methods of fermentation and so on.” 

Bestsellers include Soundarya Radiance Cream, 6,850 Indian rupees, Transformative Soundarya Night Cream With 24K Gold, 2,475 Indian rupees, Facial Tonic Mist Pure Rosewater, 1,350 Indian rupees and Intense Perfume Kesari — Oudh, Saffron & Lime, 6,200 Indian rupees.

Combined with the Estée Lauder Cos.’ existing brand portfolio, the deal makes India the company’s largest emerging market. 

The company has been active in India for over two decades, with 14 brands operating in more than 400 points of distribution, according to de La Faverie.

In a recent earnings call, he told analysts that emerging markets delivered double-digit growth in its second quarter, a sequential improvement. “It’s driven by Turkey, the Middle East, Thailand, and even midsingle-digit in India. That is such a very strategic market for us,” de La Faverie said.

This strategy is also reflected in the company’s Beauty & You India initiative, which supports the next generation of India-focused beauty entrepreneurs.

“I do believe that India is on the path to become the most important emerging market in the world in terms of size, simply because of the size of the population, the digitalization of the country, the ability to create beautiful physical expression,” said de La Faverie. 

According to data from Euromonitor, India’s beauty and personal care market was worth 1.52 trillion Indian rupees in 2024, up from 1.38 trillion Indian rupees in 2023 and 1.03 trillion Indian rupees in 2020.

But India is not the only emerging market the company has been investing in. In November, the Estée Lauder Cos. made a minority investment in Xinú, a Mexican luxury fragrance brand, marking the first time the company has invested in a Latin American brand. The investment was made through its strategic early-stage investment and incubation arm, New Incubation Ventures.

On future M&A, de La Faverie said: “We’ll continue to look at it. I strongly believe in the balancing of organic and inorganic growth, and in the model of acquisition, it comes to this beautiful and meaningful moment with Forest Essentials, where you can take a minority and then increase the stake within a partnership. Then there’s also incubation, and we are creating new brands, especially with Deciem, and there will be opportunities for full-scale acquisition in the future.”

At the same time, though, it is reviewing its current portfolio. WWD has previously reported that the company is looking to sell Too Faced, Smashbox and Dr. Jart, something that Lauder has yet to confirm publicly.

Most recently, WWD reported that according to multiple industry sources, the  Estée Lauder Cos. is no longer marketing Too Faced, Smashbox and Dr. Jart together. Instead, the makeup brands are being offered together and Dr. Jart by itself.